Lidl-Trek sends strong signal leading up to Tour of Flanders: "Not afraid of Van der Poel and Van Aert"

After an extremely entertaining race, Pedersen managed to win in a sprint-à-deux against Mathieu van der Poel. The world champion made the race a pleasure to watch, but eventually had to admit defeat in a long sprint against the fast Danish rider. "It was grueling. I definitely carried a bit of Friday's race into today. But Mads participated in that race too, so it's no excuse. The strongest rider simply won today," MVDP commented sportingly after the race.

Lidl-Trek also made their presence known throughout the day, with their numerical advantage in an elite group - which had formed after a strong wind passage in De Moeren - being especially notable. Indeed, alongside Pedersen, Jasper Stuyven and Jonathan Milan were also working hard for the American WorldTour team. From this leading group, Lidl-Trek aimed to make things as difficult as possible for Van der Poel. "We tried to push Mathieu to his limit," the eventual winner shared.

"Was this the plan? We definitely wanted to race aggressively. Actually, we had agreed that we wanted to race offensively starting from the first ascent of the Kemmelberg. To do that, we had to be at the front. However, we might have expected the race to be a bit tougher. More groups, a bigger battlefield," explains the 44-year-old Rast, who himself competed for what is now Lidl-Trek for many years. "Sometimes we thought that the large group might come back. However, we made sure to keep racing offensively, which meant Mathieu had to do a lot of work. As a result, Mads could win the sprint, since Mathieu had a few less watts left in the tank. This is really a victory for the team, because everyone contributed in some way."

And so, logically, Rast is full of compliments about what his protégés have done this weekend. "I am happy with the way we rode. It was aggressive and thus according to plan, although I did not see Jonathan's solo attempt coming. That was a bit of a surprise in the team car, haha! However, it worked out well since our competitors had to do a lot of work, and Mads was able to save more energy and rest. That definitely helped him in the sprint."

When we ask Rast whether he was surprised by Pedersen's level, his answer is clear. "Certainly not. We knew he is in good form and prefers the longer races. More than the shorter races, where the climbs are much quicker in succession." And so, the follow-up question is naturally about the Tour of Flanders, where we seem to have a new top favorite. "In the Tour of Flanders, the hills are even a bit tougher. Mathieu and Wout might have a slight advantage there. Mads will have to anticipate. He will definitely do that. However, we are optimistic about the Tour of Flanders. This result shows that he is ready for it. He has already finished third there, so that gives us hope," says the Swiss.

"Did Mads get a mental boost from this? Maybe," we continue to chat about the 28-year-old golden boy. "But Mads is definitely not afraid of Mathieu or Wout. Never. Mentally, Mads was completely ready for this race in particular. Together with Paris-Roubaix, this is the race that suits him best."

The victory in Gent-Wevelgem is certainly highly valued at Lidl-Trek. "It ranks high on the list. We know that the shorter classics don't really suit Mads. He is more suited for this kind of racing work. Here in Gent-Wevelgem, he is now winning for the second time and has proven his class in races like this. He is really very focused on these races, so it's definitely also a mental thing," the affable team director shares with us in conclusion.

Pedersen, too, faced In the Leader's Jersey among others, elaborated on the coming week, which is, after all, a bit of a course of truth. 'Flanders is a different course. I still think Gent-Wevelgem suits me better. The condition is nevertheless very good,' Pedersen sounded mostly positive. 'Last year I did finish third in the Ronde, but I was far from victory.' Pedersen also does not rule out a served role in Vlaanderens Mooiste in advance. 'We can always do that, too. We ride as one team and as one block. We like to fight for each other. With such a strong group, we don't have one specific leader. After all, an awful lot can happen too. The team pays my salary, so I will definitely do what they ask me to do.'

Daan Hoole, who also rode a significant part of the important spring classics, also speaks of a perfect team spirit at Lidl-Trek. "We're on a super good vibe. In the first echelon, there was immediately three of us. That's really nice," he says in an interview with NOS. "Behind that, we also had four other guys. So when everyone came back together, those guys could also do their job."

"The team spirit has been there for a long time. It just didn't always fall into place," continues the 25-year-old Dutchman. "In my opinion, Jasper and Mads are both at their best level ever. And then, of course, we also have Jonathan. In short, a tremendously strong team. This is absolutely the way to tackle the Tour of Flanders. But then there will be more hills. and they are closer together. Yet, the Tour of Flanders is better for us than, for example, the E3, since that's even shorter. That's really intense. Flanders is a longer race, and that's to our advantage," he confirms what his team director told this website.