Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) has abandoned the Tour de France after struggling with injuries sustained in a crash on stage 5.
The Dane became the most high-profile name to withdraw from this year’s Tour as his team announced he would not take to the start line on stage 8.
Pedersen crashed at high speed in the bunch sprint on stage 5 – where Axel Zingle (Cofidis) was seen bunny-hopping over him to avoid crashing too – and battled on through the next two stages.
In an announcement posted on Saturday morning, Lidl-Trek said that “the range of movement in his left shoulder has worsened, making it almost impossible to handle the bike.”
They added, “Together with the Team, the decision was made that it was in Mads’ best interest to stop racing in order to undergo more detailed examinations to assess his injuries further and give him the proper rest and recovery needed to focus on his remaining goals this summer and the final part of the season.”
Initial scans revealed no fractures after he crashed near the line in Saint Vulbas, but the sprinter looked worse for wear during the subsequent stages. Stage 6, finishing in Dijon, was another sprint opportunity but the Dane could only manage to cross the line 15th, with his injuries evidently hampering his ride.
He was awarded the combativity award of the day for continuing despite being battered and bruised – but that may have aggravated the problem, as the podium presentation delayed him from getting his dressings changed.
Stage wins for Pedersen had been a major aim for the American squad, who were depleted before the race even began. Their general classification hopeful Tao Geoghegan Hart did not start the Tour as planned, following a fractured rib sustained at the Critérium du Dauphiné and subsequent Covid-19 infection.
The sprinter had hoped to add to his two-year streak of Tour de France victories as well as to contest the points classification. He sat second in the green jersey standings before abandoning, 38 points behind Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty).
The Gent-Wevelgem winner finished seventh on stage 1 and fourth on stage 3, the first real bunch sprint of this year’s race, and would – under normal circumstances – have been one of the favourites on the lumpy parcours of stage 8.
Lidl-Trek’s General Manager, Luca Guercilena, added that the focus would now turn to supporting climber Giulio Ciccone, who won the mountains classification at last year’s Tour.
“It is a big bummer to lose Mads like this, after having lost Tao [Geoghegan Hart] before the start,” Guercilena said. “That said we will still be in the game with Cicco and we will work out the plan B to race aggressively.”
