Pedersen prepares for Giro with bizarre training method: "It’s terrible, but terribly effective"

Pedersen isn’t preparing for the Giro with long outdoor rides. No, the Danish team leader locks himself indoors every day, riding for just an hour on rollers, completely bundled up in winter clothing. Like the Michelin Man, he pedals himself into the ground. “How I do it? I start at 270 watts,” he explains on the Long Distance podcast. “From there, I just let my heart rate climb until I’m done. In the last 15 minutes, I hold between 255 and 270 watts. My heart rate starts at 110 and ends around 175 or 180.”

The wattage may not sound extreme, but the suffering is. It sounds inhumane and Pedersen admits he hates it. “It’s terrible, but also terribly effective. It’s a brutal way to train. I’d rather ride seven hours a day for a whole week.” But in the end, the atypical training pays off. “It really works. It increases plasma in your blood and activates heat adaptation.” Blood plasma plays a crucial role in regulating body temperature and with sweltering heat expected in Italy, Pedersen looks ready for it.  

The Danish sprinter will start the Giro d’Italia for the fourth time, with this year’s edition kicking off in Albania. No Tour de France for the powerful Dane this season, Lidl–Trek has chosen Jonathan Milan for that. “That wasn’t an easy decision, because I would’ve loved to fight for green, but with Jonathan, we can win a lot more, so it’s a logical choice. It’s easier to win three or four times with him than with me,” Pedersen said earlier this year.

But the Giro is a great consolation price. Pedersen loves Italy and the first grand tour of the season, where he won a stage in 2023. This time around, he’s hoping for more of the same and the points jersey is a major goal for the fast man. But he’ll have to deal with the likes of Wout van Aert and Olav Kooij, both riding for Visma | Lease a Bike. There are six stages suited to pure sprinters, but plenty more that favor riders who can survive a climb or two.

Pedersen heads into the Giro d’Italia after what has likely been his best-ever spring classics campaign. Just like last year, he won Gent–Wevelgem, but it was in the Monuments where he truly impressed. After being hampered by a crash in Dwars door Vlaanderen in 2024, he came back strong this season with a podium in the Tour of Flanders (second behind Tadej Pogacar) and third in Paris–Roubaix, behind Mathieu van der Poel and Pogacar. And who knows what could have been, had he not suffered a puncture at a crucial moment in Paris–Roubaix?

At the Giro, Pedersen will essentially have full freedom, as Lidl–Trek is not planning to bring another sprinter. There may be GC ambitions for Giulio Ciccone, but that has worked well in the past, like in the 2023 Tour de France, where Pedersen helped Ciccone secure the polka dot jersey, while also winning a stage himself and frequently joining the breakaways. The competition at the Giro better be ready!