Lidl-Trek rewards strong team performance in Ghent-Wevelgem: “Mathieu can win everything, but Mads can too”

Video Lidl-Trek is making a very strong impression this spring. Since the opening weekend, the team has been at the forefront of almost every spring classic. In Gent-Wevelgem the team managed to crown this strong team performance with a victory. Sports director Grégory Rast looks back CyclingFlits back on course and discusses the ambitions for the coming weeks.

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Based on the previous prices, Lidl-Trek can be counted as one of the strongest blocks this spring. They confirmed this status early in the race in Ghent-Wevelgem. “The strongest riders always break away on the Kemmelberg. If you’re strong, you’ll be in the front. Our riders were at the front and they accelerated on the first passage. It was very nice to have three men at the forefront of the race,” said sports director Grégory Rast.

“We wanted to race aggressively, but we thought there would be more breaks in the peloton,” Rast evaluates the race situation after his men’s attack. “Then it may not have been the right time for Jonathan himself to go solo, but in the end he played an important role. Mathieu had to do a little more head work than he normally would have done.”

In the end it became a sprint between the world champion and the leader of Lidl-Trek. Mads Pedersen came out on top by starting the sprint from far away. “Mathieu can win everything, but we know Mads can too. It was a beautiful battle. We know that Mathieu likes a short sprint and that Mads prefers a long sprint. I repeated this on the radio, but he probably knew that too,” Rast laughs.

It is striking how well Lidl-Trek is performing this spring. Where does this advance come from? “We were always good as a team, but have now been working together for years. We all know our place and have three or four top riders. In addition, also strong helpers. Of course we can work with that.” However, Rast does not want to compare itself with other important blocks in the spring. “We do not look at other teams, but only at ourselves and our working methods. Visma | Lease a Bike is a top team, but there is no point in comparing.”