"Mads is much more involved than Mathieu": Soren Kragh Andersen compares the perception of the two stars
Cycling
Sharing a roster with a cycling superstar is a privilege few riders experience in their careers. Soren Kragh Andersen has managed it twice. First at Alpecin-Deceuninck with Mathieu van der Poel (in 2023 and 2024), and from 2025 at Lidl-Trek with Mads Pedersen.
The Dane is already viewed as one of the peloton’s elite alongside the Dutchman, Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel, Primoz Roglic, and Wout van Aert. So when Kragh Andersen spoke to Feltet, comparing Pedersen and Van der Poel was inevitable.
"Mads is much more involved. He brings me and everyone around him into his project, and into his thinking on planning and training. Whereas Van der Poel, of course, needed us, but only on race day, and the rest of the time it mattered a bit less to him. He had his own setup," began Soren Kragh Andersen.
Mathieu van der Poel has long had the reputation of being a rider for specific moments. He has never emptied himself across an entire calendar year. His targets have been few, major of course, but few. That’s not a negative, but it’s different from a rider like Mads Pedersen, who does focus on competing across three weeks at Grand Tours, for example. In 2025, he accumulated 74 race days, nearly double the amount of Van der Poel (41).
Mads Pedersen’s closeness
"Mads is a friend, both because we’ve known each other since we were kids and because of who he is here in the team. I don’t think there’s a single rider on the team who doesn’t see him as a friend, which makes him a bit different," Andersen added about how close-knit he believes Mads Pedersen is with all his Lidl-Trek teammates.
Even so, Soren Kragh Andersen stressed his words were in no way a criticism of Mathieu van der Poel. The Dutchman simply has a different approach to racing. Beyond road cycling, he also does mountain bikes and cyclocross without his teammates, often creating a distance between Van der Poel and his colleagues. Meanwhile Pedersen is 100% involved with Lidl-Trek from the first training camp in December until the last after-season meet-up in October.
Mads Pedersen drew praise from teammate Soren Kragh Andersen
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses 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.
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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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