Mads Pedersen makes surprise Milan-Sanremo return after rapid recovery

Earlier this week, team management indicated that Milan-Sanremo was out of reach, with the focus firmly on a return during the Flemish Classics. Pedersen himself had described the timeline as “damn difficult”, making his presence on the start line in Italy an unexpected development.

The Danish rider sustained the injury at the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana and was initially facing a race against time simply to be ready for the cobbled campaign. Instead, a carefully managed rehabilitation has accelerated his return.

“Mads’ recovery has progressed as well as we could have hoped, if not better,” said Dr Jens Hinder, Head of Rider Welfare in a statement released by the team. “With fractures, the central challenge is always timing. Mobilise too early and you risk the repair, but immobilise the joint for four weeks and you then face a further two to three weeks rebuilding range of motion.

“We took a carefully managed approach, introducing gentle wrist loading early, beginning on the rollers in Mallorca, then progressing to a gravel bike with adapted handlebars, always within strict parameters to ensure there was no risk to the fracture site. Mads’ attitude throughout made a real difference. His positive mindset was a genuine factor in both the healing and rehabilitation process. All medical checks confirm he is ready to race.”

A start at La Primavera had not been part of the plan, but strong training data in recent days shifted the outlook.

“Honestly, the plan was not to race Sanremo,” Pedersen said himself. “But we have done some really good training and we wanted to see specific numbers to have a chance to make a good result in this race as well.

“After a few hard trainings this week, we believe that it is a good decision to race again, pin the numbers on, and get comfortable in a race again. Of course, the doctors and my coach also had a say in how and when I could come back. Dr Jens did a lot of examinations with me and my hand and he is 100 percent confident that I am able to race again already, so it’s pretty nice to be back already.”

Pedersen has been one of the most consistent performers at Milano Sanremo in recent years, with a fourth place in 2024 and multiple top ten finishes. He is set to start this weekend alongside Mathias Vacek and Søren Kragh Andersen, although the rest of Lidl-Trek’s line up has yet to be confirmed. It is already clear that Jonathan Milan will not take part on Saturday, after the Italian fell ill following Tirreno-Adriatico.