Meet the powerful Lidl-Trek engine backing Mads Pedersen at the Giro: "In training, we saw just how fast he can go"

This also explains why a top rider like Pedersen is riding the Giro, not the Tour. On the advice of sponsor Lidl, the German-American team sent the Danish star to Albania, as they want to win as many stages as possible in the Tour and not necessarily the green jersey. “The team pays my salary, so they decide what I do. I'm completely fine with Jonny going to the Tour. He deserves it after winning the points jersey twice in the Giro. It's his time. And it's not like I'll never ride the Tour again because I'll definitely be back.”

After his good results in the classics, the Dane took it a little easier and returned home to Monaco, where the main focus in the run-up to the Giro was on staying in good shape for the Grande Partenza in Albania. "I'm motivated and in good shape," Pedersen said ahead of the Giro d'Italia. "I would love to win the purple jersey; the first stage is also a goal. The Surrel starts steep but then flattens out. We're starting that stage with the ambition of winning."

At Lidl-Trek, they are convinced that Pedersen will use his non-selection for the Tour to show in Italy that he belongs in the biggest race of the year. “On the other hand, it could also offer opportunities,” sporting director Steven de Jongh explained earlier this year. "Mads is already discussing the pink jersey and everything else; he's determined. That's how it works: they're all competitive guys. Mads says: I'll show them. They can also use it as motivation."

Therefore, the battle for places in the grand tours is fierce at Lidl-Trek, as Dutch riders Bauke Mollema and Daan Hoole have also discovered. Both men were in the running for a place in the Giro d'Italia for a long time, but one week before the start, it looked like they would both miss out, as Soren Kragh Andersen suddenly reappeared as a possible option. Mollema was ultimately not selected, but Hoole was. "Alex Kirsch dropped out in the end so they could give me the good news."

Earlier this year, Danish rider Kragh Andersen underwent surgery for a benign tumor in his testicle and only made his debut for Lidl-Trek on May 1 in Eschborn-Frankfurt after an atypical preparation period involving a lot of other sports because he was not allowed to sit on a saddle. Vacek and Hoole also had to change their plans for the Giro: the fast riders were going to go to altitude training together, but after Vacek crashed in Paris-Roubaix, the plans were changed, and Hoole also stayed on the Costa Blanca, where he slept in an altitude tent.

He said Vacek is feeling fine again at the team presentation in Tirana. The Czech rider took a big step forward last winter and showed that in Valencia, the Algarve, and Omloop Het Nieuwsblad before a crash and illness disrupted his progress. "I've recovered now. Thanks to my Vuelta last year, I'm even more confident going into a grand tour, although repeating those performances won't be easy." Vacek finished second in the opening time trial and secured several top places in the final week.

How will the sprint train for Pedersen be organized now that regulars Kirsch and Gibbons are out? "Normally, I'm also in that train,” Hoole told IDLProCycling.com in Albania. “In Paris-Nice, I was actually in front of Kirsch, but now Kragh Andersen will take over that position, and I'll be in front of him again, together with Vacek. Mathias was already the strongest rider in the Omloop but crashed and became ill after Strade Bianche. Then he crashed again in Roubaix. Now we can see how hard he can ride in training, and I think he is one of the big favorites for the time trial."

Pedersen, Hoole, and Vacek have all had a busy spring and are now going for the Giro. Is that balancing on a thin line? "You have to rest, but not for too long. I took five days off and then went to Spain, where I slept in an altitude tent for two and a half weeks. But you can't overdo it with your training either, because you must stay mentally and physically fit for another three weeks. It's a bit of a balancing act, and then you take it a bit easier in the last five or six days before the Giro to get that super-compensation."

Hoole knows Pedersen well by now, and the Danish lead rider often makes that known in public when he refers to Hoole as 'Daantje.' "I like Mads and enjoy riding for him. I did almost all the races with him in my first year, right up to the Vuelta. This year, too, with the classics and Paris-Nice. That went really well. Mads is a very different leader than Jonathan Milan because he needs the tougher sprints. That makes it challenging for me because you also have to survive."

Hoole confirms that Pedersen is very outspoken to the public and makes his voice heard within the team. "Mads knows what he wants, and he's very clear about that, but he's also a leader who really involves you in the plan. When it works out, you really feel part of his victory. He's the finisher who runs straight to his lead-out man, so to speak."

Pedersen has a good chance of taking the pink jersey on day one. "Mads doesn't like long discussions, but in consultation with the team management, we always make the best possible plan and try to implement it. I think he is also one of the favorites, and it is a stage he has highlighted. If I feel good, I hope to be in a group of forty to fifty riders."

Then there's the time trial on day two, where Hoole, like the other Lidl-Trek riders, will look to perform well. "That's definitely a big goal for me, and I can go for it. I've looked at both time trials on VeloViewer, which look like nice courses. On paper, the one in Tirana looks a bit technical, but the roads are wide, and I don't think there are any really difficult corners."

Lidl-Trek sent a glowing press release about using an aerosensor ahead of the Giro. Hoole was able to translate that into plain language for us. "We've been using it for a year and a half now, and it allows you to see your CDA in real time and make adjustments accordingly. It's perfect for aerodynamic testing on the track, where staying in position is not so easy. Other teams will use it eventually, and it's not a miraculous solution, but it's a good step in the right direction."