Lidl-Trek keeps faith in Mads Pedersen: "At his best, he matches Pogacar and Van der Poel"

Tadej Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel, Mathieu van der Poel, and Wout van Aert: when it comes to the favorites for the Tour of Flanders, these names always come up. But are we forgetting Mads Pedersen? At Lidl-Trek, they still firmly believe in the chances of the Danish former world champion, despite his less-than-ideal preparation.

After a clavicle and wrist fracture in the first weeks of February, the 30-year-old Pedersen should have been out for the majority of the classics. But look: at Milan-San Remo, he returned against all odds with a fourth place. The E3 Saxo Bank Classic was also encouraging, but Pedersen then fell ill before 'his' Gent-Wevelgem. He went on to finish tenth again in Dwars door Vlaanderen.

"The night after Harelbeke he suddenly got very sick," team director Michael Schär recounts. "But he has recovered well. We are happy and optimistic. Although it’s never easy to be without your team leader in a race he’s won three times before. Then we have to be glad we have a strong, deep squad that can cover for that."

Unfortunate circumstances
Schär says this with full confidence, but we’ve actually seen the opposite in recent weeks. In the cobbled classics, Lidl-Trek’s second-string riders were somewhat dropped. "I don’t agree," Schär insists. "I think Vacek is a good rider. He made it to the finales and was often there in the moves. And if Jhonny (Milan, ed.) hadn’t had a puncture, he would have been fighting for the win in Wevelgem. It was a combination of some unlucky circumstances, I think."

"So are we among the unluckiest teams in the peloton? I’m not counting or comparing, I’m just focusing on myself and our own team. We keep a positive attitude, the riders always have a really strong morale, and that’s the most important thing. That’s what we focus on and sooner or later everything will turn the right way and things will come good again. It’s always a matter of time."

Having someone like Pedersen on board makes things easier, Schär admits. "Mads is a huge personality, you feel his presence. When Mads is in the race, like in San Remo, you see how the team rallies around him. That lifts everyone to a higher level. Mads brings a special atmosphere with him, which is good for the team. They then feel they have a leader who can get the job done."

Within the American squad, the praise for Pedersen’s swift comeback is immense. "It shows motivation. You see the body can recover faster when you have strong motivation, receive the best possible treatments, and have the best people around you. Maybe the metabolism works faster because they cycle. So much more happens in the body. Perhaps there’s more circulation in the bones. Such riders always come back quicker than predicted."

Positive
What will this mean for the Tour of Flanders? Pedersen still looks vulnerable despite his giant strides. "In Harelbeke and Dwars door Vlaanderen he still made it to the finale," they say. "For us, that was a good outcome and we have a good feeling. We were all a bit worried whether his wrist would hold up on the cobbles, and as far as we saw, he didn’t complain. But in races like Paris-Roubaix, it will be different again."

"Regarding the Tour of Flanders: I firmly believe Mads can follow anyone in the world on his best day. He then belongs to the group with Mathieu or Pogi; in my eyes, he’s at that level. Everyone has seen it well: even those guys can be beaten. That only shows it could also be possible next week in the Tour of Flanders."

Schär never gets very concrete. "It’s difficult to make a prediction after these preparation races. We’re just happy to be here now and to be in good shape. Because of the illness and missing an extra race, it’s a bit unclear, but he is healthy and so is the rest of the team. So we hope for the best possible result."