"Mads was of course disappointed when he heard he wouldn't be going to the Tour," continues De Jongh, although he notes how the response of the Dane has been impeccable, as proven by a career-best climbing display from Pedersen at
Paris-Nice last week. "It will certainly have irritated him, but he is not bitter. You saw in Paris-Nice that it gave him a boost."
The choice to select between Pedersen and Milan for races remains a difficult one for Lidl-Trek. "There are races where one has a better chance than the other. Based on that we make choices. Milan and Pedersen accept those choices, but we always have to disappoint one of them. That is inevitable," explains De Jongh, but as mentioned, this weekend both will be in action together. "We don't see that as a problem, but as a strength. If you start a race with two men like that, you have a better chance of winning. If it doesn't work out with one rider, we always have a backup plan with the other rider."
"We have a strategy in mind. But of course we won't reveal it to the media," De Jongh laughs in conclusion. "We just hope that someone from our team will be on the top step of the podium on Saturday."