'Something is clearly not as it should be' - Mads Pedersen's struggles continue at Vuelta

The Dane was surprisingly distanced with 30km remaining on stage 10, but although he suggested afterwards that leaving the Vuelta early could be a possibility, he expressed a preference to finish the race in preparation for the World Championships in Montreal.

“I don’t know really what to say, the level is not there right now,” Pedersen told Eurosport after stage 10. “You know it’s not the shape. The shape is good enough, but something is clearly not as it should be. So I think now is the time to really look at it, instead of saying ‘In a few days, maybe…’ Now we go back and we will see what the best plan will be for the next part of the race.”

On the rest day of the Vuelta, Pedersen had revealed in his own Lang Distance podcast that he had been suffering with a sore throat in recent days, though he showed a glimmer of form in sprinting to second place behind Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) in Xeraco on stage 8.

Pedersen was quick to stress that he wished to remain in the Vuelta with a view to building towards the Montreal Worlds on September 27, though he conceded that his Lidl-Trek team would have a say in the matter.

“Now we go to the bus, and we start the rest for tomorrow and then we will see,” Pedersen said when asked if he was considering abandoning the Vuelta. 

“It’s more than one guy who have to take this decision. Of course, I would like to keep going in the race, but also it has to make sense at one point. For me, I’m not on the way home. I still believe that it will turn, and it’s still a long way to Granada, and I still believe this is a good preparation for World Championships.

“Even if right now, it looks like we have some stronger contenders to take my spot for Worlds, I believe staying here and keep riding will be the best thing to do for championships.”

Pedersen won the Worlds in Harrogate in 2019, and he placed fourth at the Glasgow Worlds four years later. 

Although Pedersen suffered a broken collarbone and wrist on his first day of racing in 2026 at the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, he made a rapid return to action, placing fourth at Milan-Sanremo, fifth at the Tour of Flanders and seventh at Paris-Roubaix. 

He went on to claim the green jersey the Tour after an all-action display across the three weeks, completing a full set of Grand Tour points classification victories.

After Pedersen was distanced on Tuesday, Sven Nys became Lidl-Trek’s option in the finale, and the Belgian sprinted to third behind surprise winner Bastien Tronchon (Groupama-FDJ United).

“He will get his win, and I hope it will be in this Vuelta, he deserves it,” Pedersen said. “The big one will come for him.”