Sprint Time for Lidl-Trek

Lidl-Trek is winning this season with massive watt-stomping sprints. Just look at the recent Lidl Deutschland Tour wins by Mads Pedersen. Besides taking the GC by 22 seconds, Pedersen won two stages. Teammate Jonny Milan won the points classification following victories in the prologue and stages 1 and 2, giving the team a clean sweep. Pedersen and Milan have excelled in field sprints this year, including Milan winning three stages and the Ciclamino jersey of the Giro d’Italia points classification.  

The team rides TIME XPRO pedals as part of its partnership with SRAM. The riders worked closely with SRAM’s tech team to set up their pedals to maximize security, efficiency, and power transfer for the all-out gallops to the finish line.  

Each rider’s pedal setup provides insight into the many pedal-fit preferences provided by TIME XPO pedals. Here are the pedal setups for Pedersen, Milan, and several other Lidl-Trek riders. 

 Mads Pedersen (Sprinter and One-day/Classics Specialist) 

 5-foot-10 / 1.80 meter 

154 lbs / 70 kg 

Pedal-fit specs 

Spindle length: 51  mm

Cleats: Fixed  

Tension settings: 

Two carbon blades 

Production spring-tension setting* 

Jonny Milan (Sprint specialist and power rider) 

6-foot-4 / 1.93 meter 

185 lbs / 84 kg 

Pedal-fit specs 

Spindle length: 53 mm 

Cleats: Fixed 

Tension settings: 

Two carbon blades 

Production spring-tension setting* 

Jasper Stuyven (One-day/Classics specialist and lead outs) 

6-foot-1 / 1.87 meter  

Pedal-fit specs 

Spindle length: 57 mm 

Cleats: Fixed 

Tension settings: 

Two carbon blades 

Production spring-tension setting* 

Simone Consonni (One-day racer and leadout specialist) 

5-foot-9 / 1.65 meter 

132 lbs / 60 kg 

Pedal-fit specs 

Spindle length: 53 mm 

Cleats: Fixed 

Tension settings: 

Two carbon blades 

Production spring-tension setting* 

Preferences for Different Riders 

TIME Pedals help you to adjust your Stance Width, the connection point where a rider transfers power from their legs into the crank to provide propulsion. Proper Stance Width is rider-dependent, but it is critical to efficient power transfer, comfort, and injury prevention. To help riders find what Stance Width is best for them, TIME offers spindle lengths in narrow, standard, and wide (51, 53, 57mm). 

Larger powerful riders like Stuyvenoften select the wide, 57mm spindle length for XPRO pedals. “When we started to propose this option to them, they explained that they were feeling way more comfortable and reassured due to their anatomy wide pelvis and legs, according to TIME Product Manager Benjamin Marinier. The climbers, punchers, or GC riders tend to prefer the regular, or 53 mm spindle, for comfort and lightweight. Yet there are no set rules. Pedersen, for example, chose the narrow 51 mm spindle. 

All the pros featured here selected the fixed cleats, which are different from the float cleats preferred by most cyclists. Typically, riders want float to help avoid pain from the restrictive fixed cleats. However, professional cyclists are regularly evaluated by bike fit experts. The fixed cleat provides pros with the direct contact and control they seek on their bikes. The pros also prefer the security of the double carbon blade setup. Riders can increase tension settings for XPRO pedals using a two-carbon blade configuration kit instead of the single-carbon blade in pedals leaving the factory. The upgrade kit allows for greater pedal tension. 

Each rider has options for their best interaction with the pedal. “The overall chain of pedal fitting is a kind of alchemy based on science and personal feeling, prototyping and experimentation,” Marinier said.