Lidl-Trek riders say they'll 'never go back' to 2x on the cobbles, but why isn’t anyone else using this set-up?

Lidl-Trek's sponsors make it easier for the team to run a 1x mullet groupset grounded in mountain bike tech

Danish Mads Pedersen of Lidl-Trek pictured in action on the Kemmelberg with an unique SRAM 1x 13 speed set-up during the men elite 'Gent-Wevelgem - In Flanders Fields' one day cycling race, 250.3 km from Ieper to Wevelgem, Sunday 30 March 2025. BELGA PHOTO DAVID PINTENS (Photo by DAVID PINTENS / BELGA MAG / Belga via AFP) (Photo by DAVID PINTENS/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images)
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Lidl-Trek’s Mads Pederson pulled in a one-two alongside team-mate Jonathan Milan at Gent-Wevelgem on Sunday, and on some unusual equipment: a Trek Madone race bike, running a 1x SRAM XPLR set up, designed with a gravel bike in mind.

Pederson rode the team-issue Madone SLR 9, his and Milan’s triumph bringing the total number of spring podiums achieved on this XPLR set-up, with its 13-speed 10-46 cassette, to four.

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Andy Carr
Cycling Weekly Tech Editor

Andy Carr is the tech editor at Cycling Weekly. Previous to this role, he was the CEO of Spoon Group Limited, which brought together custom bike brands Spoon Customs and Wyndymilla.

Andy is based in Norfolk, where he's recently discovered that champagne gravel really does exist in the UK...