Johan Bruyneel amazed by Mads Pedersen's teammate during incredible Giro stage 5 victory: "He's the MVP"
Cycling
Johan Bruyneel reviewed another day on Lance Armstrong's WEDU podcast as stage five of the Giro d'Italia 2025 saw Mads Pedersen take his third win in another superb Lidl-Trek display.
The former US Postal sports director, however, reserved his praise this time for one of the Dane's teammates, Czech Mathias Vacek, whom he considers key to his victories and he thinks did an extraordinary job yesterday in particular.
"The MVP, the most valuable rider of the day, and not only today, the man who has been in the 3 stages that Pedersen has won, is Mathias Vacek, today (yesterday) he was exceptional, it looked like he didn't feel the pedals, Mathias Vacek at this point is not aware of how strong he is he had the finish completely under control and was able to come back and launch the sprint for Pedersen once he was back on his wheel.
"He's one win short and he's going to get it. I mean he's going to fight, fight, fight, fight and fight to hold this guy off as long as possible."
He also referred to the news of yesterday, Pedersen's lifetime renewal from Lidl-Trek, noting that just a few months ago he seemed to be angry at the team for a sporting decision he didn't agree with, but which, as seen at the start of the Giro d'Italia, was the right one:
"The other big news was the lifetime renewal of Mads Pedersen by Lidl-Trek, he's the third to do it after Wout van Aert and Marianne Vos with Visma, Tadej Pogacar is under contract with UAE until 2030, basically until the end of his career, I think Lidl-Trek has done what they had to do, he's definitely the man for the team.
"You never know what's going to happen, a few months ago there seemed to be some complaints from Pedersen because they had selected Jonathan Milan for the Tour de France, it seemed like he wasn't happy about it, that he was going to ride Giro and Vuelta, but it seems to be working out really well for him.
"The truth is that Lidl-Trek's start to the season has been extraordinary and that has to do with the decisions of the sports management with respect to Mads Pedersen who has completed a great season of classics and, taking advantage of the form, has started like a shot at a Giro d'Italia that by route was perfect for him.
"This great start of Lidl, being by far the second best team in the UCI WorldTour ranking in 2025 to date only behind the unbeatable UAE. Contrast that with the difficulties of a Visma team that seems not to have been equally successful in selecting the calendar of a Wout van Aert who, beyond illness and crashes, has not just worked in a very complicated start of the season for him."
Fin MajorCycling Journalist
Fin Major is a UK-based writer at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2024. He is the site’s main writer for FAQs and evergreen explainers and has written around 2,000 pieces for the platform. Alongside this work, he focuses on in-depth analysis and covers the biggest races on the calendar, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, providing clear context around performance trends, tactics, and key storylines.
In his reporting, Fin uses reputable data sources such as ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available. Outside of writing, Fin is an active cyclist, which supports his practical understanding of the sport and its demands.
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