A real surprise: Mads Pedersen will line up at the start of Milan-Sanremo on Saturday. The Lidl-Trek rider has received the green light to race following an early recovery from the wrist fracture sustained at the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana.

The Danish rider's rehabilitation has progressed faster than initially expected, with the team adopting a carefully managed approach to his return to racing.

"Mads' recovery has progressed according to our expectations, if not even better - said Dr. Jens Hinder, Head of Rider Wellness. - With fractures, the main challenge is always timing: mobilizing too early means risking compromising bone repair, but immobilizing the joint for four weeks then requires another two or three weeks to recover mobility. We adopted a carefully planned approach, introducing light load on the wrist from the start, beginning on the rollers in Majorca and then moving to a gravel bike with an adapted handlebar, always within strict parameters to ensure there was no risk to the fracture site. Mads' attitude made the difference; his positive mindset was a determining factor both for healing and rehabilitation. All medical checks confirm that he is ready to race."

Pedersen himself admitted that participating in the Classicissima was not in the initial plans, but that intense training over the last few days has convinced both the rider and the team of the validity of the decision.

"Honestly, the plan wasn't to race at Sanremo - said Pedersen - but we've trained very well and we wanted to see specific numbers to have the opportunity to get a good result in this race too. After some intense training sessions this week, we believe it's a good decision to return to racing, test the numbers on the jersey and find our rhythm in competition. Of course, the doctors and my coach also had a say in how and when I could return. Dr. Jens examined me thoroughly, including my hand, and he's 100% confident that I'm already able to race, so it's really great to be back already. It's fantastic to be at this point and start here in Italy. It's also a good starting point with the Belgian Classics in mind".