Classics analysis: Pedersen's missing parts, glory for Ganna, heartbreak for Van Aert, Bennett's comeback
We visit Lidl-Trek before their Flanders recon, and hear from Pedersen, Ganna, Viviani, Niermann and Sam Bennett on wanting to end his career on his terms
Hey Subscribers,
Thursday morning, after Dwars door Vlaanderen and Lidl-Trek were back out there and riding recon ahead of the Tour of Flanders.
We headed to a junction road near Ronse ahead of the team’s all-important ride to talk with Mads Pedersen about his form and whether he can piece things together in time for Flanders and Roubaix.
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Coming up in the newsletter, we also hear from Grischa Niermann about yet another heartbreaking loss for Wout van Aert in Dwars, Filippo Ganna discusses whether he should or shouldn’t add Flanders to his schedule, and there’s an exclusive interview with Sam Bennett about his comeback and his desire to finish his career on his own terms.
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We begin with Pedersen, who, along with his teammates, has been out on the roads of Flanders ahead of Sunday’s second Monument of the season. The Dane is continuing his progress following his collarbone and wrist breaks, and after a surprising yet welcome fourth place in Milan-San Remo, he’s been competitive with ninth in E3 and tenth in Dwars. These are commendable results, especially considering where the Dane was a couple of months ago, but the main question is whether he can find that extra few per cent in time for Sunday and then Paris-Roubaix.