"I still believe I can do it again" - Mads Pedersen he can match and beat Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert this spring

Mads Pedersen can absolutely be compared to Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert and this spring the Dane should be their main rival. He enters the spring with big ambitions, of beating them and conquering big classics.

“I know I can. I was beating them before, and I still believe I can do it again. But it all comes down to how the race will be raced on that day. If I show up in my best shape possible, the best mental shape possible, and the best idea of how to win the race then I think it's possible," Pedersen told Cyclingnews back in December. Since, he's started his season with GC victories at both Etoile de Bessèges and the Tour de la Provence, evidence of good form but also good climbing legs earl in the season. He's skipped Opening Weekend and will be racing Paris-Nice ahead of the classics block.

“It's gonna be tough. It can also be guys who are not any of these superstars. But it's not really in my mind ‘How do I beat those guys?’, but ‘What can I do right now to be the best possible on that day?," he says. Last year he did so often, being at the front in all of the monuments he raced and the World Championships - besides winning stages at the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France. Results wise, he is absolutely among the very best, but he does not want the outside pressure that affects some of those riders at times.

“I don't want to put myself in that box, because I know they are bigger talents than me. They have more results than me. And they are just also winning more than me. I have my good days where I can compete with those guys and as I said I still believe I can beat them," he continues. "But I wouldn't sit here and say I'm in the same box as these people because they are the fucking superstars of cycling. Not only on the bike but also off the bike. I will say I'm just a step below those people. But I'm totally fine with that and I enjoy how it is for me right now.”

Pedersen gives the idea of a very direct rider who seeks his goals, and after winning a world title in Yorkshire early in his career, he has since grown into his best level and learnt how to be consistent in it. That has made him an undisputed leader at Lidl-Trek, and his results have influenced the team into having a big budget boost into this season which brought in more leaders - and another sprinter option in Jonathan Milan.

“I'm not riding to get credit. I'm riding to win and to achieve my own goals. If I get enough credit, to be honest, I don't care. I'm not riding my bike to make my family happy or the team happy. I'm putting in goals in my mind and I'm riding to achieve those goals.”