Rest day Giro with Mathias Vacek: "Winning Paris-Roubaix is the biggest dream"

On the first rest day in Italy, Fleur paid a visit to Lidl-Trek. After the riders had completed their morning spin — which included a preview of tomorrow’s time trial course — Mathias Vacek settled into the hotel lobby in the coastal town of Viareggio. You could say Lidl-Trek is the team where rider cards are 'traded' the most, so the concept was already familiar to Vacek.

With an overall score of 86, this 22-year-old multi-talent has already moved beyond his ‘rising star’ status. In the first week of the Giro, he showed that he’s in top form and more than capable of doing stellar work for his team leaders. But what kind of rider is Vacek really — and how does he view his current stats?

In conversation with Mathias Vacek

At a first glance at his rider card, Vacek immediately notices that some of his stats still have room to grow. The rating for the time trial clearly stands out.

Do you see yourself as a time trial specialist?

"Yes, based on the past two years, I think you could say that. Scoring 90 there seems fair to me. I’m already able to compete with the best, though I believe I still have another step to take. I’m not up there with Ganna yet."

Is he the kind of rider with a similar profile to yours — someone you’ve looked up to?

"As a time trialist, Ganna is definitely a role model, but I think I’m a different type of rider. In that sense, I look more towards Wout van Aert and Mads Pedersen. In a Grand Tour, I don’t just aim for the time trial — I can also go for opportunities in hilly stages. And of course, I give everything as a domestique for team leaders like Mads Pedersen and Giulio Ciccone."

Mathias Vacek already made a strong impression in his Grand Tour debut at the 2024 Vuelta, where he claimed the first young rider’s jersey after the opening time trial. He also showed earlier this year in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad that the cobbled classics suit him well.

What do you prefer: stage races or one-day classics?

"I enjoy both, but the classics appeal to me more. You can go all-in for one specific race, and I really like that. The downside is, you also need a bit of luck on your side."

He’s referring, of course, to the crashes he was involved in this spring, as well as the flu that hit him right before E3.

"If I can start the classics season next year with the same shape I had at Omloop, I might just have a shot at winning one. A race like Omloop or E3, which are a bit more hilly than some of the other cobbled classics, should suit me best."

And what’s the one race you dream of winning?

"That’s definitely Paris-Roubaix. For me, it’s simply the most iconic race — it’s so tough, which would make winning it extra special."

I bring up the moment from his nasty crash in the last edition. On live TV, you don’t always catch every fall or flat tire, but the day after, a clip surfaced on social media showing Vacek hitting the cobbles face-first — and once inside the Vélodrome, it resulted in some iconic photos of his bloodied face. I suggest that it’s that legendary finish that explains why he still pushed on to complete the race.

"It didn’t happen too far from the finish, so after suffering for 230 kilometers, when you go down, you don’t want to give up just like that. I really wanted to cross that finish line."

Would you say that’s typical of you — that you’re good at suffering on the bike?

"Yeah, I can go really deep. When I’ve set my sights on a particular race, I go all the way."

With a background in cross-country skiing, where Vacek was also highly talented before choosing to fully focus on cycling, I’m curious if that mental toughness showed even back then.

"I think there’s even more suffering in skiing. It’s hard to compare — skiing is a flat-out effort for 20 to 30 minutes, whereas in cycling you can build into the race and spread your effort more. Both have their challenges, but skiing is more about raw power. In that sense, it’s quite comparable to a time trial indeed."

The simulation model distinguishes between short and long time trials. The shorter the TT, the more weight is given to the short TT skill, with 16 km being the tipping point between the two. As of mid-May, Mathias Vacek scores 96 on the short TT and 86 on the long one.

So how do you view your chances tomorrow (Stage 10, 28.6 km) compared to Stage 2 (13.7 km)?

"I think a medium-length time trial suits me best — around 15 km is my sweet spot. That’s when I know I can hit my optimal numbers. In that sense, the TT in Albania was more up my alley. But I think fatigue in other riders will be a factor tomorrow too. With the form I’m in now, I believe I can perform well even in a longer TT. The algorithm doesn’t rank me that highly, huh? Then I guess I’ll just have to prove it wrong tomorrow."

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Forza, Mathias!