Lidl-Trek has seen enough: sports director confidently calls Pedersen top favorite for Paris-Roubaix

It is time on Sunday for 'the Hell of the North,' and Mads Pedersen is eager to win his first Monument. The former world champion has been very close a few times in Paris-Roubaix but never successfully crossed the finish line in first place. The Dane from Lidl-Trek is in excellent form at the right moment, as he showed last Sunday in the Tour of Flanders, finishing second behind the unbeatable Tadej Pogacar.

Pedersen has already won several races this year, with his victory in Gent-Wevelgem being the highlight. Many were impressed by how he won the classic after a solo ride of 56 kilometers. Add to that his second place last Sunday, and it is understandable why he is considered one of the favorites in the classic that perhaps suits him best. However, he will have to deal with an extremely strong field of competitors, as all the top riders will be present this Sunday.

Despite the competition from Tadej Pogacar, Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert, and Filippo Ganna, among others, sports director Gregory Rast sees his leader Pedersen as the man to beat. "We are really optimistic," the sports director told Ekstra Bladet. He bases this on the performance of his leader in De Ronde. He thought that Pedersen, but certainly the rest of the team as well, delivered a stellar performance. For example, Jasper Stuyven and Daan Hoole were seen at the front of the race deep into the final.

Read more below the photo.

"Van der Poel is only human too," they say at Lidl-Trek

Rast is not too concerned that the bookmakers consider Van der Poel the favorite. "Last week, everyone said we could only finish third. I think we saw that Mathieu is only human, too." As a result, Rast sees every chance of Pedersen celebrating as the winner on Sunday. However, it will not be easy, considering that Van der Poel beat the fast-riding Dane by three minutes in the cobblestone classic last year."

Luck will also play a major role this Sunday, but it is possible to minimize that role. For example, Van der Poel crashed in the Tour of Flanders, and according to Rast, there was a reason that Lidl-Trek avoided the trouble. "We have invested heavily in recognizing and mastering the most important places perfectly." Rast is very confident in his team's ability to perform strongly, but the question remains whether Pedersen can repay this trust because anything can happen on the road to Roubaix...

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