Mads Pedersen is clear about his main objective for the final Grand Tour of the year – stage wins and the points jersey at the Vuelta a España. The Dane arrives in Turin after a commanding display at the Tour of Denmark and a season that has already delivered four Giro stage victories, the cyclamen jersey, and another win at Gent-Wevelgem.
“My first goal is to win some stages, and then hopefully that puts me in a good place for the points jersey,” Pedersen said ahead of Saturday’s opening stage from Turin to Novara. “Having all three Grand Tour points jerseys won by the team in one year would be the cherry on the top.”
Lidl-Trek’s line-up has been built around giving Pedersen the best chance to deliver. Søren Kragh Andersen and Daan Hoole will form his lead-out, while Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier, Andrea Bagioli, Julien Bernard and Carlos Verona provide support across the three weeks. Giulio Ciccone will share leadership, with the Italian targeting the mountains jersey and stage victories on the climbing days.
Photo Credit: GettyReady to start fast
The flat opening stage already presents Pedersen with a chance to pull on the first red leader’s jersey, though Jasper Philipsen, Bryan Coquard, Ethan Vernon, Jake Stewart, Elia Viviani and Casper van Uden will provide stiff competition.
“It makes it tougher to win stage 1, but nothing is impossible,” Pedersen said. “I was racing against Philipsen in Denmark, and I have beaten him before in the sprint. Okay, just one sprint out of many, but it gives me enough belief in myself and the team that hopefully we can start this Vuelta with a good result.”
Pedersen has shown he can win in multiple ways, taking sprints, reduced bunch finishes and long-range moves. That versatility gives him chances throughout the Vuelta’s rolling and transitional stages, not only on the flatter days.
“The numbers are definitely good enough,” he said of his form. “It wasn’t possible to win like we did in Denmark without having the numbers where they should be. It was a good test for the Vuelta. The shape is definitely there, and I’m ready for the next three weeks.”
Photo Credit: GettyA shared plan with Ciccone
Giulio Ciccone returns to Grand Tour racing after his Giro crash and has already won at San Sebastián and Vuelta a Burgos. Like Pedersen, he is targeting stages rather than GC.
“On this team, we can deal with having two priorities,” Pedersen explained. “We can share the work, we can share the pressure, and we can share the results. We showed it already in the Giro and we believe we can do the same here.”
Ciccone added in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport: “I want to win stages and the mountains’ jersey after winning it at the Tour and the Giro. I like winning. Putting your arms in the air is 10,000 times better than going for the GC.”
Photo Credit: GettyTour ambitions can wait
Although the Dane was not selected for the Tour de France this year – with Jonathan Milan handed leadership for the sprints – he has no regrets. “It made me realise that the Tour de France is not everything,” Pedersen said. “You can have a good season without doing the Tour.”
That does not mean he has closed the door. “I’m not done with the Tour,” he insisted. “I’m still aiming to win the points jersey in the Tour one day. Some years the team have other plans. This year it was not me, but hopefully it could be next year.”
For now, though, all eyes are on the Vuelta, where Pedersen is chasing another points jersey and the chance to give Lidl-Trek a hat trick of Grand Tour points titles in 2025 after Milan’s Tour success and his own Giro triumph.
