Mads Pedersen has no raced in July, but the wait for his return will be over next week with start at the home Tour of Denmark where Pedersen will defend his 2023 throne. Afterwards he should take on the Vuelta a Espana and also the Tour de Luxembourg where he won a stage last year. But the 29-year-old’s season will not end there, he reveals. At least as long as the national coach of Denmark nominates Pedersen for the European Championships in France at the start of October.It will be a busy and half for Pedersen with up to 31 days of racing already, but the winner of 10 Grand Tour stages will not mind add two more. “Once Luxembourg is over, there are only 10 days until the European Championships, and I hope the national coach selects me for that,” the Dane reveals a new target in his podcast Lang Distance.
The race in Ardeche will feature three times a 7-kilometer 7% climb Saint Romain de Lerps before riders enter a smaller local cicuit with a combination of two very steep climbs Val d’Enfer (1.5 km at 9.9%) and Montee De Costebelle (300 meters at 12%). A circuit that will be contested three and a half times. Maybe a bit too hard, but it’s not a bad course for the versatile Dane… Except his main objective is not the road race at all!
Instead, the Danish time trial champion aims to add also a European time trial title to his growing palmares. “It’s 24 kilometers, and 22 of those are flat. In the last two kilometers, there’s a climb of six to seven percent. It might be my only chance ever. So now we’ll see if it works out. It will be fun to try if I’m selected. So there’s plenty to look forward to in the coming months.”