Pedersen goes for Giro-Tour combo: "I'm only going for the purple jersey, not the green"

Mads Pedersen can rightfully count himself as one of the highlights of the first week of the Giro. The amiable Danish rider, who became the world champion in 2019, claimed victory in stage six (from and to Napoli) and also collected a significant number of top finishes. On the first rest day, IDLProCycling.com participated in a (remarkably short) online press conference with the Trek-Segafredo team leader.

The questions the attending ladies and gentlemen of the press had prepared for Pedersen mainly revolved around the COVID-19 issues in the Giro d'Italia, his ambitions for the second and third weeks of the Italian stage race and his plans for the Tour de France, for which he is also listed on the provisional starting list. Regarding the latter, the 27-year-old rider definitely rules out a potential pursuit of the green jersey. "That is certainly not a goal," he said.

"Never said that I would start the Tour de France in good form anyway," Pedersen further explains his choice for the Giro-Tour combo

The past has repeatedly shown - with exceptions, of course - that the Giro-Tour combination does not always result in a happy marriage. When asked by this website how he envisions performing at a high level in both the remaining Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France, Pedersen responded cleverly, saying, "I never said that I would start the Tour de France in good form anyway. Our main goal currently is simply the Giro and winning the points classification. We will see how it goes in the Tour later on. I think it's possible to combine the two races at a top level, but it's not on my mind right now. We still have two weeks of Giro ahead of us, and right now that is what we are focusing on."

In the upcoming Giro stages, on paper there seem to be several routes that suit Pedersen's strengths, starting with the stage after the rest day (towards Viareggio). Pedersen acknowledges these opportunities, saying, "indeed, there are a number of good opportunities coming up. I will certainly try to gather as many points as possible for the points classification. We will take it day by day. Together with some other teams, we have already tried to drop the pure sprinters during hilly stages, and we have succeeded. But it's not easy, so we will really have to assess it day by day. I don't want to exhaust the whole team for a single stage, so we have to be careful about that."

Pedersen, who as a child barely watched cycling on television, has completed the 'holy trilogy'

When Pedersen claimed victory in the sixth stage of the 106th edition of the Giro d'Italia, he completed the 'holy trilogy'. He joined the illustrious list of riders who have won a stage in each of the three Grand Tours. Looking at that list, one can see that the strong Danish rider has joined the ranks of cycling legends such as Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault. Mark Cavendish and Peter Sagan have also achieved the same feat. In short, anyone whose name is on that list often serves as an inspiration for many young children who aspire to start cycling. Speaking to IDLProCycling.com, Pedersen reveals that he didn't really have an idol who led him towards the proverbial cycling path as a child. "I was just a kid who enjoyed riding a bike. I didn't even watch cycling on TV that often. So, there is no idol involved," says Pedersen. As a closing remark during the brief press conference, he mentions that his best friend in the peloton is his teammate and roommate, Alex Kirsch.