“We just have to be happy… the best cyclist ever is racing” - Mads Pedersen accepts reality of racing Tadej Pogacar as Dane takes 5th in Flanders

Mads Pedersen’s fifth place at the Tour of Flanders came at the end of a race where the outcome was shaped less by tactics and more by the presence of one rider.

As Tadej Pogacar powered to victory in Oudenaarde, the Lidl-Trek leader was left to contest the places behind, part of a chasing group that gradually lost contact with the decisive moves on the cobbled climbs.

In the aftermath, Pedersen’s assessment was not built on frustration, but on a recognition of the level required to win a race increasingly defined by the Slovenian.

“For now, we just have to be happy the best cyclist ever is racing and putting on a show, and then hope he doesn’t come back once he’s won everything,” he told TV 2 Sport.

The question of how to stop Pogacar is one that continues to follow the peloton, and Pedersen offered a candid answer when asked directly. “If I knew, I would give you a really good and deep answer, but the problem is that I honestly don’t know,” he admitted. “I just work as hard as I can to be the best version of myself when we line up in these races.”

That uncertainty reflects a wider reality. Even when riders attempt to anticipate Pogacar’s moves, the decisive accelerations on climbs such as the Oude Kwaremont continue to prove difficult to match, turning small gaps into race-winning advantages.

One proposed solution has been collective action, with rival teams attempting to work together to limit Pogacar’s influence on the race. Pedersen confirmed that such efforts are not just theoretical. “Believe me, we do,” he said, when asked whether riders try to combine forces against him.

Yet the dynamics of a Monument finale complicate that approach. “A lot of us have the same goals and want to race in the same way. Of course, we use each other and talk about things. When we are in those moments, we try to work together.”

The reality, however, shifts in the closing kilometres. “If you are not with teammates, and you are in the final ten kilometres of the Tour of Flanders, and it’s the four or five of us there - Remco, Mathieu, Tadej, Van Aert and me - I’m not going to turn to Van Aert and say we should take turns attacking. Then maybe he wins the race, and I’ve thrown away my own chance.”

That tension between cooperation and self-preservation leaves riders facing a difficult calculation. “Yes,” Pedersen said when asked if he must be willing to lose in order to win. “Maybe that’s what I’ve learned - and what I need to use. That I have to be willing to lose in order to win.”

For now, though, the reality remains unchanged. Against Pogacar, even well-timed moves and collective intent are no guarantee of success.

Pedersen’s fifth place reflects both his level and the limits imposed by a race that, once again, was decided by the strongest rider on the road.