"The work being done today is simply not good enough" - Fuming Mads Pedersen lashes out at Lidl-Trek teammates after disappointment on Paris-Nice stage 1

The opening stage of Paris-Nice 2025 had expected to see a sprint battle between Tim Merlier and Mads Pedersen. In the fight for the line on Sunday afternoon though, only the European champion Merlier emerged at the front, with the Belgian eventually taking a dominant victory.

For Pedersen, the best the Lidl-Trek leader could muster was a 12th placed finish in Le Perray-en-Yvelines. Afterwards though, the visibly frustrated Dane raised a few eyebrows with his public and vocal criticism of the work done for him by his teammates. "There’s not much to analyze. It’s just terrible," the former world champion fumed to TV2 in a post-stage interview. "The work being done today is simply not good enough. There’s not much to say. You can analyze all you want, but it’s just not good enough."

In particular, the performance of Ryan Gibbons in the final leadout came under serious scrutiny from Pedersen, with the South African being singled out for criticism in the fiery post-stage interview. "Ryan shows up way too late, and then I let him in. In the positioning battle, I lose them, but I also knew that the gap would open up on the left side at some point, so I could jump back onto their wheel, but they also lose each other," Pedersen details with frustration. "Then Ryan stops riding in the final, and it’s a mistake for him to do that. If he had stayed on Alex’s wheel around the corner, I would’ve caught them again."

With another bunch sprint expected on stage 2, Pedersen, Gibbons and the entire Lidl-Trek team will certainly be hoping to see a better performance as they look to take the fight to Merlier.