Lidl-Trek team boss on the moment Mads Pedersen's legs said 'no' at the Tour de France: 'Pretty much the crux of it'
CyclingWednesday, 22 July 2026 at 21:07
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Follow us on GoogleLidl-Trek wanted to settle the battle for the green jersey on Wednesday. Instead, Jasper Philipsen closed the gap to just 7 points behind Mads Pedersen in Voiron. So it remains to be seen who will get to show off the green jersey in Paris on Sunday. Steven de Jongh, sports director for the American-German team spoke to IDL Pro Cycling after the race.
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De Jongh begins his account, as frankly as ever. “We really fought hard to secure those points, but Jasper Philipsen was simply too strong. Still, I think we put on a great performance in this stage. We were almost there, but just fell short. That makes Philipsen’s victory all the more well-deserved.”
"Up until that final intermediate sprint, we actually did everything right. Then it's just a matter of hoping that things go our way. In the end, there's not much you can do against a sprint like Philipsen's," he concludes.
Just as Lidl-Trek was looking to decide the race on the final uphill meters, Pedersen’s legs said: no. “We wanted to really push the pace on that final bend, but when Derek accelerated, Mads signaled over the radio that he couldn’t go any further. He was completely spent, and Mads had to tell Derek to stop. I think that was pretty much the crux of it.”
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Pedersen is going all out again on Thursday
Pedersen had already expended a lot of energy along the way. “It’s only natural that you pay the price for that at the end. But kudos to Philipsen and his team, they just finished it off very cleverly today,” De Jongh explains.
"Tomorrow is another day. The plan is to try again to get into the breakaway. Although I expect that tomorrow we’ll first have to survive the attacks from the general classification contenders to see where we stand. Wait until Paris? I’d rather not! "Nobody wants to wait until Paris," said the Dutchman, who knows his team still has a few days of battle ahead of them.
"With the finish at Montmartre, things have changed a bit; that climb comes a little closer to the finish than before. "I don’t think it will come down to a bunch sprint there, but there’s still an intermediate sprint, and rain is in the forecast. So it’s bound to be a fierce and exciting battle," says the sports director at Lidl-Trek.
Tom van der Salm (27) comes from the charming town of Zeilberg (Deurne) in the Netherlands and has been working as editor-in-chief & journalist at IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, In de Leiderstrui, since 2019. He travels with the peloton from the Tour de France to the AlUla Tour and from the World Championships in Rwanda or Canada to the Zilvermeercross in Mol. In his spare time he enjoys playing football, mountain biking, running, walking with his Labrador/Stabyhoun, investing, holidays, (specialty) beers, reading, cooking and watching sports & documentaries!
Contact: [email protected]
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