Pedersen reveals driving force during injury recovery - 'Paris-Roubaix was in the back of my mind all the time'
The former world champion has had to overcome injuries and illness to make it to the start line of Paris-Roubaix. Now Pedersen can dare to dream, and he can he even draw inspiration from Mathew Hayman, who endured a similarly disrupted preparation before his 2016 victory.
Mads Pedersen has endured a difficult comeback from a fractured wrist and collarbone in February to be fit enough to compete in the Spring Classic. The former World Champion has made a good fist of things so far, most recently finishing 5th at the Tour of Flanders.
Speaking at the Paris-Roubaix team presentation on Saturday, Pedersen admitted that Paris-Roubaix is the race that he had been most focused on returning at his best for, during the toughest moments in his recovery.
“I think this was the one where we could realistically think I would be back on a level where we could dream about winning races again,” Pedersen told CyclingProNet. “So I would say yes, Paris-Roubaix was in the back of my mind all the time.”
Despite the setbacks and the recent deficit that he faced against the likes of Tadej Pogačar and Mathieu van der Poel in Flanders, Pedersen believes that he can win if things fall into place when posed the question, but he knows how difficult the task ahead is.
“Yes. Otherwise, I would stay home. I believe it's possible, and I know it's really tough, especially with the guys at the start line and also the race didn't treat me super well so far,” said Pedersen.
“But we still believe in it, and then we still dream about winning, so we have to take every opportunity to do that.”
After two consecutive abandons in 2021 and 2022, Pedersen has been right to the fore, finishing fourth in 2023, before taking third in 2024 and 2025. Twelve months ago, the Dane suffered an untimely puncture, which cost him the chance to fight for victory.
Pedersen was asked about the iconic 2016, where Mathew Hayman was the surprise winner. Hayman won the Hell of the North, just five weeks after breaking his right radius bone during a crash at Omloop Nieuwsblad, and Pedersen admitted there are similarities in his current trajectory that he can also draw confidence from.
“It's kind of a similar story. So of course, when you see that, you know that everything is possible,” concluded Pedersen.
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