Lidl-Trek have confirmed that their versatile sprinter Mads Pedersen will continue in the 2024 Tour de France despite a heavy fall on stage 5.
Pedersen suffered a big blow to his left shoulder and back as he crashed into the barriers late on the stage, won by Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan) for a record-breaking 35th time, but initial x-rays revealed no fractures.
Following his fall, Pedersen had a lucky escape from further potential injury thanks to Cofidis leadout man Axel Zingle neatly bunny-hopping across the Dane as he lay on the ground close to the Saint Vulbas finish.
The team said they would revise the situation overnight and announced Thursday morning he will continue to race.
"We can confirm that Mads Pedersen will start stage 6 today," read a message from Lidl-Trek's press team at 10:26 CEST, three hours before the scheduled start in Mâcon.
Pedersen also posted early on his social media this morning that "Icebaths are my best friend these days" as he continued his recovery to ensure a start was possible.
A former World Champion, Pedersen has a seventh and a fourth place so far in the 2024 Tour de France on the stages into Rimini and Turin. He is currently running second in the green jersey competition behind Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) and won the intermediate sprint early on the mountainous stage 4.
With two stage wins to his name in 2023 and 2022 and considered a major sprint player in the Tour, Pedersen would normally have been a clear candidate for victory in today’s flat stage into Dijon, but it remains to be seen how quickly he recovers from his bad fall.
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