Mads Pedersen is on a hunt, also against Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogacar: 'Matter of self-respect'

Give Mads Pedersen a microphone to talk into and you know you'll get "no bullshit. Friday was another big hit at his team Lidl-Trek's media day, where the Dane spoke straightforwardly about what drives him for the upcoming 2026 cycling year. A season in which two things are central: winning that first Monument and the green in the Tour.

'It smells like dogshit here,' Pedersen shouts as he enters the small room of journalists. 'But then again, that's what you get when you put 15 adults in a space of, say, eight square meters.'

The tone is set. Our first question "Mads, what are your ambitions for 2026?" is answered with"winning as much as possible," follow-up question "what races?" yields"everywhere I start" and the moment we challenge him back with "you know what the next question is going to be, I think?" the Dane continues.

'It's no secret that I'm still chasing that win in a Monument and we are also opting for a slightly different preparation, with the Tour of Valencia instead of Star of Besseges. But, again: for me, winning as many races as possible really symbolizes and good preparation. Also early on in the season and then hopefully a Monument and the green jersey will follow.

March 21 is thus circled in red in the Dane's calendar: the day of Milan-Sanremo. 'I need to improve my 10-minute power on the Cipressa. When I saw that Filippo Ganna was there last year, I knew that I must also succeed. Without taking anything away from Ganna, but I have to be able to keep up at that point.'

Next up are the big two: Flanders and Roubaix, in which he will once again be up against Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogacar. 'I have not been far from it. In the Tour of Flanders I beat him square and so I also believe it can be done. Otherwise I wouldn't give everything every day; I would sit back and say: well, I'm second.'

'I'll tell you: every time I'm at the start, I believe I can beat them all. And I get paid for that, too,' Pedersen says without any doubt in his voice. 'We're racing a certain way now. I don't hide behind Mathieu and vice versa, and the same goes for Tadej Pogacar, Wout van Aert and so on. And it's a matter of self-respect, even though we all want to win.'

That they are working on it at Lidl-Trek is evident from the fact that we found the Gravaa system, developed in part by Visma | Lease a Bike, on one of Lidl-Trek's bikes. Here's the thing: teams are only allowed to use certain gadgets if they are freely available on the market. Last year the stock of Gravaa was so limited that this was not possible, but Lidl-Trek has managed to get it by 2026.

'It could be an addition, but also a piece of shit . We try to improve and see other teams try things, so then we do too,' Pedersen said. 'If you only knew how many of those things we're trying to improve.... there are so many, and so many of those things end up in the trash.'

Things changed anyway in the classics leader's lineup. Lead-outs Alex Kirsch (Cofidis) and Ryan Gibbons (quit) left the team and regulars Daan Hoole (Decathlon) and Jasper Stuyven (Soudal Quick-Step) also looked elsewhere. Who will be among Pedersen's permanent core in 2026?

'That's a good question,' he provides himself with some breathing room. 'It is no secret that I had the desire to bring Mathias Norsgaard to the team, to replace Daan. Although that's not easy, because Daan has grown with us in terms of how we race. With Mathias we have to pick that up quickly, because I don't have ten years left either. That's why we didn't bring in a young guy.'

'In the Giro we saw how insane Vacek is. He is still young and I talked to him. He is willing to sacrifice himself for me, but on the other hand, I can teach him a thing or two and as two strong riders you can improve each other's chances. If I'm being watched, he can take his chance. And I'm never going to ride behind a teammate, that's for sure.

'And then we also have Soren Kragh Andersen. We have been friends since we were kids and and he has had a good winter now, so hopefully we have a nice, strong group together like that,' Pedersen summarized.

After Roubaix, the focus goes to the second big goal of this season: the Tour. "I had the desire to do the Tour and the green has been a dream of mine for several years. It would be crazy to then also go with Jonathan Milan. Last year I accepted the choice and he won two stages and the green, so that made it a smart choice.'

So Olav Kooij and can get their chests wet, especially on the days when there is also some relief hidden in the stage. 'Put me against the fastest men in the world and it looks like I'm riding backwards. A sprint has to suit me in a certain way, in the flat sprints I don't get any faster," Pedersen knows his own qualities all too well.

Qualities combined with living like a monk, which he has had to get used to in a way. 'When I turned pro, it was still cycling on an energy bar, banana and coffee. Now you eat like a motherfucker all day and are so obsessed with your sport. I didn't expect I would ever do that. But if you really want it, you have to.'