Written by 15:49 Pro Cycling Story

Here’s why Mads Würtz Schmidt has been in 3 Tour de France breakaways.

My granddad took to me to a post-Tour criterium when I was 4 years old. Bjarne Riis was racing after returning from the Tour de France. After the criterium, Bjarne had loads of people around him. My granddad picked me up and walked through the crowds to get to him. I was wearing a yellow t-shirt and my grandad asked him to sign it. It’s 21 years ago but I can still remember everything from that day. That’s my first Tour de France related memory.

So, when I found out I was going to the Tour de France for the first time in my career this year, I can’t describe the feelings. I was out training when I got the call. Dirk Demol is the director I report to in the team and I was waiting for him to call me with good or bad news. Suddenly I got a call from an Andorra number. I wondered who it could be. I answered. It was one of the other directors, Xavier Florencio. He said, has Dirk called you yet? I said no. He said, ok, I thought you would know by now but I am calling to arrange your flight times to the Tour de France.  

I was in the middle of nowhere on my own and I was celebrating like I’d just won a race. I was riding and put my hands in the air, screaming. I’m going to the Tour de France!

The training was much easier all of a sudden. I was pushing 20 watts more for the same amount of effort as before with my heart rate still the same but I was going faster. It was incredible. I sprinted home to tell my girlfriend and my family. 4-year-old Mads was going to the Tour de France.

I know it’s a cliché but every professional rider wants to do the Tour at least once in their career. It really is the most special race. I wanted to honour the team for my selection so my goal was to not just be on the startline but to be part of the racing. That’s why you’ve seen me in three breakaways so far.

Stage 5 was one of the best days on a bike for me. The Alsace region is where many Danish people go on summer holiday. There were so many Danish people on the road cheering for me. “I love this,” I thought to myself. To sit out there in the front of the Tour de France with people from my country cheering for me, this is the most incredible thing I’ve done.

Tour de France 2019 – Photo: ASO/Alex Broadway
Tour de France 2019 – Photo: ASO/Pauline Ballet

If you told me in the winter I’d be doing what I’m doing now, I would not believe you. I pretty much spent the whole of December off the bike because of a knee injury. When I came back at the start of the year, I was super stressed and trained too much. I wanted it so bad, but my body couldn’t handle it and I got sick after the first race of the season. I got home, recovered, then went to Algarve. I suffered like hell there and got sick again. Het Nieuwsblad didn’t go according to plan. I got my ass dragged around Tirreno by the peloton. Every day I thought, “ok how far into the stage am I going to get dropped today?” It wasn’t a matter of if, but when.

I had to keep believing in myself but it was super hard to believe I could do anything at that point.

In May I spent the whole month at home to recover and refocus. I got to live without stress for a month and just do my thing. Something clicked. It was a month of perfect training. Finally, the belief started returning. From then, every race got better and better. Tour de l’Ain went really well. The legs felt even better in Rund um Köln. The Dauphine made me believe that maybe, just maybe I would make the Tour team. Then in my final tour I was third overall in ZLM Tour, missing the victory by only 16 seconds.

I treasure being in the Tour de France so much more because I know how big my fight was to get here. I’m proud of how I handled the adversity through those tough months. Now I’m here and if you see me in a breakaway again over the next few days and see a smile on my face, you will know why.

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Tags: , , Last modified: Jan 19, 2020
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