Mads Pedersen has scored some points in his career, but this time he's doing it off the bike. The Danish rider from Lidl-Trek will head to the World Cycling Championships in Montreal as the team leader in the elite men’s category. But for a long time it was unclear whether several promising young riders from Denmark would also be allowed to make the trip to Canada. Pedersen decided to step in, organising an auction, and helping raise money for his young compatriots. The auction was organized by the Danish Cycling Union (DCU), with Pedersen donating three key items. A total of €6,230 was raised, which, excluding Lauritz’s seller’s commission, amounts to about 5,200 euros. That appears to be enough to send Kevin Biehl and Emil Nymand to Montreal in late September.
The Danish Cycling Federation initially did not have enough money to fill all the available spots for the World Championships, given the high cost of travel and, of course, lodging and all other expenses in Canada. So an auction was organised to raise funds to send additional riders to the World Championships, under the banner of “Danish Youth Cycling.”
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Mads Pedersen in the green jersey at the Tour de France
Pedersen put up three items for auction for World Championship funds
Pedersen donated for auction a signed green time trial suit from the Tour de France, one he wore during several stages, including Stage 21 in Paris. Someone was willing to pay €2,950 for this showpiece, which was by far the highest bid of the auction. A signed green helmet belonging to Pedersen also fetched a substantial amount at €1,810.
Pedersen also put together a package containing green gloves, green socks, and a signed yellow jersey—the same one he wore in the Tour de France. He also included the green teddy bear from the Tour de France. It raised another €1,470. Biehl and Nymand will be incredibly happy with it.
Pedersen himself will also be competing at the World Championships, where he will be Denmark’s sole team leader following the withdrawal of his
Lidl-Trek teammate Mattias Skjelmose. Pedersen withdrew early from the Vuelta a España in order to recover fully from a viral illness ahead of the World Championships. There, he hopes
to compete for medals on a challenging course in Montreal.