'I prepared for this the whole winter' - Mads Pedersen and Lidl-Trek ride plan to perfection to triumph at Giro d'Italia

A lot of teamwork and a perfectly-judged plan delivered Pedersen to the pink jersey on stage one

Mads Pedersen and his Lidl-Trek team on stage one of the Giro d'Italia
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Asked on television after his victory on stage one of the Giro d'Italia what the plan had been, Mads Pedersen was reasonably curt.

"Like we did, you can see it on TV," the Lidl-Trek rider explained, edging on patronising his interviewer. "That was the exact plan, to push really hard on the climbs, make it a small group, and then a sprint at the end."

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Adam Becket
News editor

Adam is Cycling Weekly’s news editor – his greatest love is road racing but as long as he is cycling, he's happy. Before joining CW in 2021 he spent two years writing for Procycling. He's usually out and about on the roads of Bristol and its surrounds.

Before cycling took over his professional life, he covered ecclesiastical matters at the world’s largest Anglican newspaper and politics at Business Insider. Don't ask how that is related to riding bikes.

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