Mads Pedersen has made a triumphant return to his homeland and has taken the win on the opening stage of the 2025 Tour of Denmark following an attacking day in the saddle by him and his Lidl-Trek teammates.
Six riders got themselves into the day’s early breakaway. Among the notable names on the attack were UAE’s Julius Johansen, riding for the Danish national team, Victor Vercouillie of Team Flanders – Baloise and Marius Innhaug Dahl (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Development Team). After things settled into a rhythm after the initial split, with 42km to go, the race was ignited once again by a dangerous counter-move by Lidl-Trek’s Soren Kragh Andersen.
Whilst that move was unsuccessful, Lidl-Trek weren’t frustrated and moments after Kragh Andersen was caught, none other than Mads Pedersen countered with an attack of his own, with Mattias Skjelmose joining him. Heading into the final 20km, Johansen and Magnus Bak Klaris were the only riders from the original break still clear, with the Pedersen – Skjelmose group around 20 seconds behind, and the main peloton a minute down.