This year's Giro d'Italia has been dominated by Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), who has won half of the six stages and currently holds the overall lead. The 29-year-old Dane has etched his name into the history books of the Italian cycling tour – the last rider to achieve something similar was Mario Cipollini in 1997, when the sprint ace won stages 1, 3, and 4.
Although Pedersen took 24 hours longer to reach Cipollini's level, his win percentage remains impressive. Even Tadej Pogačar, who dominated the 2024 Giro with six stage wins and the overall victory, was not as successful in the early stages of the tour.
The 2019 World Champion frankly admitted that neither he nor the team expected such a winning streak. "It's crazy, more than we could have ever dreamed of. We wanted to be as good as possible in Albania and hoped to grab the pink jersey there. But now, having won three out of six stages – it's insane. I'm incredibly proud of the team and grateful that everyone has contributed so much to make this possible. I'm just very proud and happy with everything we are achieving right now."
Thanks to a strong start, Pedersen has extended his overall lead to 17 seconds over Primož Roglič (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe). He might lose this lead on today's 7th stage, as the route is mountainous and ends with a summit finish. Pedersen could remain at the top of the most aggressive rider classification for a long time. Can Pedersen maintain his high level until the end of the Giro, considering he has had shorter tours, Paris-Nice, and the spring classics behind him?
"I did a bit more endurance training in the winter to stay in good shape for as long as possible, but I agreed with my coach that I had to give it my all in the first half of the Giro to try and get the pink jersey, because my 'engine' might run out of steam later," said Pedersen.
Mads has some exciting news for you... 🩷#MadsForever pic.twitter.com/8IJ5jYsFtv
— Lidl-Trek (@LidlTrek) May 14, 2025
"Had I felt good, I would have loved to contest the stage victory also today, I’m a racer and I want to win, but when you hit the deck like I did today, it’s not that easy." - @Mads__Pedersen reacts to a less than ideal Stage 6 #GirodItalia
— Lidl-Trek (@LidlTrek) May 15, 2025
📰 https://t.co/yMSznKHOfl pic.twitter.com/dtXdplV8zM
