Mads Pedersen racks his brain over Mathieu van der Poel: "Right now, I don't have the answers either"

Finishing third, three minutes behind mister Mathieu van der Poel: that was the highest possible result for Mads Pedersen in the 2024 edition of Paris-Roubaix. The Dane hence remains the only one who - in Gent-Wevelgem - was able to beat the Dutchman in a direct duel this spring. "Now it's time for my family," he told IDLProCycling.com after a busy and exciting spring.

How to beat Van der Poel. It was a question that was addressed many times in the team bus of Lidl-Trek over the past weeks. "In Flanders, my head was spinning so fast, that's how hard he went for it there. I tried to do better now in Paris-Roubaix, but Mathieu was once again impressive. I couldn't follow him, simple as that. How to beat him in a Monument? At the moment, I, or we, don't have the answers there. That's clear," Pedersen candidly says - in his typical style, without mincing words. "I have zero excuses. I felt in top shape, but two stronger guys finished ahead of me," he also refers to Jasper Philipsen.

What was going through the chasing group's mind when Van der Poel cranked up his engine sixty kilometers from the finish? "Everyone was at their limit. Then there's no time for chit-chat, because we're all going all out to catch him. But he kept gaining time, so at a certain point, it becomes a race within the race, and more selection happens. The group got smaller and smaller, also due to bad luck. The race wasn't over, but then again, it was," says the Dane.

"There was little question of tactics," he continues. "Philipsen also attacked and dropped Küng, but I knew Jasper was tough to beat. Therefore, I had to mainly aim for third place, knowing that Nils Politt would also be pushing his limits. I had enough confidence in my sprint," states the leader of Lidl-Trek, indicating that the result of Paris-Roubaix perfectly reflects the power relations. "You just have to look at the outcome to see who was the strongest. Mathieu was just better, simple as that. I don't know what else to say. We did everything we could to beat him, but it was impossible."

Pedersen ends beautiful spring season

For Pedersen, a beautiful spring season now comes to an end, although he too is left wanting when it comes to the Monuments. After his hard fall in Dwars door Vlaanderen, where he also lost key players Jasper Stuyven and Alex Kirsch, this time, misfortune favored shadow leader Jonathan Milan. "It would be nice to have one more guy in the finale. When Jonathan fell, it was really shitty for us. A pain in the ass, but more than anything I hope he's okay."

"We're going to wrap up a good classics campaign with the team, and Monday it's time to head home," Pedersen shares. "I haven't seen my wife much since January, so now I'm making time for my family and some rest." Normally, the former world champion will resume in Eschborn-Frankfurt on May 1st. Later in the season, he will be heading to the Tour and Vuelta.