Lidl-Trek's Mads Pedersen may have seen his chances of competing at this year's spring Classics take a blow after fracturing his collarbone and wrist last week, but the Dane is already back on his bike.
On Monday, Pedersen, who in full health would be among the favourites for the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, posted an update to Instagram showing him already back on the indoor trainer.
Pedersen crashed on the opening stage of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, his first race day of the season, breaking his left wrist and right collarbone in the process.
He was taken to hospital and underwent surgery on Thursday, while the injuries have left his spring campaign up in the air. He had been scheduled to take on Milan-San Remo (March 21) as well as Flanders and Roubaix in April, though his spring schedule is now uncertain.
Pedersen posted an Instagram story on Monday giving an update on his progress. The video showed his bandaged wrist as he rode on the indoor trainer, with Pedersen posting the caption 'Reminder: enjoy the small steps forward'.
It remains to be seen how Pedersen's recovery will go and whether he'll be able to take part in the spring Classics, but Lidl-Trek could turn to a host of support riders, including Toms Skujinš, Jonathan Milan, Mathias Vacek, and Jakob Söderqvist, should he not make the cobbled races of March and April.
Pedersen's former teammate and Classics co-leader Jasper Stuyven, who moved to Soudal-QuickStep this season, told Sporza that he thinks Pedersen will be back in time for the Classics.
"Knowing him, Mads will be there, I think," he said.
"Normally, Mads would have gone on an altitude training camp until Paris-Nice, but now that's off. But if his recovery goes smoothly…
"The key for Mads will be when he can really put weight on his wrist again during training. That will largely determine how fit he is to start his spring. But Mads is certainly not someone you should write off just yet."
Two years ago, Stuyven broke his collarbone in a crash at Dwars door Vlaanderen. He was ruled out for the remainder of the Classics season, but was back racing a month later at the Giro d'Italia. Could Pedersen follow a similar timeline?
"Unlike Mads, I wasn't back on the rollers after five days. Not because my broken collarbone limited me, but because of the heavy impact of that nasty fall," Stuyven said.
"I couldn't breathe for the first few days and my rib cage was a bit bruised. That's why I didn't even think about getting on the bike at that point.
"Ten days after my crash, which was the day of Paris-Roubaix, I was back on the rollers for the first time. A month later, I made my comeback in the Giro."
