"He was in a league of his own. He beat us fair and square" - Mads Pedersen runner-up to Tadej Pogacar after Tour of Flanders 2025

Mads Pedersen has been riding out of his skin so far this Spring Classics season. That impressive form continued once again for the Dane at the 2025 Tour of Flanders too, although despite his best efforts, the Lidl-Trek leader was forced to settle for 2nd place behind the all-conquering Tadej Pogacar at the line.

Having shown some very impressive climbing legs already this year, Pedersen was more than a match for the likes of Pogacar, Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert on the cobbled climbs for almost the entirety of the day. On the last ascent of the Oude Kwaremont though, Pedersen and co were finally and fatally distanced by the most brutal of Pogacar's attacks. From there, attentions turned to the fight for 2nd and up against Van der Poel and Van Aert, Pedersen still had a trump card to play - Jasper Stuyven, with the Flanders native sacrificing himself in the finale to give his team leader a perfect leadout in the sprint for the line.

Post-race, Pedersen was quick to pay tribute to Pogacar. "With headwind and four other guys, I hoped we could catch him. I said before the race that you never know, and the race is never over until you cross the finish line. But today, he was in a league of his own. He beat us fair and square. He dropped us on Kwaremont and increased his lead," he analysed.

As expected, Stuyven too was credited by Pedersen. "It was pretty ideal to have me and Jasper in the group. He knows I like to start the sprint from a high speed. With a kilometer to go, there was a bit of hesitation, and the pace dropped, but with 500 meters to go, Jasper picked up the pace, and with 250 meters to go, I saw my chance to launch the sprint, and that was enough," he recalled. "So thanks to Jasper for making the perfect lead-out and thanks to the whole team today, they rode really impressively."

And so, whilst the wait for a first ever Monument win goes on for the former world champion, Pedersen is heading to next weekend's Paris-Roubaix with renewed hope and vigour. "It suits me better without as many climbs. So far, it’s been a great classics campaign, and I would love to finish it with a win in Roubaix. Of all the monuments, I think it suits me the best. But there are so many strong guys there. But nothing is guaranteed, and we’ll fight for the win," he concluded.