They call him "The Butcher" and in the group, whether it's because of his almost two meters in height or because of the aesthetically clean and extremely recognizable jersey of Swatt Club (the team he has been racing with since the beginning of the season), he absolutely does not go unnoticed. Beyond his imposing build, however, followers this year quickly learned to recognize Mads Andersen, whose real name and surname is "The Butcher," also by the physiognomy of his face which, on more than one occasion, they have seen leading the way in finishes and results of various races in this 2026.

In just over five months with the colors of President Carlo Beretta's team, the 2000-born rider from Odense has indeed strung together almost a third of the victories accumulated overall in his career (8), celebrated his first win among the pros (at the Tour of Hellas) and has already improved his personal record of podiums (7) and top tens (14) obtained in a single season in races of .2 level or higher, results that have made him an increasingly easily identifiable presence within the group.

Almost everywhere, therefore, displaying appreciable consistency, the twenty-five-year-old Scandinavian has managed to make his mark, playing a leading role from time to time thanks to a predisposition for hard work and astronomical power peaks that have allowed him to stand out in a truly wide range of situations: from small group sprints to finisher attacks, from long days spent in breakaways grinding watts to crosswinds (see the interpretation that earned him victory in March at the Olympia's Tour) and short individual time trials.

In all of this "The Butcher" (who, as he himself was keen to clarify from the start, "has never gotten his hands dirty with blood") has also managed to surprise with a dedication to the Swatt cause (evident from the times he has sacrificed himself without hesitation for his teammates) symptomatic of the perfect symbiosis created with the ambitious Italian Continental team that, having revealed his value to the general public, could succeed in relaunching his prospects exactly as happened in the recent past with Mattia Gaffuri, Filippo Conca and with the connecting link behind his landing in the Beautiful Country, namely Asbjørn Hellemose.

Precisely about the role played by the current Jayco AlUla rider in Andersen's arrival in Italy, as well as the type of environment found by the Dane in Brianza and his first steps in the world of cycling, we spoke with the statuesque Danish rider at the Sibiu Tour where we had the opportunity to meet him along with the entire Italian team.

Mads, first of all, why do they call you "The Butcher"?

"When I left school because I couldn't concentrate on two things at the same time, my father told me I had to find a job so I could afford to be a cyclist and so he found me a job in a factory where meat was processed. That's when my friend Matthias Norsgaard nicknamed me "The Butcher"."

Said that, how did you get into cycling?

“I tried a lot of sports but my mom, my dad and my grand-grandfather - actually my whole family - had a big interest in cycling, so I was really born into it. When I started cycling I think I stuck a little bit into it, I did eight years in the smaller age group where I didn't win where I didn't really care about it and then as junior I got my first win and I got the taste of victory”.

Who has been your idol when you were growing up?

“Since I started cycling it was Fabian Cancellara and he's still my biggest idol. He was the guy who I really wanted to be when I was young and still want to be like. I've never really had the love for Grand Tour, it's always been the classics for me, so he must be him”.

Moving to this season, I’d like to know when you heard for the first time something about Swatt Club and when did you get in touch with the team.

“I'm pretty good friends with Asbjørn Hellemose. We rode together in a club team in Denmark in 2019 and that was the first time I heard about the Swatt Club. Then last year my good friend Kasper Andersen joined the team and at the Swatt Crit in the summer I saw the whole community around the team and I really just fell in love with it. Also, the energy I could feel from Carlo getting me into the team and trusting me that I could do more in my career was one of the reason why I joined the team later”.

Before joining this team, have you received some offers from any other World Tour teams or Pro Conti teams?

“No, absolutely not, there was nothing. I wanted to try to go outside of the border of Denmark and I either a Dutch team offer from and one from Italy. Actually, I was a bit concerned about what I had to do but I'm really happy that I joined the Swatt Club”.

Eventually you find a very great environment I would say, no?

“Yeah. When people ask what I did different this year since I started winning a little bit more and making good results, I always say I just joined Swatt club. That's the reason. It's not that I improved a lot power-wise but my mentality has been so much stronger after I joined the team”.

This team is known for revamping the rider’s careers. Do you expect something like that in next months?

“That's the reason also I'm here. They want to put the over 23 guys to the pro scene and I believe it can happen like them. That's what I'm chasing and when I'm not chasing it anymore then I’ll have to figure out something what I have to do”.

But have you received some offers yet?

“To be 100% honest, no. Not one single. It starts to get a little bit annoying because in Denmark there's a lot of people typing on the social media that I deserve a World Tour contract and also in Italy people expect me to turn pro’ but I don't get nothing. I hope it happens one day, but we'll see”.

In the end, what have you surprised the most about the team?

“The community, the amateurs behind me…Some of the things they say to me, the way they believe in me and I would actually say they love for what I'm doing is incredible. If I had to leave the team next year to turn pro, I will really miss all the guys who are supporting me from Italy”.

Have you ever thought that a strong connection between Italy and Denmark would have been possible in that way?

“I would say yes. I think the culture mix very well and that's also what Barry says: the connection between Italian riders and Danish riders is really good because the Italians have something to put into the tactics and the Danish have something else so it works really well this way”. 

Photo credit: Tour of Hellas