"If Mads Pedersen had been there, that wouldn’t have happened" - Lidl-Trek criticised for missing decisive split on stage 1 of 2025 Tour de France

Jonathan Milan was heavily fancied to take the stage 1 win and the Maillot Jaune at the 2025 Tour de France on Saturday afternoon. Sadly for the Italian however, he and his Lidl-Trek teammates missed the decisive split in the finale, with Jasper Philipsen emerging as the winner.

According to Danish cycling icon Bjarne Riis, it was a criminal error from Lidl-Trek to have ridden on the front of the peloton all day, only to then fall asleep at the key moment and miss the final, stage-winning move right at the last. "Jonathan Milan was among those who ended up in the last group. That was costly and unnecessary from Lidl-Trek," Riis criticised to BT.dk after the stage. "It was inexperienced — especially from a semi-classics team like Lidl-Trek, who should know how to handle racing in crosswinds. I don’t think it’s good enough."

For Riis, the biggest mistake made by Lidl-Trek however, was not bringing his compatriot and former world champion Mads Pedersen to the Tour. The Dane has been in arguably the form of his life in 2025, starring in the Spring and at the Giro d'Italia already this year.

"If Mads Pedersen had been there instead, that wouldn’t have happened. He would’ve been right at the front, powering through the crosswind," Riis assessed firmly. "There’s no doubt in my mind — I would’ve brought Mads from the very beginning."