Pedersen admits absence of Stuyven and Kirsch for Tour of Flanders a 'pain in the ***'

Mads Pedersen says it is “a pain in the ***” to race the Tour of Flanders without Lidl-Trek team-mates Jasper Stuyven and Alex Kirsch.

He said: “I have had better days [than the crash on Wednesday], let’s say it like this.

“To be honest, it’s a pain in the *** that we lost Jasper and Alex.

“If we take Alex as a helper first, he’s super important for the run-ins, for positioning and so on. He knows these roads so well.

“Of course we have Tim [Declercq], Otto [Vergaerde] and Eddy [Theuns] who are basically riding these roads every day, but one extra would have been nice.”

Kirsch had impressed this season with a 10th place at the E3 Saxo Classic earlier this month, and would have been expected to provide assistance as a domestique.

Stuyven and Pedersen are used to working with one another, and the former could have played a role in helping guide the latter to victory.

Stuvyen has outperformed Kirsch this season, with second spot at the E3 Saxo Classic and eighth place at Milano-Sanremo. However, like Van Aert, he required surgery for a fractured collarbone after his crash.

“I feel really sorry for Jasper, he found the shape again and he showed really good signs for Flanders and he didn’t deserve to end on the floor with a broken collarbone, neither does Wout,” added Pedersen.

“I’m really going to miss Jasper and I think we as a team are going to miss the card [that] Jasper would have been sitting with.”

Some have speculated that Pedersen’s Lidl-Trek team-mate Jonathan Milan could have been a candidate for his team to ride for, but Pedersen firmly countered that suggestion.

“I do really appreciate Johnny and he did some amazing work so far, but you know one of my dreams as well is to win a Monument and the team is aware of this,” Pedersen said.

“The plan for these Monuments is, right now, that I’m the leader, like it or not. And Johnny he is aware of that and 100 per cent one day I will give Johnny back the work he did for me.

“But right now, I am the guy we are going for if it is needed.”

But after his crash, is Pedersen in the condition to triumph on Sunday?

He said: “I know to win Flanders you need to be 100 per cent and I have to be honest, I am not 100 per cent right now after a crash like this.

“But on the other hand, everything is also possible and if everything plays my way, it is still possible.”