Mats Pedersen speaks as he prefers to in racing. Especially when he is battered and bruised from his crash in the Douard de Flenderen and the Tour de Flanders is approaching.

Dane is the designated leader of the Lidl Trek on Sunday and will attack Mathieu Van der Pol (Alpecin Desseuninck) and all the other riders who will be racing in Antwerp.

Pedersen did not do a final reconnaissance ride of the Tour de Flanders with his Lidl-Trek teammates on Thursday. The reason was that he collided with Wout Van Aert and his teammates at 70 km/h at the foot of the Canaryberg.

He ran outdoors Friday morning to relieve the pain of bruises all over his body. Fortunately he was able to sleep and his recovery is progressing.

He will be back to his best next Sunday in Paris-Roubaix, but he made it clear that he will still fight for results on Easter Sunday.

"I've had better days. It always hurts when you hit the floor at that speed. My wounds stick to my underwear and bed sheets. It's just painful to have to go through this," Pedersen said Friday afternoon.

"Of course, sometimes I'm on the floor. When you sign a contract, you know that sometimes that signature comes with a little bit of skin in the game.

"It's not ideal preparation for Sunday, but we know it could have been worse. Like many of my teammates and rivals, I could have been in the hospital or on the operating table. So I am very happy to still be able to race."

Pedersen expects to suffer on Sunday due to injuries and aggressive racing.

"Sorry for the strong language, but one thing is for sure, it's going to be a fucking tough race.

"Not only because of the bruises and body aches, but also because maybe some of them will try to anticipate and test our (aggressive) racing style in the early stages.

"I have to start the race with a different mindset than if I hadn't crashed on Wednesday. To win in Flanders you usually have to be 100%. To be honest, after a fall like this you are not 100%. On the other hand, I am sure that everything is possible, and if everything goes my way, it is still possible.

Pedersen has no idea how his crash at Dwar do Hlaanderen will change the Tour of Flanders.

His main rival Wout Van Aert is out due to multiple fractures, but Wisma Ries-a-Bike is still expected to be a contender, and he has been aggressive with Matteo Jorgensen, Tiesj Benoot, and Jan Tratnik. Biniam Guillemay (Intermarché Wanty) crashed but will compete in the Tour de Flanders. Alberto Bettiol (EF Education Easy Post), Stefan Kühn (Groupama FDJ), Matej Mohoric (Bahrain Victorious), Michael Matthews (Jayco Aula) and Julien Alaphilippe (Soudal-Quick Step), Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates), among others.

Of course, Mathieu Van der Pol (Alpecin-Desseuninck) is the heavy favorite to win his third Tour de Flanders. Alpecin Deceuninck will put "all his energy" into Van der Poel, as Jasper Philipsen has chosen to concentrate on Scheldepri and Paris-Roubaix.

Lidle Trek has lost Jasper Stuyven and Alex Kirsch, but has Jonathan Milano and especially Toms Sukjiņš. Tim DeClercq, Daan Fuhr, Otto Vergheerde, and Edward Theuns complete the Lidl Trek lineup.

"Losing Jasper and Alex hurts," Pedersen said.

"I feel really bad for Jasper. Alex is very important for running and positioning and he knows the road.

With the absence of Tadej Pogachar, the Tour of Flanders could return to a more traditional style of racing.

"I think it will be a combination of what we did years ago and what we have seen in the last couple of years," Pedersen said. [Maybe other players the size of Pogachar have new ideas, or maybe all of us have the same ideas as he does. The difference is that when 'Poggy' went to Strade Bianche, he basically couldn't keep up. Hopefully, we'll have a chance to follow the others. ......"

Ridgway.

Lidle Trek has used its depth of riders to dominate race tactics in the Classics this spring. Although he is definitely weaker now, Pedersen insisted that he has no intention of changing his racing style.

"I don't think it would be wise to change the way we race now. We are in a really good rhythm and I like this kind of racing," Pedersen said.

"We still have to plan and we are still trying to race our race. Then we'll see how my body reacts. We have Toms (Skujiņš) in the team and we still have a good card to play."

Jonathan Milan gives the option of a sprint, but with a large group coming together on the final climb, it is very unlikely that they will finish together.

Pedersen gets the team leader's result ahead of the Italian sprinter.

"One of my biggest dreams is to win at Monument, and the team is aware of that. So the general plan at Monument is that I am the leader now. Like it or not."

"Johnny is aware of that. Someday I will give Johnny back the work he did for me, but for now I'll be there if I have to."

Pedersen is not worried about the early breaking. The riders should feel a crosswind from the left as they head southwest from Antwerp through the Flemish hills around Oudenaarde. Saturday's rain forecast should clear up for Sunday's race.

"In Flanders, breakaway groups can go far, but I'm not afraid of that," said Pedersen, who knows he has Tim Declercq to help him with the early work.

"Even without Wout Van Aert, Wisma Lease-a-Bike is still looking for a win. Matteo Jorgenson is pretty good and Tiesj Benoot is flying. And Alpecin has Mathieu van der Pol. I think there will be some surprises in the final, but I am also sure that the top five contenders will be in contention for the championship."

Pedersen is not under pressure to win the Tour de Flanders, having beaten Van der Poel in Ghent-Wevelgem. He is suffering from a crash injury, and the Tour de Flanders, like other classics, is not suitable for Pedersen.

A result in the Tour de Flanders would be a big bonus for Van der Poer and could be a surprise.

"I am happy with my victory in Ghent-Wevelgem. Winning the Classic took some of the pressure off," Pedersen concluded.

"I know I can still be 100% ready for Paris-Roubaix and on Sunday I want to continue riding the wave we made as a team in the E3 Saxo Classic.

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