He has been very good in Februari before, even in Omloop a few years back. Never raced Kuurne tho. Let's see if he's actually still good after Paris Nice or Tirreno because thats when he often faded. I don't think he's better than the best Wellens (2017,2018, 2019), but he looks to be that Wellens again, and that Wellens has always been a joy to watch. People often forget how good he actually was before 2020 (even tho he still won 2 Vuelta stages then). Don't really know what happened to him the last 2 years (last year he looked really good before Omloop but then he got sick). Definitely good that he tries something else.
I hope he just forgets about the Ardennes honestly and completely focusses on flemish races plus Amstel this and the upcoming years. I always wanted him to at Lotto but his love for the Ardennes was too strong.
here in the Belgian Media they say that this is a Wellens they have never seen before. he breaks open the race today and yesterday he was the strongest in the race after Van Baarle together with De Lie. how he attacked the wall yesterday was impressive. maybe it's good for him to be in a team where he's not the leader every race? that way he doesn't have to give 100% every time.