Mads Pedersen

Pedersen grew up in Tølløse, on Zealand, and took the sprint for second at the 2013 junior world championships in Florence, three seconds behind a solo Mathieu van der Poel. He turned professional in 2014 with a Danish second-division team and spent three seasons outside the WorldTour before Trek signed him for 2017, the only WorldTour team he has ridden for.

He rode the finale of the 2018 Tour of Flanders without teammates, was passed by Niki Terpstra on the Oude Kwaremont and held on for second, twelve seconds down and clear of Philippe Gilbert and Michael Valgren. Eighteen months later, in cold rain at Harrogate, he beat Matteo Trentin and Stefan Küng in a three-man sprint after 262 kilometres to become the first Dane to win the men's elite road race title.

He won Gent-Wevelgem in 2020, 2024 and 2025, the last of those after going clear with 55 kilometres to ride. The Monuments have gone elsewhere: third at Paris-Roubaix in 2024 and 2025, both won by Mathieu van der Poel, and second at the 2025 Tour of Flanders behind Tadej Pogačar.

He won three stages and the points classification at the 2022 Vuelta a España, and took Tour de France stages in 2022 and 2023. At the 2025 Giro d'Italia he won four stages, held the pink jersey for five days until the summit finish at Tagliacozzo, and finished the race in ciclamino. He then won the green jersey at the 2025 Vuelta, a Giro and Vuelta points double last managed by Eddy Merckx in 1973.

He is fast enough to win a bunch sprint but rarely waits for one, preferring to thin the group on cobbles or a late climb and beat whoever is left. At the 2025 Vuelta he rode into mountain breakaways to collect intermediate points, a tactic most sprinters have no use for, and won stage 15 at Monforte de Lemos out of a nine-rider group.