Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) says his top-end sprint is not yet fully back after his February crash, explaining that recent training has been limited to seated efforts peaking around 1250W, compared with the 1600–1700W he typically reaches when sprinting out of the saddle.
Speaking on the Lang Distance podcast on Monday, he said, "There’s a big difference between peaking at around 1250 watts seated and doing a sprint where you peak at 1600–1700 watts."
“I’ve honestly also had a bit of trouble with these sprints recently. Because I haven’t trained sprints for two months, since I haven’t been able to get out of the saddle to sprint. So they’ve been seated efforts instead.
"So I can feel it – for example when I had to sprint in E3 – the top-end speed is still missing a bit.”
The admission comes days before Pedersen is due to lead Lidl-Trek at Dwars door Vlaanderen on April 1 and the Tour of Flanders on April 5. In cobbled classics decided by reduced sprints or final accelerations over short, that top sprint power threshold can separate a winner from a top-five finisher.
"If you’re missing 5–10%, then it’s really damn hard to make the difference," he said.
Pedersen fractured his right collarbone and left wrist in a crash at the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana on February 4. Surgery followed, and the early expectation was that the injury could derail his spring campaign. Instead, doctors were surprised by the speed of his rehabilitation, and Pedersen was cleared to race again by March 19, in time for Milan-San Remo.
Despite his description of a slow recovery, his results since returning suggest the overall race engine is close to competitive standard, even if the finishing kick is not. Pedersen placed fourth at Milan-San Remo and ninth at the E3 Saxo Classic, where he said positioning rather than power had cost him. "It was one of those days where I was a passenger in the bunch," he said of the E3 race. "I couldn’t really make the difference [...] so I had to accept that it could still end in a solid result if I rode smart rather than relying on horsepower."
Pedersen attributed the ninth place result to positioning rather than wattage, noting that the rhythm and instincts required for classics racing are still part of his recovery process.
Sole leadership after Stuyven and Hoole exits
Alongside the power update, Pedersen confirmed on the podcast that there is "no doubt" about his captaincy at Lidl-Trek for the cobbled classics block. The statement reflects a reshaped team hierarchy following the departures of Jasper Stuyven and Daan Hoole.
Stuyven left Lidl-Trek for Soudal-Quickstep on a three-year contract after 12 seasons with the team.
Hoole, who moved to Decathlon-CMA CGM, noted that spring duties at Lidl-Trek had been shaped around "Mads and Jasper." Both exits remove riders who could previously share the classics workload or serve as second options when the race situation demanded it.
The result is that Pedersen leads without a second option of comparable standing. Lidl-Trek still has depth around him for the Flanders block, with Mathias Vacek, Søren Kragh Andersen and Edward Theuns among those expected on the Tour of Flanders start list. At Dwars door Vlaanderen, Jonathan Milan adds a different finishing option if the race comes together for a larger sprint.
Pedersen was forced to skip In Flanders Fields over the weekend due to illness, though he stressed on Instagram that the withdrawal was unrelated to the wrist: "This is nothing to do with the wrist, the wrist is moving forward."
Dwars door Vlaanderen and the Ronde will show whether his recovery has been fast enough to win a monument.
Cover image credit: Zac Williams/SWpix.com
