Spring Classics

"We Are Not Scared of Anyone" — Lidl-Trek Back Pedersen as Paris-Roubaix Favourite After Flanders Second

CYCLING LOOKOUT • 5 APRIL 2026

Mads Pedersen arrived at the Tour of Flanders with high expectations and left Oudenaarde with those expectations fully justified — and then some. A second-place finish behind a once-in-a-generation performance from Tadej Pogacar would represent a fine result on any given day, but the manner of Pedersen's finish — outsprinting Mathieu van der Poel in the drag race to the line — sent an unmistakable signal to the peloton: the Lidl-Trek Dane is the man to beat at Paris-Roubaix on April 12.

Lidl-Trek sporting director Gregory Rast was not shy about the implications. Speaking to reporters in the team bus park after the race, Rast delivered one of the most bullish assessments of any directeur sportif's post-race press: "For me, Mads is the main favourite for Roubaix. We are not scared of anyone next week." It is a statement of intent that Pedersen himself would probably phrase more cautiously — the Dane is not given to public bravado — but the underlying confidence was unmistakable in his own post-race words too. "I'm satisfied with how I rode today. I had the legs. I know Roubaix and I know how to suffer. We'll see what happens on Sunday."

The logic behind the Lidl-Trek confidence is straightforward. Pedersen won Paris-Roubaix in 2022 and has been a fixture in the race's decisive moments every year since. His ability to endure the punishment of the cobbles without sacrificing finishing speed is a rare combination — the quality that defines the greatest Roubaix riders of any era. His performance at Flanders confirmed that combination is fully intact in 2026. He had to survive a race shaped almost entirely by Pogacar's aggression, staying present and composed while Van der Poel cracked under the pressure of trying to follow the Slovenian over the Paterberg, and then producing a fresh sprint at the finish. That is the exact skill set required for the Hell of the North.

The contrast with Van der Poel is instructive. The Alpecin-Deceuninck leader came to Flanders targeting a record-equalling fourth title and rode aggressively throughout, but the effort to stay in contact with Pogacar's Oude Kwaremont attack drained him precisely when the sprint mattered most. For Pedersen, who had tracked the race more judiciously in the final kilometres, the energy was there when it counted. In the flat sprint to Oudenaarde, Pedersen's superior speed at the finish gave him second over Van der Poel despite the Dutchman's natural power advantage in most contexts.

Paris-Roubaix, of course, is a different race entirely — flatter, longer, and decided by attrition across 29 cobbled sectors rather than the short, punishing climbs of the Flemish Ardennes. But Pedersen's 2022 victory and his repeated top-five finishes since demonstrate he does not merely survive the pavé; he controls it. His large-framed physique, which can appear a limiting factor on climbing races, becomes an asset on the roads between Compiègne and the Roubaix velodrome, absorbing the punishing vibrations more effectively than lighter climber-types who are forced to work harder to stay upright.

The field for April 12 will be formidable. Pogacar has confirmed he will start — he has spoken publicly about his desire to win Paris-Roubaix above all else, including a fifth Tour de France — and Wout van Aert will be hungry after another emotionally draining spring without a Monument win. Van der Poel targets a record-equalling fourth victory. But Rast's confidence is not unfounded. In a race where Pedersen has already proven himself, where his physical characteristics suit the terrain perfectly, and where he arrives having just demonstrated the ability to out-sprint one of the greatest classics riders of the modern era over 270 kilometres, the Dane has every right to arrive at the velodrome as the man everyone else is watching.

Pedersen himself will not want to talk about being favourite. He will point to Pogacar's extraordinary form, to Van der Poel's three previous victories, to the unpredictability of cobblestone racing. But privately, in the quiet of the team bus heading back north from Oudenaarde, Lidl-Trek's riders will know: if the race comes to the velodrome in a group, or if Pedersen is within striking distance at the Carrefour de l'Arbre, Paris-Roubaix 2026 is his to lose.

"We Are Not Scared of Anyone" — Lidl-Trek Back Pedersen as Paris-Roubaix Favourite After Flanders Second

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