Mads Pedersen withdraws from Vuelta, leaving sprinters field even thinner

After his crash in the Tour, Pedersen, who won multiple stages and the points classification in the Vuelta two years ago, began a race against time to make the Paris Olympic Games. The strong rider recovered from his injuries in time and is set to lead the team in the Olympic road race in the French capital on Saturday.

After the Olympics, he will not head to the Vuelta a España as planned, which starts on August 17 in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon. Instead, Pedersen will, just like last year, participate in a series of races including the Tour of Poland, Tour of Germany, European Championships in Belgian Limburg, Tour of Luxembourg, possibly the World Championships and Paris Tours. He confirmed this to Ekstra Bladet.

The Tour of Germany will be especially significant as main sponsor Lidl of Lidl-Trek is also the title sponsor of this race, starting from this year. Meanwhile, fellow countryman Mattias Skjelmose will defend Lidl-Trek's honor in the Vuelta a España, where Tao Geoghegan Hart may also start after missing the Tour de France.

With Pedersen's withdrawal, the sprinters' field in the Vuelta a España thins further, removing a key competitor for Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike) in the points classification.