Mads Pedersen wants to win the Tour of Flanders: "If you let it come down to a man-to-man fight, Mathieu will drop me"
Cycling
Mads Pedersen has won a lot during his career, but never a monument thus far. On the form of his life, the Lidl-Trek leader looks at the Tour of Flanders with a lot of motivation, and the desire to attack and try to beat a star-studded field.
Pedersen looked in incredible form during Paris-Nice in all aspects, and although Milano-Sanremo didn't go his way, his attacks and second place at the E3 Saxo Classic where mighty impressive. He then backed that up with a monstruous win at Gent Wevelgem where an almost 70-kilometer long attack succeeded almost by himself whilst being chased by a peloton.
“I don’t know if those races gave me confidence: that confidence is always there. I’m just looking forward to today. It’s a different race, so it’s hard to compare," Pedersen told CyclingPro.net this morning in Bruges.
Today's is much more difficult and focused on the climbing, which favours the likes of Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogacar. A podium would indeed be a very good result for the Dane already, but he wants a win, and for that he can't just wait to try and follow on the day's climbs.
“I’ve said it many times: if we want to beat these guys, we have to ride as a unit. Lidl-Trek has to be one big team. That’s how you can beat them," he argues. "If you let it come down to a man-to-man fight, Mathieu will drop me, like in the E3 Saxo Classic," Pedersen believes.
How he will be able to anticipate his rivals is a big question, but he is not alone in it, and Visma may even be a good ally in such a scenario. “Those two are by far the best. We have to see what we can do, but it’s not impossible. If I didn’t believe I could win, I wouldn’t be at the start.”
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Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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