Mads Pedersen ends season due to illness, misses European Championships

Lidl–Trek confirmed the news on Friday: “Unfortunately, after a long and successful season, Mads has been taken out of action by illness. He will not race again this year.”

The 29-year-old Dane had outlined the Europeans as a late-season target, particularly the time trial, but his 15th place in Wednesday’s race against the clock already showed that something was wrong. His withdrawal means an abrupt end to a campaign that has brought some of the finest results of his career.

Pedersen’s 2025 highlights include a solo victory at Gent–Wevelgem, podiums at both the Tour of Flanders and Paris–Roubaix, four stage wins and the points jersey at the Giro d’Italia, and another stage win plus the points classification at the Vuelta a España. He also added the Danish national time trial title and overall victory at the Tour of Denmark, underlining his consistency across the calendar.

Denmark, however, remain strong contenders for Sunday’s road race. The team will be led by multiple Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard and 2025 Amstel Gold Race champion Mattias Skjelmose.

The absence of Pedersen will certainly be felt, both in his role as an outsider for the title and as a key part of the Danish squad. Vingegaard, still finding his feet in one-day racing, admitted after his Vuelta victory that he had hoped to lean on Pedersen’s experience. “I will lean on Mads Pedersen and Mattias Skjelmose,” he told Feltet.dk. “They are really good at one-day races, so I will learn a lot from them. In that sense, there is plenty of experience on the Danish national team.”

Pedersen, meanwhile, will now shift his focus to recovery and preparation for 2026 aiming to build on a campaign that confirmed his place among the very best in the world.