"You could call me a modern sprinter": What can we expect from Picnic PostNL revelation Lund Andresen in his first Tour de France?

At the age of 22, Andresen has already been riding for the team for three years but is now preparing for his first Tour de France. On the eve of the race, the Dane shows no sign of anxiety and provides us with nice answers to all our questions.

Last year, the Dane made his Grand Tour debut in the Giro alongside Fabio Jakobsen, but Jakobsen will not be there in 2025 after undergoing surgery on his femoral artery. “I haven't spoken to Fabio about the race, but he just sent me a meme on Instagram. It was about actors and a dive by Arjen Robben in the 2014 World Cup against Mexico, but I'm sure you know that image better than I do. Fabio is focusing on his recovery and I hope he can come back stronger in August.”

And through that answer, we learned that Andresen actually prefers another sport. “I'm a big soccer fan, but I only played it for a week. It rained every day, so I started cycling instead. I'm still a big Manchester United fan, though. So these are tough years for me.” My father enjoyed watching cycling, and my brother also cycled. I didn't really like it, but I did win. So then it became fun.

"I didn't watch much cycling at first, but once I started watching, I became a Tony Martin fan. Why? “Because my family liked Fabian Cancellara. Later, we also became fans of Wout van Aert, and then I joined the rest of the family. That was after puberty,” says the Dane, smiling with a big smile.

Okay, the Tour de France. How is he experiencing the circus so far? “The vibe is good, we're all feeling good, and you can really sense that it's something special. The team presentation was already great, thanks to the tour through the city. It was just a shame that we were standing in a circle and could only see an eighth of the crowd. But I'm sure it looked really cool on TV.”

Andresen is having a very good season and has already finished in the top ten almost twenty times. “Thanks, because most people say I haven't won yet (which he did in the Surf Coast Classic, ed.). Things are going well this year, and my endurance has improved on all fronts, which means I can perform well in more areas. I really want to become a stronger rider, and I really enjoy the tougher races.”

“You're going to need that in the Tour,” he knows. "I'd be pleased with a top-three finish in a stage, but of course, it's only my first time participating. I also want to make it to Paris: I'd be disappointed if I didn't. I also hope that the team will do well in the mountains because I really enjoyed watching Oscar Onley in the Tour de Suisse."

Picnic PostNL also has Pavel Bittner, who will be responsible for the flatter sprints after his Vuelta stage win last year. “I'm somewhere between a sprinter and a puncher. You could call me a modern sprinter,” says Lund Andresen. “I'm not as big as the real sprinters and need some climbs to be at my best. Michael Matthews is someone I look up to a lot, and in a few years, I'd like to ride like he has.”

Finally, can we expect to see Lund Andresen during the first weekend? "Dunkirk is a very stressful race, so if you put a Tour de France peloton on those roads, I can only imagine how chaotic it must be. I've been training for stages like stage two, but the race still has to go my way. Maybe I can come back from the front with a GC contender dropped after those first climbs. We'll see."