Lieuwe Westra to win Le Tour? No Joke!

[Bobby G]

First of all, the Giro is not the Tour (i'm talking about contenders).
Second of all, De Gendt is not Westra. Take that as you will.
And most obviously, 3rd place =/= win

Never said it was. He need a hell of a ride and a pile of luck I.e Pereiro. Also never said De Gendt was Westra, neither is he Abraham Lincoln. In monetary terms, a 3rd place finish for an e/w bet @ 250/1 is a win.

 

[theyoungest]

Not sure if Westra's recuperation is good enough to handle 3 weeks of racing yet, but if it is, then he has a decent chance for Top 10 with his ITT and climbing abilities, then again P-N was still early in the season and most of the climbers probably weren't in top shape yet, so his climbing abilities might be a bit overrated? It says in the article that he's mainly focussing on helping Wout Poels in the Tour though?

Yeah, but he ends every recent interview with "you never know" or words to that effect. I think he really wants to go for GC, but of course with no GT chops to speak of it's a bit ridiculous to say it out loud

 

[The Chicken]

Ugh, so Westra lost 7:27 today due to crashes.

Thankfully that's only £10 I've lost.

But maybe he will be allowed to go in a break now and gain some time back. Maybe the crashes will turn out to be a blessing in disguise. Maybe he can still win this thing! GO LIEUWEEE

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Westra isn't very good in nervous stuff, which is also why he doesn't like Flanders and Gold Race much.

He'll never do well in a race like the Tour unless you have a whole team to keep him in front

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

I mean whats that, 6, 7 potential top 10ers from Holland?

Gesink, Mollema, Kruijswijk, Poels...?

You're counting Westra, Ruijgh & Ten Dam (or who else)?

They have every reason to be proud of their current crop of GC riders, but let's remain realistic. 5 potential top 10 riders is being generous. I do hope the Dutch riders can bring some fireworks in the mountains in the TDF.

 

[Dr.Sahl]

Who is Lieuwe Westra ????






If you are not Dutch, you might get the point.

 

[DNP-Old]

RIP.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1614539239403958274

View: https://twitter.com/ThomasSijtsma/status/1614539239403958274

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

I'll always remember that magical Paris Nice where he somehow challenged prime Wiggins for the win.

 

[Red Rick]

RIP.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1614539239403958274

View: https://twitter.com/ThomasSijtsma/status/1614539239403958274

What idiot writes a post/article saying "he battled himself and lost" and then complains people interpret it as suicide?

 

[janraaskalt]

What idiot writes a post/article saying "he battled himself and lost" and then complains people interpret it as suicide?

It was self-destruction. A longer text by his biographer and friend: https://www.trouw.nl/sport/lieuwe-w...d-en-vijand-en-vooral-voor-zichzelf~bc8b3374/ (in Dutch)

 

[SafeBet]

Terrible news.

 

[Ilmaestro99]

It was self-destruction. A longer text by his biographer and friend: https://www.trouw.nl/sport/lieuwe-w...d-en-vijand-en-vooral-voor-zichzelf~bc8b3374/ (in Dutch)

Thank you for sharing this

 

[Bolder]

It was self-destruction. A longer text by his biographer and friend: https://www.trouw.nl/sport/lieuwe-w...d-en-vijand-en-vooral-voor-zichzelf~bc8b3374/ (in Dutch)

That's a really sad story. It sounds like he was bipolar; maybe or maybe not he could have received diagnosis and treatment. I think it takes a certain amount of obsession to train as a WT cyclist and in his case it perhaps suited and exacerbated his condition at the same time. Thanks for the link.

 

[theyoungest]

That's a really sad story. It sounds like he was bipolar; maybe or maybe not he could have received diagnosis and treatment. I think it takes a certain amount of obsession to train as a WT cyclist and in his case it perhaps suited and exacerbated his condition at the same time. Thanks for the link.

Famously he was a big talent in the youth ranks and then lost himself in partying, alcohol, and drugs when he was around 16 years old. He became a road worker. In his twenties he started cycling seriously again, he only turned pro at 26 years old.

 

[Bolder]

Famously he was a big talent in the youth ranks and then lost himself in partying, alcohol, and drugs when he was around 16 years old. He became a road worker. In his twenties he started cycling seriously again, he only turned pro at 26 years old.

Knowing what I know about bipolar disorder, it often manifests itself in the later teen years. Still very said all around. I'm glad he was able to have some success, albeit brief, in the pro peloton.

 

[RedheadDane]

Sorry for dragging this up again...

Just read that he witnessed Amy Pieters' crash, which caused his mental health to hit rock-buttom, and then there wasn't room at the rehab clinic.