Mads Pedersen sets ambitious Vuelta target: ‘I want 15 before I stop’
The Lidl-Trek leader is targeting multiple stage victories in Spain and expects another showdown with Wout van Aert as he chases a major Grand Tour milestone.
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Mads Pedersen will head to the Vuelta a España with more than simply another three weeks of racing in mind.
After winning a stage and the green jersey at the Tour de France, the Dane has set his sights on adding to his tally of Grand Tour victories in Spain.
“A couple of stage wins would be lovely,” Pedersen said on his Lang Distance podcast.
The 30-year-old currently has 12 Grand Tour stage victories, but has already identified the figure he wants to reach before the end of his career.
“I would like to get to 15 before I stop,” he said.
Pedersen recently revealed that he plans to retire after the 2029 UCI Road World Championships in Copenhagen, when he will be 33. The home championships would provide what he considers an ideal final race, with his desire to start a family and the physical demands of professional cycling both influencing his decision to stop relatively early.
Pedersen has won five stages at the Giro d’Italia, three at the Tour and four at the Vuelta. Three victories in Spain would allow him to reach that target immediately, a possibility he joked would mean he no longer had to win another Grand Tour stage.
His most recent success came on stage 4 of this year’s Tour, where he led home a Lidl-Trek one-two alongside Quinn Simmons. He later carried the green jersey to Paris, completing his collection of points classification victories across all three Grand Tours and becoming only the fourth rider to achieve the feat, after Eddy Merckx, Djamolidine Abdoujaparov and Laurent Jalabert.
The Vuelta has already provided some of the biggest wins of Pedersen’s career. He claimed three stages and the points jersey in 2022, before returning in 2025 to take another stage victory and win the classification for a second time.
This year, however, his focus is firmly on adding more victories.
Another Van Aert duel awaits
Those opportunities could bring Pedersen into direct competition with Wout van Aert once again.
The pair went head to head on several occasions during the 2025 Giro, producing a series of closely fought finales. With both riders set to start the Vuelta, Pedersen expects that rivalry to resume in Spain.
Asked whether the race would deliver another rematch, he was in little doubt.
“You can bet on that,” he said.
The route should give both riders several chances. Although only four stages are officially classified as flat, a number of hilly days could also suit their combination of speed, endurance and classics strength.
The race begins in Monaco on August 22 and finishes in Granada on September 13.
Pedersen has already started preparing for the conditions he is likely to face. After taking a few easier days following the Tour, he rode a criterium and completed several relaxed training rides before the start of his programme.
That training block begins on Monday and will include heat sessions aimed at preparing him for the high temperatures expected during the Vuelta.
“It is going to be brutal, so I might as well get used to it,” Pedersen said.
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