A few extra pounds, elevated heart rate and gasping for breath to overtake recreational cyclists: Mads Pedersen is back in training

Even the top specialists in the peloton cannot escape suffering when they get back on the bike after the holidays. A few days ago, Pidcock admitted that he hated not being in shape, and now it is Mads Pedersen who has shared how his first training sessions for 2027 are going, with some extra kilos, elevated heart rates, and the obsession of not letting amateur cyclists pass him on the climbs.

Mads Pedersen's pride does not understand preseason

The 2027 season is already underway for many professionals, although the first weeks of preparation are far from resembling the training they do when they are in peak form. Mads Pedersen has just realized this after five weeks of disconnection, a period during which he has left behind the demands of competition and gained some weight.

The Lidl-Trek rider has talked about his return to the bike in the episode Scandinavian hippies eh, published on November 10 in his podcast Lang Distance, which he hosts alongside Jakob Egholm. And he has done so with quite a sense of humor, acknowledging that, no matter how many years he has been competing at the highest level, he still makes the same mistakes when he returns to training.

One of Pedersen's problems is that his competitive nature seems to recover much faster than his physical condition. The Dane resides in Monaco, and much of his training routes force him to face climbs practically from the moment he leaves home. This makes it especially difficult to maintain a low intensity during the first days.

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"The problem is that here I start directly going uphill. I can't ride at 220 watts. Just to maintain some speed, I have to push between 250 and 270 watts.", he explains.

However, what really complicates his outings is encountering other cyclists on the road. When his podcast partner suggests the possibility of letting amateurs pass him, Pedersen laughs and admits that he prefers to increase the effort.

"I prefer to go at 170 heartbeats." And the former world champion even has his own strategy to disguise the suffering when he manages to overtake other cyclists.

"I'm completely out of breath, but as soon as I pass them, I close my mouth, shift to an easier gear, and increase the cadence. Then, just after I pass the next corner, I open my mouth again and start gasping."

An anecdote that reflects just how much he retains his competitive instinct, even when his fitness level is still far from what he needs to compete.

"I make the same mistake every year"

Beyond the jokes, Pedersen acknowledges that returning to training requires some adaptation. After several weeks of rest, the sensations on the bike change considerably, and the efforts that were once comfortable start to take their toll again.

"It was tough. The heart rates shoot up.", he explains about his first outings.

The Dane admits that during the holidays he has gained some weight and that he now needs to gradually regain his physical condition. The problem is that, at times, he tries to train as if he were still in the middle of the season.

"When you're in shape, you can go out for two hours with a little sugar in the bottle and everything goes well. I make the same mistake every year. In the first three or four outings, I end up completely exhausted."

Pedersen also acknowledges that he has previously tried to accelerate the loss of the gained kilos by going out only with water in his bottles. A decision that has led him to run out of energy when he still hadn't regained his capacity to endure those efforts.

This time he intends to avoid it by bringing food during training and approaching the first weeks of preparation differently.

Five weeks of rest before building form for 2027

Pedersen's statements offer an unusual perspective on professional cycling. In a discipline where training loads, nutrition, and recovery are increasingly monitored, the Dane openly acknowledges that he needs a period of rest and that returning to his best level requires effort.

His testimony also demonstrates that being used to competing among the best in the world does not mean maintaining that ability throughout the year.

Now he has the work ahead of him to regain the sensations, readapt his body to training loads, and prepare for the upcoming season. Although, from what he says, there is one thing he won't need to train: his desire to compete against anyone who crosses his path on a climb.