Teams & Riders Lennert Van Eetvelt

[Berniece]

I get why they do it, because it’s just worth more business wise to let them race the TDF, but for their own development I wouldn’t have done this. Just like it was too early for De Lie last year, it’s too early for Van Eetvelt this year.

 

[Anderis]

If the rider is in his 3rd pro season, will turn 24 next July and scored over 1000 PCS points the year before, I don't see how it would be too early for him to ride the TdF, unless they put 100% pressure on him to deliver a GC result, which I doubt.

I also don't see why it was too early for De Lie. He got 5 top5 finishes so what's the problem here? We're talking here about 2 riders who are already easily among top50 pro riders- how long are you gonna wait before letting them ride the biggest race in the calendar? It doesn't make much sense to me.

 

[Berniece]

If the rider is in his 3rd pro season, will turn 24 next July and scored over 1000 PCS points the year before, I don't see how it would be too early for him to ride the TdF, unless they put 100% pressure on him to deliver a GC result, which I doubt.

I also don't see why it was too early for De Lie. He got 5 top5 finishes so what's the problem here? We're talking here about 2 riders who are already easily among top50 pro riders- how long are you gonna wait before letting them ride the biggest race in the calendar? It doesn't make much sense to me.

He's never ridden a proper GT result in his career, he only finished 1 in 2023, the Vuelta. I would expect they actually want him to ride a GC result in a GT, so it makes more sense to me to ride the Giro, where he would ride top 10 or better. Now he'll ride the TDF, and I'm not even sure what the point is.

Who cares about a top 5 in a single stage? De Lie could have been sent to Giro or Vuelta and actually gotten stage wins.

I just feel they are skipping steps, and the end result will be different due to it.

 

[Rob5091]

He's never ridden a proper GT result in his career, he only finished 1 in 2023, the Vuelta. I would expect they actually want him to ride a GC result in a GT, so it makes more sense to me to ride the Giro, where he would ride top 10 or better. Now he'll ride the TDF, and I'm not even sure what the point is.

Who cares about a top 5 in a single stage? De Lie could have been sent to Giro or Vuelta and actually gotten stage wins.

I just feel they are skipping steps, and the end result will be different due to it.

Lotto are skipping the Giro again apparently so that's out.

 

[Berniece]

Lotto are skipping the Giro again apparently so that's out.

Because it's less interesting financially for the sponsors. Which I get, but a shame that their best riders are so young, so they need to skip some steps for this. They need a bigger sponsor and get some bigger names that are more mature so that their riders coming from the development team get more time to grow.

 

[AmRacer]

Because it's less interesting financially for the sponsors. Which I get, but a shame that their best riders are so young, so they need to skip some steps for this. They need a bigger sponsor and get some bigger names that are more mature so that their riders coming from the development team get more time to grow.

Pogi the GOAT was younger

 

[Rob5091]

According to Stéphane Heulot,

"There will only be 25 of us next year, there were 28 of us this year. Obviously, the calendar is a little reduced and adapted to our abilities," CEO Stéphane Heulot explains to Cyclism'Actu.

https://cyclinguptodate.com/cycling...eam-is-not-ready-to-take-on-three-grand-tours

Original article at
https://www.cyclismactu.net/news-cy...uveau-skipper-giro-85456.html#google_vignette

 

[Samamba]

Just like it was too early for De Lie last year

What even is this take, based on nothing. De Lie had a good Tour. Wouldve even won a stage if he didn't make a mistake on stage 8. Was never really in throuble in the mountain stages. Didn't finish it completely broken, was better after the Tour, etc. Obviously he was ready for it.

And as long as Lotto don't expect LVE to get a good result in GC (which they won't), "too early" doesn't exist in this case. You act like he's 19, he's going to be 24 mid Tour.

 

[Berniece]

What even is this take, based on nothing. De Lie had a good Tour. Wouldve even won a stage if he didn't make a mistake on stage 8. Was never really in throuble in the mountain stages. Didn't finish it completely broken, was better after the Tour, etc. Obviously he was ready for it.

And as long as Lotto don't expect LVE to get a good result in GC (which they won't), "too early" doesn't exist in this case. You act like he's 19, he's going to be 24 mid Tour.

The goal was to win a stage, he didn't. There was constant pressure on him to perform from the media. The whole team was build around him and Van Gils. It would've made more sense to ride Giro or Vuelta to actually win stages, while learning how to ride a GT.

As if Lotto doesn't expect a decent result from LVE in the TDF. It's their best rider. On top of that you can already expect a lot of pressure from the Belgian media too. Although he's lucky that Evenepoel will take most of it. That he's 24, doesn't matther, it's not about their literal age, it's about their experience. You ease riders into the TDF, you don't just drop them in it.

 

[yaco]

I would taken De Lie to the Vuelta where I am certain he would have won a stage. Of course when you choose to ride only two GT's then you limit your options, and anyway De lie did better than expected. It's a no brainer to take Van Eeltvelt to the TDF as he he is at the level where he can win a stage.

 

[Samamba]

The goal was to win a stage, he didn't. There was constant pressure on him to perform from the media. The whole team was build around him and Van Gils. It would've made more sense to ride Giro or Vuelta to actually win stages, while learning how to ride a GT.

As if Lotto doesn't expect a decent result from LVE in the TDF. It's their best rider. On top of that you can already expect a lot of pressure from the Belgian media too. Although he's lucky that Evenepoel will take most of it. That he's 24, doesn't matther, it's not about their literal age, it's about their experience. You ease riders into the TDF, you don't just drop them in it.

The kid earns almost 1.5M a year, no *** there's gonna be some pressure. The Giro does not make sense at all, I have no idea why you keep repeating that. It's does not and will never make sense for a classic rider as they will always have a rest period after the classics and last season De Lie literally just came back from Lyme. Vuelta is harder than the Tour anyways, this whole thing that riders are ready to do the Vuelta but not the Tour is dumb. The only thing is added pressure and that wasn't even that big. Everyone agreed that De Lie rode a good Tour, media too. It isn't because the goal is to win (no *** it is? it's for everyone) that not winning that stage means you failed. Also De Lie does not give a damn about a stage win in the Vuelta, neither do a lot of sprinters. He literally said that he prefers Canada-Plouay-Hamburg-Renewi over the Vuelta. Add that to the fact that he probably wouldn't even beat Groves and/or Van Aert and this whole he shouldve gone to the Vuelta to get a stage win argument can just be thrown into the bin. If the Vuelta would've had like 3 De Lie style uphill sprints, sure you could maybe make the case, but that wasn't.

Why are you acting like Lennert Van Eetvelt is a neopro who's never ridden a GT. Obviously this is nothing close to just dropping him in at all. Plenty of ways you can ride a good Tour for the team without getting a good result in the GC. He has the level to win a stage with some luck there, and if he's fit he will at least show himself, which would be very valuable for the team, even if it doesn't end up with a good result. It's not like the team is pushing him to ride it, they asked him. He was interested. Pretty simple. Also it isn't a 100%, it depends on his first months of the season but they obviously expect them to go well.

 

[Berniece]

The kid earns almost 1.5M a year, no *** there's gonna be some pressure. The Giro does not make sense at all, I have no idea why you keep repeating that. It's does not and will never make sense for a classic rider as they will always have a rest period after the classics and last season De Lie literally just came back from Lyme. Vuelta is harder than the Tour anyways, this whole thing that riders are ready to do the Vuelta but not the Tour is dumb. The only thing is added pressure and that wasn't even that big. Everyone agreed that De Lie rode a good Tour, media too. It isn't because the goal is to win (no *** it is? it's for everyone) that not winning that stage means you failed. Also De Lie does not give a damn about a stage win in the Vuelta, neither do a lot of sprinters. He literally said that he prefers Canada-Plouay-Hamburg-Renewi over the Vuelta. Add that to the fact that he probably wouldn't even beat Groves and/or Van Aert and this whole he shouldve gone to the Vuelta to get a stage win argument can just be thrown into the bin. If the Vuelta would've had like 3 De Lie style uphill sprints, sure you could maybe make the case, but that wasn't.

Why are you acting like Lennert Van Eetvelt is a neopro who's never ridden a GT. Obviously this is nothing close to just dropping him in at all. Plenty of ways you can ride a good Tour for the team without getting a good result in the GC. He has the level to win a stage with some luck there, and if he's fit he will at least show himself, which would be very valuable for the team, even if it doesn't end up with a good result. It's not like the team is pushing him to ride it, they asked him. He was interested. Pretty simple. Also it isn't a 100%, it depends on his first months of the season but they obviously expect them to go well.

I don't agree that De Lie rode a good Tour at all. The goal was stage wins, he didn't win any. He's not a pure sprinter, and they brought him along for that. As you said he's also a classic rider, he could've done more in the Vuelta than in the Tour. He doesn't necessarily only have to go for sprints, he could go for long range stage wins.

Is LVE going to the Tour only for stage wins? He isn't going for a good GC? After previous season? Sure if that's the case, go for some stage wins in the Tour. I thought he would go for a GC.

 

[Samamba]

I don't agree that De Lie rode a good Tour at all. The goal was stage wins, he didn't win any. He's not a pure sprinter, and they brought him along for that. As you said he's also a classic rider, he could've done more in the Vuelta than in the Tour. He doesn't necessarily only have to go for sprints, he could go for long range stage wins.

Is LVE going to the Tour only for stage wins? He isn't going for a good GC? After previous season? Sure if that's the case, go for some stage wins in the Tour. I thought he would go for a GC.

Great that you're basically the only one who thinks De Lie not being ready to ride the Tour or it being bad for his development has anything to do with him not winning a stage or not. It just does not make sense at all. If the kid was fighting against the time limit like Jakobsen every harder stage or came out of the Tour completely broken sure, but that simply was not the case. The guy was consistent in sprints, would've won stage 8 if he didn't make a super dumb mistake and came out out of the Tour stronger, winning the Tour of Denmark 2 weeks later, being the strongest uphill after Hirschi in Plouay, demolishing everyone in the Geraardsbergen stage apart from Wellens in Renewi Tour, etc. He was obviously ready enough and it did him good. He thinks that way, the team does, and most journalist do too (even if that doesn't even matter).

It's also like you didn't even watch the Vuelta. he could've done something in 4 stages, yes only 4!!! No idea why you pretend like the Vuelta parcours suited a rider like him. If anything would've been bad for his development was putting him through a hard Vuelta with little chances to win instead of having fun in other WT races that actually suit him and trying to win him.

And no I did not say LVE is definitely not going for GC. I said that he doesn't have to ride a good GC to have a good Tour for the team. It's 50-50 right now and it depends on his season. This Tour is pretty straightforward anyways, most climbers will only decide after like 10 days if they can go for GC or not as that first week might be a massacre. Lotto will not go the Tour acting like they have a potential podium candidate. It will be a "we will see approach". If you don't lose a lot of time the first week, it's fine, GC could be an option, if you do it's fine too you can still go for stage wins and even get a GC out of it (one does not exclude the other).

 

[Berniece]

And no I did not say LVE is definitely not going for GC. I said that he doesn't have to ride a good GC to have a good Tour for the team. It's 50-50 right now and it depends on his season. This Tour is pretty straightforward anyways, most climbers will only decide after like 10 days if they can go for GC or not as that first week might be a massacre. Lotto will not go the Tour acting like they have a potential podium candidate. It will be a "we will see approach". If you don't lose a lot of time the first week, it's fine, GC could be an option, if you do it's fine too you can still go for stage wins and even get a GC out of it (one does not exclude the other).

I’ll only discuss LVE, since we won’t agree on De Lie and this isn’t his topic anyway.

I wouldn’t think LVE would like to properly try out and see how far he can go in a GC of a GT. Like the plan was for the Vuelta this year. Unfortunately those plans were cut short. To then make the jump to the TDF, I find idiotic. He won’t ride top 10 in TDF while he could ride top 5 in the Giro, so after a while they’ll decide it’s better to go for a stage win during the Tour, which means you still don’t really know if he has it in him. Or even worse, they might think he doesn’t.

 

[Rob5091]

LVE showed he was as good as Roglic at the Vuelta so I don't think he'll have major problems at the Tour if he's 100%.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

LVE showed he was as good as Roglic at the Vuelta so I don't think he'll have major problems at the Tour if he's 100%.

???

He was 5 minutes behind Roglic after stage 10, and only 39 seconds of that was down to the ITT.

 

[Squire]

???

He was 5 minutes behind Roglic after stage 10, and only 39 seconds of that was down to the ITT.

The post-truth era has been upon us a long time already. Better get used to it.

But if a third-year pro on a pro conti team, who turns 24 during what will be his third GT, can't ride the Tour because of too much pressure, then somebody really need to sort these kids out.

 

[Samamba]

???

He was 5 minutes behind Roglic after stage 10, and only 39 seconds of that was down to the ITT.

Rob means before that stage of course, he was already starting to feel sick during stage 10, so obviously lost a lot. Does that mean he would've been close to Roglic without sickness, no, of course not, but using those 5 minutes isn't fair either. Getting sick will still be LVE's main problem in the future I fear, only reason why I question his GC capabilities for GTs.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Rob means before that stage of course, he was already starting to feel sick during stage 10, so obviously lost a lot. Does that mean he would've been close to Roglic without sickness, no, of course not, but using those 5 minutes isn't fair either. Getting sick will still be LVE's main problem in the future I fear, only reason why I question his GC capabilities for GTs.

He lost a lot of time on stage 11, so I didn't count that. He finished stage 10 in the same group as Roglic.

 

[Samamba]

He lost a lot of time on stage 11, so I didn't count that. He finished stage 10 in the same group as Roglic.

Well yeah it's stage 9 that I ment, the one to Granada. He was already feeling bad then, he thought it was because of the heat at that point, but it was the beginning of sickness. No point in using that time difference as an argument. But like I said, also no point in using one mountain stage before that as an argument to say he's close to Roglic, that's just one stage.

 

[Rob5091]

Yeah, I was thinking of the beginning of the Vuelta when he should have won stage 4 and before he got problems breathing.

 

[Samamba]

Probably Tour - Vuelta double for him. Focus on Catalunya and Walloon classics in first part of the season.

And there might be a surprise classic added to his schedule, but not sure about that.

 

[Hugo Koblet]

Probably Tour - Vuelta double for him. Focus on Catalunya and Walloon classics in first part of the season.

And there might be a surprise classic added to his schedule, but not sure about that.

Which one would that be?

 

[Berniece]

Which one would that be?

Flanders or E3?

 

[Samamba]

Flanders or E3?

Flanders is the only one that fits his schedule. It's not set in stone and knowing Van Eetvelt some bad luck will mess up his schedule anyways, but they were thinking about it.