Lidl-Trek with Pedersen in Wevelgem and Waregem, not against Van der Poel and Pogacar, but the revelation falters: "He's lost a lot of form"

Best of the rest—that unofficial title in Friday’s E3 Saxo Classic went to Mads Pedersen of Lidl-Trek. The Dane opened up the action himself on the Taaienberg, but ultimately had to concede defeat on the decisive Oude Kwaremont to Mathieu van der Poel. Now, Pedersen gets two chances without Van der Poel or Tadej Pogacar on the start list, though team director Steven de Jongh isn’t putting too much weight on that.

“What feeling prevails? Uh… I think we were the best of the rest,” De Jongh told IDLProCycling.com after the E3 Saxo Classic. “As a team, we were the best behind the top three—that’s the main takeaway. Mads was impressive on the Taaienberg, but we all know that Mathieu is in excellent form. We saw that last week in Milan–San Remo. We knew he’d be the toughest opponent.”

And so it happened. On the Oude Kwaremont, Van der Poel rode away by about twenty seconds—and that was the end of it. "We didn’t really have hope anymore that Mads could come back. Mathieu kept gaining time the whole way, so it was a tough situation. At one point, we doubted whether we should let Ganna return to the group, but to us, he didn’t look very fresh anymore. So we decided not to, and I think that was the right call."

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Lidl-Trek delivers as a team in E3 Saxo Classic

Pedersen once again showed a stronger version of himself, after being held back by illness ahead of Milan–San Remo. "In Milan–San Remo he had a decent level, but he wasn’t at his best. Now he was back to the classic Mads." And it wasn’t just Pedersen who delivered. "Alex Kirsch rode a strong race and positioned the guys perfectly for the Taaienberg, but Jasper Stuyven and Toms Skujins were also very strong. As a team, we raced really well, and that’s great to see."

Who’s missing from that list? Mathias Vacek—the strongest man and breakout star of the opening weekend. "Vacek crashed in Strade Bianche and had to get stitches in his knee, but then he also got really sick. He spent a week in bed with a fever, so he’s lost a lot of form. The E3 was his first race back, and that’s definitely not the easiest one to return in. He will get better, but we shouldn’t count on him before Paris–Roubaix. I expect that will be his best race."

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Lidl-Trek starts every classic aiming to win

While Lidl-Trek will line up with their A-team on Sunday (Gent–Wevelgem) and Wednesday (Dwars door Vlaanderen), both Van der Poel and Pogacar are skipping those races. Does that increase the importance of these two races for the German-American team? Not really, says De Jongh. “Every race we start, we try to win. Whether it’s Gent–Wevelgem, Dwars door Vlaanderen, or the Tour of Flanders—we go all in for every race.” Sprinter Jonathan Milan will also join the team for both races.

Looking ahead to De Ronde, De Jongh acknowledges that it’s going to be a tough challenge, especially after what we saw at the E3 Saxo Classic. “It’ll be really hard to beat Mathieu, especially considering that Tadej will be joining too. Sometimes you just have a year like that—but they can also run into setbacks. I hope nothing like that happens, but bad luck can strike. More than anything, I just hope we’ll get some great battles,” the Lidl-Trek sports director concludes.

Where Lidl-Trek starts Sunday (Gent-Wevelgem) and Wednesday (Dwars door Vlaanderen) with the A-team, Van der Poel and Pogacar skip both races. Does that increase the importance for the German-American team in both races? No, shakes De Jongh. 'Every race where we start, we try to win. Whether that's Gent-Wevelgem, Dwars door Vlaanderen or the Tour of Flanders: in every race we just go for it.' In both races, sprinter Jonathan Milan will also join the team.

He does realize that it will be difficult after what we saw at the E3 Saxo Classic. 'It will be very difficult to beat Mathieu, especially when you consider that Tadej will also be there. Sometimes you have a year like that, but they can also encounter something. I hope nothing like that will happen, but you can also have some bad luck once. Above all, I hope we are going to see great duels," concludes the Lidl-Trek athletic director.

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