Pedersen Tour auction helps Denmark field full U23 squad at Worlds

Mads Pedersen has helped Denmark field a full team in the men’s U23 road race at the World Championships after auctioning memorabilia from his Tour de France points classification victory.

Kevin Biehl and Emil Nymand have been added to the Danish squad after extra funding was secured by the Danish Cycling Union.

In a press release on Monday morning, the federation credited cost conscious work within its elite sports division under national coach Michael Mørkøv, as well as a significant contribution from Pedersen.

The Lidl-Trek rider donated several items from this year’s Tour de France for auction, with the proceeds going towards sending additional young Danish riders to the World and European Championships.

Among the items being auctioned are a race worn green skinsuit, gloves, socks and Pedersen’s race number from stage 21, together with a signed helmet.

"I have been working to make this a reality all year, and thanks to cost conscious efforts within the elite sports division and, not least, a major contribution from Mads Pedersen, we have now succeeded. That makes me incredibly happy and proud," Mørkøv said in the federation’s press release.

The additional funding means Denmark can now use all six places available to them in the men’s U23 road race on 25 September.

Biehl and Nymand will join Noah Andersen, Patrick Frydkjær, Mads Landbo and Kristian Egholm, the younger brother of Pedersen's Lang Distance podcast cohost and 2016 junior world champion Jakob Egholm.

The expanded team has been warmly welcomed by Noah Lindholm Møller Andersen, one of Denmark’s leading medal hopes for the U23 road race.

Lindholm told Feltet that Pedersen’s contribution gives Denmark’s young riders both a stronger team for the road race and an important opportunity to develop on the international stage.

"I think it is fantastic what Mads has done and that the Danish Cycling Union was able to make this happen. It gives us the opportunity to start the World Championships with a full team, and that is an experience we can learn an incredible amount from," Lindholm told Feltet.

He believes having six riders rather than four could also make a significant difference tactically during the road race.

"It is an advantage for us to have more riders at the start. We can help each other and hopefully achieve a really strong result."

For riders such as Biehl, the opportunity could prove valuable beyond the race itself.

"For someone like Kevin, who is in his final year as an U23 rider, this is a huge opportunity to show what he can do. It could potentially shape his future after this race," Lindholm said.

"That shows how much it means and how important it is for us as young riders and for our development to compete at these World Championships."

Pedersen is also preparing for his own World Championships campaign after a difficult end to the Vuelta a España.

The Dane abandoned the Vuelta before the start of stage 11 due to illness and has now revealed that he only began feeling completely recovered in the last couple of days.

Speaking on his Lang Distance podcast, Pedersen explained that the worst symptoms continued for almost a week after he left the race.

"For about six or seven days after I stopped racing, it was really rough. Then I was able to start cycling a little again, and it’s only been in the last couple of days that I’ve felt completely fine," said Pedersen in an episode released on Monday.

Despite the disruption to his preparation, Pedersen believes withdrawing from the Vuelta was the right decision with the World Championships in Montréal approaching.

"But stopping the Vuelta was the right decision, because now I have enough time to train hard and be ready for the World Championships. I wouldn't have had that if I’d stayed in the Vuelta."

Pedersen had been expected to lead Denmark alongside Mattias Skjelmose, who also raced the Vuelta.

However, Skjelmose suffered from illness during the final week in Spain and later withdrew from Denmark’s World Championships squad.

That leaves 2019 world champion Pedersen as Denmark’s main figure for the elite men’s road race as he continues his final preparations for Montréal.