Solely every week on from getting caught in a mass crash on the Dwars door Vlaanderen, Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) enters the ultimate race of cobbled Classics season at Paris-Roubaix standing above the remainder as the person primed to take the battle to Mathieu van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen.
The Alpecin-Deceuninck duo, who scored a one-two end on the Velodrome André-Pétrieux final 12 months, are overwhelming favourites to take action once more in a peloton shorn of a number of high contenders, particularly Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike).
Nonetheless, former World Champion Pedersen, who earlier this spring mentioned he is in one of the best type of his profession, will take the beginning in Compiègne, and he is feeling good forward of Sunday.
“Quick reply, sure,” he mentioned when requested if he is at the moment in one of the best place of his profession to attain a Monument victory. “The form is sweet, and we now have a robust workforce. The fabric is sweet, every thing is sweet, so I imagine so, sure.
“It is nearly every week in the past now,” he mentioned of the crash which noticed massive names Van Aert, Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) and Lidl-Trek teammate Jasper Stuyven all name an finish to their spring.Â
“So, the physique is prepared for the subsequent. The form is just about the identical as earlier than. After all, the physique is much less so due to the crash. The injuries are additionally getting higher so on that be aware it is in fact a bit higher however the form needs to be the identical.”
Pedersen might be with out Stuyven, who positioned second on the E3 Saxo Traditional, and Alex Kirsch, one other caught within the Dwars crash. Nonetheless, he’ll nonetheless get pleasure from workforce assist from the likes of Jonathan Milan, Tim Declercq and Edward Theuns.
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In the middle of Van der Poel‘s 4 race days up to now this spring, Pedersen stays the one man to stop the Dutchman from celebrating on the end, having overwhelmed him at Gent-Wevelgem (Van der Poel helped Philipsen to the win at Milan-San Remo, in fact).
“We nonetheless have a robust workforce, so we imagine in that, and we hold believing in the identical race philosophy that we had previously races,” Pedersen mentioned of his squad.
“We’re lacking Jasper, Alex and so forth, but it surely’s part of racing additionally. The substitutes are actually robust as nicely so we’re nonetheless a extremely robust workforce.”
Pedersen would not be drawn on any strategic plans forward of the race, as is often the case earlier than a day as unpredictable as Paris-Roubaix. As an alternative, he mentioned that he is simply aiming to get to Roubaix among the many lead group.
“It is a utterly completely different race than Flanders so this might be a unique strategy,” he mentioned. “The primary objective can be to make it to the velodrome with the primary guys, after which battle for the win. Do not go away it too early.
“To choose this, and this, and this, and this… it is all dream eventualities. My dream state of affairs can be to complete alone with two minutes. No stress. I may even puncture within the final 20km, but it surely’s not going to occur. So, it is actually arduous to let you know precisely what the nicest factor can be.”
The Arenberg chicane and rider security
Apart from the broadly requested query ‘how you can cease Mathieu van der Poel?’, the most important subject of debate forward of the weekend centred on the newly-added, makeshift chicane on the entry to sector 20, the Trouée d’Arenberg.
The sharp bend, primarily based on a median within the street on a junction instantly earlier than the beginning of the five-star sector, has been added to make sure the charging peloton is slowed earlier than hitting the cobbles. Hopefully, the brand new measure will stop brutal crashes at 60-70 kph as riders zoom into the forest.
“It’s what it’s,” was Pedersen’s response to the brand new chicane.
“They took the choice with solely asking just a few riders and never everybody and now it is there and now we now have to take care of it. We will not change it anyway and now we simply should take this little nook earlier than Arenberg.”
This assertion is available in opposition to what Adam Hansen, the president of the CPA rider’s union, mentioned. The Australian has advised Cyclingnews and Biking Weekly that each one riders have been consulted through workforce representatives, noting that almost all authorized of a change to the course to enhance rider security.
When requested whether or not the chicane would truly achieve this, Pedersen mentioned that he had “no thought”, including that he might solely give an actual reply after having raced it among the many peloton.
“To be sincere, I do not know. We by no means did something like that. We all know it is an essential run-in. Let’s examine on Sunday,” he mentioned. “If we discuss after I may give you a greater reply however proper now, I do not know to be sincere and it is also nothing that is in my head.
“After all, I wish to be on this nook first as a result of it is clearly essential to be there earlier than the forest. In order that’s simply my predominant objective after which considerations about crashes and so forth we are able to discuss after the race after we see the way it went.”
The addition of the Arenberg chicane has come after years of scary crashes on the cobbles there. It additionally comes amid renewed considerations about rider security within the wake of a number of current mass crashes – at Dwars door Vlaanderen after which once more on Thursday at Itzulia Basque Nation.
Pedersen, who was compelled out of the race by the crash at Dwars, mentioned that he is protecting a impartial stance in his public statements on the difficulty of rider security, preferring as an alternative for the discussions to stay amongst riders and organisers slightly than making his case through the press.
“I’ve acquired to be sincere; I wish to keep fairly impartial on this as a result of some of these things is above my pay grade,” he mentioned. “I do not assume we now have to debate this with you guys.
“That is one thing we now have to debate [amongst ourselves] and with the organisers and so forth. So I do not wish to sit right here and throw stones when I haven’t got a transparent resolution so it is higher to be impartial.”
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