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HARELBEKE, Belgium (Velo) — Mads Pedersen was spinning up the Taaienberg with a high-cadence kick that saw him race to a career-best second at E3 Saxo Classic.
Only the untouchable Mathieu van der Poel could deny the Dane the top step in the key pre-monument test.
The Lidl-Trek is looking sharp for the upcoming battles at Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, where a career-first monument victory is the ultimate goal.
But it’s not just the form that Pedersen’s is dialing in. He raced again on the bold new setup that is mixing gravel innovation with road-racing precision in the SRAM Red XPLR 1×13 drivetrain.
Paired with a massive 56-tooth front chainring, Pedersen looks more than ready for monument madness.
“We try to find the best options for us and this is the perfect setup,” Pedersen told Velo after the podium ceremony. “There’s less chance of having something breaking or having accidents with the gearing or having the rear derailleur jumping around. For us, it’s perfect that this groupset is fitting on the road bike.”
Also read: Van der Poel smashes E3
The team unveiled the gravel-inspired 1x setup earlier this season in the “Opening Weekend,” and Friday’s wet and grim battle over the Flemish bergs was another trial-by-fire confirmation that it’s ready for prime time at Flanders and Roubaix.
“SRAM would never put anything on the market that is not working,” Pedersen said.
On Friday, every Lidl-Trek rider — except Jasper Stuyven — raced on the new-look 1×13 setup at E3 Saxo Classic.
Lidl-Trek officials also confirmed to Velo that the plan is to race the setup at both the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.
Crank arm: ‘You don’t get it for free’
Pedersen might be racing on the wider 13-speed, but he’s staying old-school with a 172.5mm crank arm.
In an era where many riders are shifting to shorter crank arms for better biomechanics and higher cadences with 165mm crank arms or even shorter, Pedersen is sticking with the more familiar crank.
“It’s all about the signal from the head to the legs. It doesn’t come for free just because you go with shorter cranks,” Pedersen told Velo. “And all the guys who are using shorter cranks, they also have to train for it.
“Just because you go shorter, you don’t get it for free.”
Of course, staying close to Van der Poel might require more than a shorter crank.
“The legs also help, and the legs are ready,” Pedersen said. “When Van der Poel makes the difference like that, it’s hard enough. When he’s in top shape, he drops everybody.”
Riders have been experimenting with new setups and mixing up crank arm length over the past several years, and riders like Tadej Pogačar and Tom Pidcock have joined the growing legions using 165mm cranks.
Also read: Lidl-Trek rolls out gravel groupset for classics
There were whispers that Jonas Vingegaard was testing radical 150mm cranks earlier this season.
As for classics king Van der Poel? He’s not changing a thing.
While he’s dabbled in 1x setups for gravel and cyclocross, the former world champion rode to victory at E3 on his trusty 2x configuration: 54/40 chainrings paired with an 11-30 cassette.
“I am quite happy with the setup I have, I think it works quite well, and I’m not about to change anything,” Van der Poel said.
Don’t fix what’s not broken?
The big test comes on the two weekends of Flanders and Roubaix.
