Mads Pedersen handed major World Championships boost after Vuelta illness

The former world champion left the Vuelta before stage 11 after an infection required a course of antibiotics. At the time, Pedersen had already been struggling for several days, with his condition increasingly affecting his performances.

Now, with the elite men’s road race in Montreal on September 27 fast approaching, there is positive news from his camp.

Pedersen has completed his course of antibiotics and is no longer ill, according to his Lidl-Trek coach Mattias Reck. The Dane was due to return to the bike for a couple of easy hours on Sunday, with proper training expected to resume at the start of this week.

“I spoke to him on Saturday and he said he was feeling better and better, so on Sunday he was going to ride for a couple of hours,” Reck told TV 2 Sport.

Asked whether Pedersen had finished his antibiotics, Reck confirmed that he had. He also confirmed that the 30-year-old was now healthy again.

That allows Pedersen to turn his full attention towards Montreal after his Vuelta campaign came to a premature end.

Pedersen completed ten stages of the Vuelta before Lidl-Trek decided there was little value in pushing on while he was unwell.

According to Reck, the situation had been difficult to judge because Pedersen spent several days in a grey area between being healthy and properly sick. 

The team initially hoped he could recover while remaining in the race, particularly with Pedersen expected to support Mattias Skjelmose as well as chase stage victories himself.

Eventually, however, recovery took priority.

The decision could now give Pedersen a better opportunity to prepare specifically for the World Championships rather than trying to regain his health while completing a Grand Tour.

“Now that we have taken him out, I hope he can start training really well again soon,” Reck said. “We all know that Mads is very good at training, so I’m positive, but he also needs to get going soon.”

Reck hopes Pedersen can resume proper training on Monday or Tuesday, leaving him with just under three weeks to prepare for the road race in Montreal.

“We’ll start with some endurance blocks, then we’ll add intervals and heat training, because he is very good at that, and then we’ll head to Canada,” Reck explained.

The shortened preparation means there are still questions over exactly what level Pedersen can reach by September 27.

His disrupted Vuelta was originally supposed to form an important part of his build up towards the World Championships. Instead, he now has around three weeks to recover fully and sharpen his condition for one of his biggest remaining objectives of the season.

Reck is not making any promises. 

Asked whether he could guarantee that Pedersen would arrive at the World Championships in top form, the coach replied: “I can’t promise anything, but I’m positive.”