Original subtitles

Thank you, Greggy. Thank you, Steven.

Good job. Thank you, everyone.

Until now, I have everything else...

It's Pedersen who is going for it. And now you can see Pedersen.

Pedersen is behind. He is on fire at the minute.

...but I'm still missing the last bits of the puzzle.

Here we go! Time to pick up.

Mads Pedersen has been so brave in this race.

Oh, Mads Pedersen has done it for Denmark!

Mads Pedersen, he's a world champion!

Mads Pedersen is now a Tour winner, a Vuelta stage winner,

and a Giro d'Italia stage winner as well.

It's pretty simple.

I want to win a Monument before my career is over.

-Have you re-watched Flanders? -No, I don't watch the races.

It's a done deal.

-You always focus on the next one? -Yes.

I was there, I know what happened.

Now I will go out on an easy ride.

It's nice when the staff can ride in the sun.

I don't care about all the riders, they can go in rain,

but us trainers, we need to be sunshine riders.

That's how it is.

Mads is good in shaking off disappointment.

You get disappointed and one day later all is good again

and then you look forward.

The shape is good. I have good numbers even after a crash like that.

In one week, I will be healed up 100%,

then I will put a lock on the brain so it will stay in the head

when we start the race on Sunday in Roubaix.

One of the best riders in the world, very talented,

with a lot of respect for the staff,

a funny guy with a lot of joking around and a good rider.

I consider Mads as a friend, he was...

A few months ago, he was also at my wedding.

Of course I see it as a compliment

that Mads chose me to work on his bikes.

It keeps my level also high

because Mads is a rider that knows a lot about material.

He's very perfectionist.

Can you tell us about the setup?

So, basically, we still use the Aero bike, the Madone.

Nothing changed on the bike itself. Single 56 chainring.

Of course, we have to watch out

that the chain catcher is working well,

so we don't drop the chain.

Then a 10/28 cassette

and then the new Aeolus 49V wheels from Bontrager.

-Roubaix wheels? -Yes, they're a bit wider,

so we can fit on a 32mm Pirelli prototype tire

made only for Roubaix

with stronger sidewalls and a bit softer top.

So, it's a really custom tire for this race.

And then we have, like, the inserts, so we run tubeless.

So we have, like, the foam insert

to save us when, or if, we hit, like, a cobblestone

and the tire goes on the rim.

This is so much faster.

I couldn't destroy it when I tried it on the recons.

-You tried? -Yes, everything.

I even went low pressure to smash the wheels.

And I couldn't do it.

Do you already know the pressure of the tires?

3.4 bars in the front and 3.6 in the back.

The specific thing that I have to do for Mads is...

We call it together, me and Mads, his handlebar fetish.

You need something.

It don't have to be straight, don't have to be to the right,

but it always needs to be a bit off to the left...

...the direction of the handlebar.

And I know that many times he asks for a key to adjust it,

and the day after, he asks again a key to adjust it.

So, in that way, he is quite special.

I think those screws of his handlebar are touched quite a lot in the year.

When exactly does the build-up start

for the preparation for Paris-Roubaix?

First of November.

-The year before? -Yes.

I look really forward to Roubaix.

Really. Like, the body is good, like, even with the crash.

As I said, I have another week to recover 100%

and get the right preparation for the race, as well.

I have the right people here to,

to help me get 100% for Paris-Roubaix.

Everything is set up this week for the race on Sunday.

How would you describe Paris-Roubaix?

Horrible.

Horrible, but still beautiful.

It's such a tough race.

It's so much more than just being fast on a bike.

You have to make sure that your material is on point,

and that your material will make it all the way to the finish line.

This makes this race so special. On all the sectors that can happen,

it's completely, actually really crazy, this race.

So many different factors playing in,

in being able to do a good result there.

You need to put some thought in this,

you need to know exactly what you're riding,

you need to know the cobblestone sections

to be on the right spots on the cobblestones

so you don't destroy your material.

It's such a brutal race, and so hard.

It's your ass, your knees, your hands, your neck, your back,

everything is just painful.

It can be, literally, hell, yeah.

It can be wet and then it's so slippery,

that every sector you're afraid of crashing.

So there's so many factors that can decide the race.

You can have the strongest legs,

you have a puncture in the wrong moment,

maybe you have a crash, and everything is over.

And all your preparation, everything you've done, it's gone.

I said for a long time that I wanted a rainy Roubaix,

and, that day, it was finally raining.

And I hope I will never ever do a rainy Roubaix again.

But I had diamonds in the legs.

I had that feeling, when you don't feel your chain on the bike.

I go first into Arenberg.

Because like this I have no problems and less risk of crashing.

And, suddenly, I just see them move and I move with them,

but it was just too late.

Another crash! Another crash!

Yeah, Pedersen was in that front group.

The former world champion was definitely in that front group.

I hit Luke Rowe straight on the side and we both crashed,

I still believe, and it's so easy to sit here and say,

but I still believe I would have been able to...

...to, at least, fight for the podium that day.

But it's easy to say now, you know, we can't change it, and I crashed.

Would I have done something different? Absolutely not.

I believe I did the right thing in that moment.

What happened afterwards?

I went to the car of the soigneurs and then I actually broke down.

I was broken, heartbroken, because I really had that day

where I was like, "----, I believe I can win my dream race today."

So it broke me.

And maybe you talked with my dad about that day also,

but I called home, and I don't even think we talk that much.

I even think it was just silence on the phone.

He didn't say a lot either.

Because he knew, he knew how I felt that day.

In that moment, it was horrible.

The physical pain was bad,

but the mental pain and, like, the pain inside me, was...

I was broken.

And I also realized that day that it's more often

that it doesn't go your way than it actually goes your way.

Even when you have these days

where everyone can bring whatever they want,

you will beat them.

But still, it only takes one Luke Rowe to take you out.

You can have great legs, but still, still, you know, don't win the race.

This is sometimes very hard to accept, no?

So, I'm just trying to fine tune a little bit now,

because the feeling that he had in Flanders,

that was also that my endurance is no problem at all.

I could push 400, 450, that was no problem.

But these races are not decided at 400 or 450.

They are decided on the cobbles

or the attacking in-between the cobbles

and then you have to do above 500.

So that's what we are doing now.

He was pushing super hard in Carrefour de l'Arbre,

which was the last sector that we did,

and that's also a very crucial one, and a difficult one.

And then on some of the others, then he really had to take it easy

because we don't want to crash in the same week as we have Roubaix.

-So, where did he go? -He did left. Left.

-He did left? -Yeah.

There is a quote:

"To be the best, you have to do a thousand small things right."

It's not enough to just be good in training,

you have to pay attention to a lot of things and Mads is really doing that.

He is the one that is unique, he is the one that has this special talent.

I am just a trainer,

and I'm just happy if I can be a part of it.

Just because I'm a good trainer,

doesn't mean that I can make a Mads Pedersen of everybody.

It's Mads that is special.

And I do what I can to make him as good as possible and that's it.

Let's see the numbers.

This is a pretty big day. Coach is happy.

Last year, you finished fourth in Roubaix.

-Can you point out what you missed? -Talent.

Talent?

I can't point anything out.

That day, I was beaten by some better boys.

It's pretty simple.

I believe I'm better this year...

...and I don't think I miss a lot to beat them.

Anything can happen in that race

and that's why I keep believing that I can win also.

We just need to cross fingers

that, on Sunday, everything is going well,

because the legs will not be the problem.

This is the race next to Gent-Wevelgem, Sanremo,

and Roubaix is the race that fits him the best.

I think the teamwork is very nicely shown now, at the moment.

In any team, you see the divas, you see the ladies.

Wow, look at this John Deere with the mud. This you have to film.

And if you have this reputation in the bunch,

it's so much easier the whole year.

You just have to make a statement, the first, like Besseges,

Provence, like they did, or we did.

And if you make this statement in the bunch

that if Lidl-Trek is coming, they come with seven,

then the rest knows they have respect.

And you let them go, let them do the work,

and you have the appearance of a big team.

We started up well, and now we are feeding on that.

What is inside the rocket?

-What is inside the R? -I cannot tell you.

-You want some gels, some bars? -No, it's okay.

-How many Ks to go? -We are only halfway, man.

It's... It's taking ages.

Guys, if it's too much

you ask for a car at the end of the last 30 kilometers?

Come on, Mads, say it, say it! You are first.

Not to go behind the car.

Next time we have 10 kilometers of headwind like before,

-yes, we take the car. -Okay.

Here it looks easy and protected, then you come out and it's...

For me, it's always super important to have someone like Mads.

He's someone that is a real leader,

he's able to teach you, to speak with you on all the different occasions,

so he's someone to learn a lot from.

I like him a lot because of this, that's for sure.

We, or certainly Mads can give him a lot of confidence

and a lot of assets, how to race the bike,

how to read the race, how to do tactical decisions.

Even going that far to show him how to be a good leader.

How to treat the group, how to go to the staff and talk to them,

how to treat your mechanic well, all that.

I like Johnny, he's a really, really good guy

and I'm happy that he's here on the team

because, the last couple of years,

I had to do all the sprints and go to sprint races and so on and so on,

but now we have a proper sprinter on the team.

I can't teach him a lot,

I can teach him a little bit about the classics, but not a lot.

In the sprints, he's better than I am.

He has a different riding style than I have.

So it makes no sense for me to try to learn him anything in the sprints.

He just needs to build up the right train in front of him,

and then this kid will win everything.

When I was not a teammate with him,

I always looked to Mads with, always, a lot of respect

and I always saw it from outside,

also, I was not knowing him that well,

I always saw him like a really, like a leader.

He was looking like, and when I came here I had the proof.

I would say a leader who is nice to his domestics

gets so much more out of them.

The base of success is, in my eyes, always the last helper.

The weakest in the group,

which was often me in the teams I was, if this guy is giving it all,

like, you know, you see him drop

and the leader is not even suffering it.

But he sees him coming back, and he drops again,

and he comes back after another climb,

and he's just ripping himself for the others.

Then the second guy in the row gives a bit more.

And the third guy thinks, "Whoa!

The first one was really, really doing everything."

I'm fully focused. I'm 100% focused,

because they are pedaling, we are going 66kmph.

Johnny is suffering and Mads is ------- mouth closed.

So it's a problem, you know.

We need to find the line between the two.

That day with Mads, I was kaput after.

I was really... I was gone.

He was always full gas training.

He's always full gas training.

We had everything today, cold, six degrees,

rain, headwind, 20 degrees, sun.

The only thing we didn't have was tailwind.

Good.

Who do you see as your main opponents on Sunday?

Mathieu, Philipsen...

Johnny.

Johnny is super important, as all the other teammates I have.

Everyone has a specific role to play that day,

and Johnny, he's one of those cards who can win the race as well.

-I don't say it in a bad way at all. -No, no, no.

But he's still a guy to beat.

I just hope we're both there so we can play the game

we started in E3 and Gent and so on.

So he will be important, not only for me, but for the team to have success.

The chances in Roubaix, it's always...

I see a 100% chance we can win this race.

I did this race many times, and there was...

All the great riders, I raced with them.

I think, Cancellara won it three times or four times.

But he was many, many times the strongest.

Watch it.

-The doctor. -Vacek, water?

We don't need...

-Water? -Yeah.

Water?

Six.

So this is the race, you need to have the most luck,

everything needs to fit, then you can win it.

On Sunday, needs to be everything in this order.

You need to have the luck,

everything else needs to fit together,

then we have a big chance to win it.

Hundred percent. No doubt he has it.

He has... He has the strength, he has the race intelligence,

he knows how to win the big races.

It is a full package. It just needs to be the day.

Some days, the day is coming,

I always say if you're a good guy, the good stuff comes to you.

Roubaix is really made for him.

As a rider, you can see, also, his physique what he has.

He has like a tank to go over the cobbles.

I think it's a race that suits him

and I really, I expect him to be there in the final.

If you are there in the final anything can happen.

And he also has the weapon of a sprint,

even what we saw in Gent-Wevelgem, with him and Mathieu.

After such a race,

he doesn't have to be scared of anybody to go to the sprint.

Pretty good.

I stayed in Belgium with the team and had some good training days.

A bit of rain, but the body healed up from the crash...

He's the only guy who can beat Van der Poel, the biggest favorite.

He just needs to follow.

He, basically, doesn't need to do more

because Mathieu is the biggest favorite.

If there comes a situation that they're together or in a small group,

Mathieu, for sure, he will try hard,

but I think it will be very hard to drop Mads. Very, very hard.

But I have to keep believing in myself.

I have to believe that I did well enough and trained well enough

and prepared myself well enough to win a race like Roubaix.

Last year, yes, he dropped me on the flat.

But I also did a few mistakes,

burning a few matches too early, and so on and so on.

But it's not gonna happen this year.

Don't ask me how or why or whatever, it's just not gonna happen.

Yeah, definitely, you know we are at the start line to win the race.

We know we have some strong competitors tomorrow,

but with this team we are definitely capable of winning tomorrow.

I'm confident we have a good team and we can make a great race out of it

and then, in the end, if we also have the luck on our side a little bit,

I think anything is possible.

I'm 100% sure that Mads has what it takes to win Paris-Roubaix.

I think, because Mads has the mindset

and the craziness to win Paris-Roubaix.

He has the condition, he has the body

to go through such a hard race.

And then he has a killer instinct.

I truly believe that Sunday can be my first monument victory.

What will it mean to you to win Roubaix?

It's weird to say because, if it happens, the worst thing is,

you will just tick it off in the box

and then you will look forward to the next.

And it's pretty weird to say because we're talking so much about:

this is the dream, this is what I'm working for.

If it happens, we will just tick it off in the box

and we will say, okay, next.

But I think that's just cycling. That's the world of sports.

Jonny, tomorrow I will show you again I will be on time at the finish line.

Hey, Mads, just within the time limit is not enough.

If Mads says: "Today, I can win," or "Today, I feel really good,"

then I think everybody in the team believes that he really can win.

I really trust him when he says something,

so, I really like to work with guys like him,

because if you put in the work, it always somehow comes back.

-Yeah. -Let's go for Paris-Roubaix tomorrow.

I'm really happy you guys are here.

It was funny that when Vacek came in, he said:

"The most important guys are here now because it was only these two".

But actually you are.

It's not a joke and you will see with the work I give you now,

you are very, very important, everyone.

I think we should look really positive for tomorrow,

we had a good recon, we had a good preparation.

Also, Mads is, I think, not 100%,

he's more than 100%, and you guys as well.

Jonny and Mads, I see you guys really ready,

from Haveluy, really ready to follow the big guns.

If they don't go, it's fine, but anyway you need to be there.

Mads, you should cover Mathieu, you should stay around him

this is a good, good thing, and then we need to handle it together.

Good, Mads?

I believe, so far, this Classics season

we were riding like ------- champions.

From the first race we did, everyone was committed

and we went above, not the limits,

but really what we were expecting from everyone.

And, I think, like, this not internal competition within the team,

but this year everyone had to be the best version of themselves

to do the races.

And the race tomorrow... for me, personally,

that's the most important one.

I have never been better in my life,

but I need everyone to keep racing like we did the last couple of weeks.

Like this, I can win tomorrow.

But I need everyone to be 100% committed one last time.

If we're that, we're gonna celebrate tomorrow evening.

I believe in you boys, I believe in myself.

So let's ------- give it a go tomorrow.

Also from our site also, we believe in you and Jonny,

so let's go and make it happen.

-Let's go! -Yeah!

-Yeah! -Yeah!

It's early, but can you feel the heat?

It's warm already, isn't it?

It's a Sunday in hell and it's burning not too far from the start.

At the cobblestones on the Place de Gaulle in Compiègne.

Then I focus on what I have to do, but, of course, I'm focused,

and also it's the last race of the Classic campaign and so on,

so, yeah, to squeeze the last juice out of the lemon,

it takes a bit to get into the mood and the box and keep the focus.

And it's better to start ten minutes too early than ten minutes too late.

And the first cobbles of the day. Here we go. The riders are there.

Kilometer zero is passed and we get the first move.

Unfortunately, after, I think, 30k even, it was bam, again on the floor.

Riders down. A big rider down, as well, for Lidl-Trek.

Jonathan Milan on the right-hand side,

he is the rider down. He's with Gregory Rast there.

So, of course, without Jonny, it would make it harder to win the race.

In Gent-Wevelgem, we won the race

because we could play the cards of a good team performance.

And now, we were down to one leader.

But, I also have to switch to another plan straightaway

and forget that Jonny is out.

It's a jungle this race. But it's good.

Great things will happen.

Go, Mads, good, good, good.

-Go on, Dan. -There's nothing, I can do at all.

They are the ones making the show.

You know? So, they are the ones writing history.

I think for Mads Pedersen during the Tour of Flanders,

going on that attack, whatever you say about it, it was impressive.

But, at the same time, I think he took on too much, he did too much.

But he got an admission, as well, after the race.

Exactly, so, maybe in this now,

he's like, "I know that Van der Poel is beatable."

I know that I can beat him, but I need to do everything correctly."

I need to hide, stay out of the wind, be minimum

so I can be there with him to have the best chance to do that.

Everybody's been talking about this all week.

300 meters to the start, but they don't go straight on.

Whatever you're doing, wherever you're watching,

keep your eyes on the screen.

Riders with eyes on the prize!

Okay, they slow down, the speed is knocked off,

over the rails they go, right-hand side turning into a sharp left turn.

It's a much smaller group than we might have expected

but look at that, all the speed knocked off.

Now they must move into the hellish forest

with much less speed than normal.

Now, Roubaix if it hadn't already started, certainly has, Dan Lloyd.

It has indeed, and Mads Pedersen on the front,

leading them into the forest of Arenberg.

Too much energy spent for that, maybe a bit,

but when you don't know how things will turn out,

and you don't have the class of Mathieu,

then it's better to be safe than sorry.

Look at the state of these stones.

This is full gas, look at the speed, 44 km/ph from a dead start.

Yes, it is slightly downhill.

There's no way to explain this forest.

There is no rhythm and no ride to it.

Pedersen opened up that gap ever so slightly.

Piling on the pressure, Pedersen was looking good.

We saw those two fighting it out last week in a proxy war.

Gianni Vermeesch was the man controlling the Dane.

Now it's Pedersen. He's trying to follow.

And then you could already see that Van der Poel was so strong,

so Mads could not even hold his wheel.

Through the most famous forest in cycling,

here comes Mathieu Van der Poel.

The worst is we did a lot of the material testing and recons

on this specific sector of Roubaix.

Still in the race, I go full in the pothole!

- Pedersen, Pedersen, a puncture. - Pedersen with an issue now.

Pedersen there, back wheel.

I don't smash the rim, but with tubeless,

the tire comes a bit off and then, yeah, gone.

In the moment, I thought the race is over.

On the radio, everybody, "Puncture, puncture."

Luckily for Pedersen, he has a teammate

that will be able to help him get back on there.

He's on the radio talking to him, the team cars are coming through...

But Jeroen, my mechanic, was outstanding

and he was there like this with the new bike,

and I was ready to, to continue.

In the end, I was the only one with Mads.

I was always thinking about if something happens to Mads

I'm always the guy behind him who can help him.

Vacek, he was there straightaway in the second group.

I came into the second group, and he pulled super good

and hard to make it back to the group of Mathieu.

The best mechanic in the world, Vacek saved my race that day.

When you see Lidl-Trek,

the way they are continuing to set a really strong pace here.

There's going to be a moment when Mathieu van der Poel

is going to try and break this up

and put in these attacks over the cobble sections.

-Go, Mads! - Pedersen jumping across now.

Fred Wright following in his wheel. Philipsen just behind him.

I did everything for Mads, and I really believe when I drop

that Mads can be, at least, at the podium.

It's great that Mads is able to do this

but he's also dragging 20 riders along with him

back into the mix here.

Here's Van der Poel! And this is the move, and 60 km to go.

Mathieu van der Poel has chosen his moments.

It was the speed after the calm. Mads Pedersen is trying to chase.

In that moment, I had zero chance, I went with everything I had.

I really did everything I could to catch up with him,

and I just couldn't.

He was just so much better.

You will see that this has been

one of the greatest performances in history.

Okay, the race for the podium among the chasers.

Of course, Philipsen, as a teammate of Mathieu,

he's not doing anything.

He's not, but he's sitting in the wheel and hanging on.

He tried one attack, but, yeah, we made it with him and so on,

so he was, for sure, more fresh than we were.

And now, to the very famous right turn.

Onto the old concrete track, and it's going to be the double.

Back to back.

Yet again, it's the fastest ever Paris-Roubaix.

Mathieu van der Poel wins for a second time in the old Vélodrome.

Three warriors, but only two can head to the podium.

I could hope that Jasper would make a mistake on the track.

The bell rings, one lap to go.

Mads Pedersen, he's been brilliant today.

And the games start.

So unpredictable, these Roubaix sprints.

Don't count out Pollitt yet, he's going to go early.

But he knows he has to go early,

because behind the two men who are there,

normally have the faster turn of speed.

That could be the case again today.

Here's Pedersen on the left-hand side as we look at it.

But look at Jasper Philipsen, and it's a one-two.

It's the double-double.

But, yeah, he didn't...

-Jasper, good job! -Sorry, man. Thank you, man!

Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you, Greggy. Thank you, Steven. Good job.

Thank you, everyone.

Mathieu van der Poel beating his team mate, Philipsen,

and Mads Pedersen, with Politt and Küng in the top five.

So it was just a big relief to finish the Classics season

with the crash in Dwars Door, with the...

all the hard work to get ready again for Roubaix,

then all the sacrificing for the whole year

was still paying off, even that it was...

Third place. He can be proud of that performance.

"Only" third place.

When I came to the finish line and they told me that Mads was third

I was really proud of myself, proud of Mads.

The way we raced as a team that day makes me proud.

To be honest, I'm really happy.

Mathieu was in a different league today,

and the way he was racing was really impressive.

Today, I tried to do it better, but, as I just said,

he was impressive and I just couldn't follow, so...

How to beat him in a Monument? Clearly, I don't know yet.

And I think that Mads did one of his best races ever,

considering that Van der Poel is on another level,

and then you have to race against a lot of other guys.

He was attacking, he was pushing, he was really trying everything.

He had to cover a lot of attacks.

He had his help from Vacek and Eddy and so on.

I think, considering how it went, it was one of his best races ever.

Even though he only finished third, but it was like a small victory.

Ciao. Ciao.

Antic, you can switch off now.

Now switch off.

No ETA, no nothing.

I will keep fighting, it will always be my dream to win Paris-Roubaix.

And if I win it one year, I will be happy.

If I win it twice, I will be super happy.

If I don't win it, I can still be happy with my career,

but this will still be my dream to win Paris-Roubaix.

I have so many people around me,

from those two guys, to staff from the team.

So many good people around me who's a part of this journey

and a part of wanting me to achieve this goal.

And that's nice to feel that.

All the jackets arrive tomorrow.

Even though I'm an old man, Mads inspires me.

He inspires me not even as a cyclist,

but also the way he treats people around him.

What is the plan after Roubaix?

To have a break, to go home. Don't talk with you guys anymore,

don't talk with anyone in cycling, just see my wife.

I didn't see her for two and a half months almost.

So, Mads, we're gonna have to do a new deal, eh?

What?

Because in Mallorca I was asking you

if you could get a stone from Roubaix.

A stone? Actually, I got a stone, but only a small one.

Yeah, but you promised me, yes, so yes, we have it,

but now, I would like a bigger one.

Me too.

You know, like, his dream is also to win Paris-Roubaix.

Of course, it's nice to have someone you're working that close with,

who is so motivated and ready already at that moment,

to do it all again.

Then we have a new challenge next year,

because of course we are going to aim for the Monument

as long as we are living and dying now together.

I know today wasn't a victory,

but I would like to say thanks for the whole Classic campaign.

I think, we really took a step up this year.

It's really enjoyable to be part of this team,

how everyone is fighting, how we are pushing each other to be better.

Okay, today wasn't a win,

but I think we can be pretty proud of how we raced today,

how we raced all the other races.

Okay, I'm not proud of Flanders.

---- happens. I'm proud of you boys.

It's really enjoyable how you are putting yourself in the grave

to let me make a result, and it means a lot to me.

And, staff, impressive.

It's a pretty long time away from home

and we keep performing every day, so that's really nice.

So, let's enjoy this evening,

let's enjoy the Classics we have or we had,

and let's keep winning this season.

-Cheers. -Cheers.

The goal after Roubaix is, for sure, the Tour de France and the Olympics.

There's Mark Cavendish, through the center he's hit the front.

Cavendish is there! There's a crash behind!

Mark Cavendish this is history, this is history.

TRANSLATOR CREDIT Iyuno