Mads Pedersen is thinking about quitting the Vuelta a España after poor stage 10: 'Shame to go home already'

Mads Pedersen is unsure whether he will continue in the Vuelta a España, he said after Stage 10. The Dane fell behind early in the final stretch, after revealing before the start that he had been feeling a bit under the weather for a while. The Lidl-Trek team leader is riding the Vuelta as preparation for the World Championships in Montreal, but he may have to change his plans.

Pedersen ultimately crossed the finish line in 163rd place, 12 minutes and 18 seconds behind the surprise stage winner, Bastien Tronchon. This gave his teammate Thibau Nys the chance to sprint for third place, but under normal circumstances, this would, of course, have been Pedersen’s day. “I’ve got a bit of a sore throat,” he said on the rest day. “It is what it is. I’ll get back on track.”

For a moment, it seemed that might be the case, after Pedersen finished second in a bunch sprint in Stage 8. “The most important thing is that I’ll be ready for the World Championships in a month,” the Dane emphasized. But when he crossed the finish line among the last riders in Stage 10, his outlook was a bit more subdued.

Only four riders finished behind Pedersen, and that’s obviously not what we’re used to seeing from him, even if he’s deliberately taking a day off. “There’s clearly still something that isn’t quite right. Otherwise, even on a bad day, I’d be right there in a finish like that. We remain confident that our luck will turn around.”

And if that doesn't happen? Then Pedersen might just call it quits earlier this week or next, he said on TV2. “It could be that my legs will be back in top form in a few days, so it would be a shame to go home already. But things could also stay this way, and then it might make more sense to catch the first flight home.”