Pedersen kicks off 'comeback' with a bang, but remains tight-lipped about new Trek bike

"I love racing in France, from big to small events. It's always well-organized and fun to race, so it's nice to win," Pedersen said in the flash interview. The 2019 world champion has won several races in France this year. "Carlos (Verona, ed.) led well all day long. Even with two men at the front, we rode very hard, after which Alex Kirsch executed the lead-out to perfection. Toms Skujins did a great job before him too, and Ryan (Gibbons, ed.) ended up positioning me well as the last man, so it was a textbook lead-out."

With that, the North-European returned to competition winningly (and with a bang). "Every victory gives confidence. I cycle to win, so that's great," Pedersen said, expecting that he might lose his jersey on Monday. The stage will finish on the Col de la Loge, which is less challenging than its name suggests. "I don't think it will be for me. As a leader, no one will let me break away, so we will take control to honor the jersey. We also have two GC men, and that will also be part of my task," Pedersen says, referring to Tao Geoghegan Hart and Giulio Ciccone.

After that first response, it was time for Pedersen to perform some ceremonial duties, after which he came to the press conference as the day's winner and first wearer of the yellow jersey. IDLProCycling.com was also present. "I am really happy with my eighth victory of the season, especially after such a long period of not racing," he began. Indeed, April 7 was when he last competed (in Paris-Roubaix). "During that period, I only trained. However, racing is so different. In this Dauphiné, there are only two real opportunities for sprinters, so starting with a triumph is very nice."

It's a well-known fact in the cycling world that Pedersen does not like going on high-altitude training. "I f*cking hate it. No, I don't do it, even if my coach would say so. Even if I could gain two or three percent? I don’t give a f*ck," he told this website last December. The topic also came up in the press room at Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule. "After Roubaix, I definitely needed some rest," he first says, addressing his period of no racing. "If you've been fully focused since January, that's a really long time. So that was one of the reasons I didn't race for a while. Just one week of complete rest is really needed for me in that scenario. I am also glad that the team supports me in this. For myself, it's also a mental recharge, after which I can fully focus on racing again."

"I only did a high-altitude training camp in my first year with the team," he continued his story about the training camps. "To be honest, I really hate sitting on a mountain like that. I just hate it. Not in the least because you're almost always lying around in your hotel room. And I think I spend enough nights in a hotel room each year as it is. In terms of the physical aspect, going up to altitude is probably best. However, I find it very important to take my own mental state into account in that equation. Having a non-cycling life occasionally is also important. It's really not for me," he states once again, loud and clear. "And so far, things have always gone well this way."

The conversation switches gears, landing on Pedersen's countryman Jonas Vingegaard. As is now widely known, there is a lot of uncertainty about his possible participation in the Tour. When asked, Pedersen states that he actually has little contact with his countryman, for various reasons. "We've never been on the same team or anything like that. Even at the junior level, we hardly competed against each other. Then you don't really get to know each other. We're also from different parts of Denmark. We do see each other when racing, but then there's hardly time to chat. As a GC rider, he has to be focused all the time. So it's definitely not a friendship. But when I do talk to him, which isn't often, I like his personality."

At the end of the press conference, shortly after Pedersen indicated that he would prefer an Olympic title to another year in the rainbow jersey ("I've ridden this year's World Championship course and it's really not for me"), there was another question about Lidl-Trek's equipment. Cyclingnews had reported a day earlier that the team would be racing on a new model Trek bike (starting from the Dauphiné). After IDLProCycling.com inquired about this with team director Steven de Jongh (on Saturday), that picture could indeed be confirmed (the bike is probably being properly launched at the end of June), although Pedersen himself did not seem keen to respond on Sunday afternoon. "No comment," he said briefly but emphatically. Cyclingnews also did not exactly specify what the model was (Madone or Emonda?), but it is clear that something has changed. The key to success as we head towards the Tour? To be continued...