"Mads is a born leader, a captain at heart" - Lidl-Trek DS full of praise for the winner of Maglia Ciclamino

Mads Pedersen is without a doubt the key factor behind Lidl-Trek's enormous success at the recent Giro d'Italia. Next to winning four times himself, the Dane didn't hesitate to help his teammates pursue their own chances too, showing he's far more than just a sprinter.

Lidl-Trek DS Michael Schär confirms in an interview with Rouleur that Pedersen, who has recently signed a life-time contract with the American team, fits perfectly with team mentality. "We're quite liberal and easy-going," he explains. "We have this super successful Giro with six wins and that's not something we planned in advance."

It's clear even from the outside that this approach bears fruit for Lidl-Trek. "I would say it's really the team spirit and the atmosphere. When you see a team that clicks and works well together, you go deeper for each other. There's chemistry."

And having a world-class rider like Pedersen spearhead is a cherry on top. "Mads is a born leader, a captain at heart," says the Swiss. "It is a great pleasure to have him around. He does not see pressure as a burden, he sees it as something good. It is super cool to see how he leads the group. But at the same time, there is never anything that is not easy-going with him."

"On the bike he is a beast. He proves every race how good he is. This year in Paris-Nice we saw his versatility in the mountain stages, escapes and also how he helped Mattias Skjelmose. He is on top of it and it is as if he was made for the points jersey, because he can survive mountains and has a good sprint."

That was also evident from the first day of this Giro: "You see a GC contender like Ciccone working for Mads on day 1 in Albania. It's give and take. Normally, the GC favorites are told to save energy, but Ciccone came up with the idea to help Mads himself. Later, Mads paid him back."