Tim Wellens thread

[pastronef]

Wellens ready to challenge Don Alejandro in Fleche Wallonne? :surprised:

Not really but LBL shoudl be a good bet

He bought property in Huy, so he could train there almost everyday. Only problem is that he recently moved to Monaco

He will come back to Belgium if he decides to stay at Lotto. If he decides to sign with another team for next year he'll stay in Monaco.

why would he leave Monaco?

 

[WheelofGear]

Wellens ready to challenge Don Alejandro in Fleche Wallonne? :surprised:

Only if he attacks before the final lap on the Mur. He is not really THAT explosive.

It's his pace in very hilly terrain that is amazing.

 

[Blanco]

Wellens ready to challenge Don Alejandro in Fleche Wallonne? :surprised:

Not really but LBL shoudl be a good bet

Yeah, good bet like dozen of other riders, Nibali, Moscon, Rui Costa, Poels, Yates brothers... Not so good bet like Kwiatkowski, Dan Martin or Alaphilippe though. And certainly not a bet like Alejandro Valverde.

 

[Samamba]

Wellens ready to challenge Don Alejandro in Fleche Wallonne? :surprised:

Not really but LBL shoudl be a good bet

He bought property in Huy, so he could train there almost everyday. Only problem is that he recently moved to Monaco

He will come back to Belgium if he decides to stay at Lotto. If he decides to sign with another team for next year he'll stay in Monaco.

why would he leave Monaco?

Tax regulation. Living in Monaco, but riding for a Belgian team he can only come back to Belgium for a limited amount of days. He can never visit family or friends for more than a few days.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Wellens ready to challenge Don Alejandro in Fleche Wallonne? :surprised:

Only if he attacks before the final lap on the Mur. He is not really THAT explosive.

It's his pace in very hilly terrain that is amazing.

Yeah, last year in the Eneco tour he complete wrecked everyone with the constant pace in the hills. Even Dumoulin was struggling to hold the wheel and was only there in the end because Wellens tolerated him. It's insane how much of an infernal pace Wellens can hold on hills up to 5/6km.

I have the idea he can do better at mountains as well but most of the time he tried it didn't work or it was too hot.

 

[Netserk]

So infernal he only distanced Sagan thanks to a mechanical.

 

[tobydawq]

Wellens ready to challenge Don Alejandro in Fleche Wallonne? :surprised:

Only if he attacks before the final lap on the Mur. He is not really THAT explosive.

It's his pace in very hilly terrain that is amazing.

Yeah, last year in the Eneco tour he complete wrecked everyone with the constant pace in the hills. Even Dumoulin was struggling to hold the wheel and was only there in the end because Wellens tolerated him. It's insane how much of an infernal pace Wellens can hold on hills up to 5/6km.

I have the idea he can do better at mountains as well but most of the time he tried it didn't work or it was too hot.

If it hadn't been for a puncture, it would probably have been Wellens that had been tolerated by Sagan, though.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

I have never seen Sagan do that. Yeah he might have been with them and win the sprint. But not lead the way all the time

 

[Blanco]

Impressive stuff today! He'll be a force already at Sunday, him and Benoot could light up this race!

 

[El Pistolero]

Wellens ready to challenge Don Alejandro in Fleche Wallonne? :surprised:

Only if he attacks before the final lap on the Mur. He is not really THAT explosive.

It's his pace in very hilly terrain that is amazing.

Yeah, last year in the Eneco tour he complete wrecked everyone with the constant pace in the hills. Even Dumoulin was struggling to hold the wheel and was only there in the end because Wellens tolerated him. It's insane how much of an infernal pace Wellens can hold on hills up to 5/6km.

I have the idea he can do better at mountains as well but most of the time he tried it didn't work or it was too hot.

Considering his sun allergy it's useless for him to try and become a GT contender, only the Giro would really suit him. Also right now he's too heavy (or muscular?) to be a genuine climber.

If he wants to become a climber eventually he's going to need a TUE for cortisones (and in his case it would actually be legitimate).

 

[May0maniac]

Wellens ready to challenge Don Alejandro in Fleche Wallonne? :surprised:

Only if he attacks before the final lap on the Mur. He is not really THAT explosive.

It's his pace in very hilly terrain that is amazing.

Yeah, last year in the Eneco tour he complete wrecked everyone with the constant pace in the hills. Even Dumoulin was struggling to hold the wheel and was only there in the end because Wellens tolerated him. It's insane how much of an infernal pace Wellens can hold on hills up to 5/6km.

I have the idea he can do better at mountains as well but most of the time he tried it didn't work or it was too hot.

Considering his sun allergy it's useless for him to try and become a GT contender, only the Giro would really suit him. Also right now he's too heavy (or muscular?) to be a genuine climber.

If he wants to become a climber eventually he's going to need a TUE for cortisones (and in his case it would actually be legitimate).

He was 8th in the really hard Monte Grappa MTT, that was an impressive climbing performance.
That said, him becoming a middle of the pack top 10 gc rider would be sad.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Its actually insane to think about how much he has won considering the type of rider he is. He has no sprint to speak of (how many of his wins have come solo?) and yet he has 20 wins at 26 y/o. What a great rider. Benoot, with many of the same qualities, has one!

 

[tobydawq]

He did beat the mighty sprinting duo of Alberto and Richie once.

 

[El Pistolero]

Re:

Its actually insane to think about how much he has won considering the type of rider he is. He has no sprint to speak of (how many of his wins have come solo?) and yet he has 20 wins at 26 y/o. What a great rider. Benoot, with many of the same qualities, has one!

He's not that bad of a sprinter.

Grand Prix de Montreal: beat Yates in a sprint with two.
Stage 7, Paris-Nice 2016: beat Contador and Porte in a sprint with three.
Stage 5, Ruta del Sol 2017: beat Simon Clarke in a sprint with 6.

All his other wins were solo (or GC wins because of a solo).

He was also fourth in the first stage of Paris-Nice this year and if he was placed a little bit better he could've even beaten Demare imo.

For now, I rate Benoot higher in the Monuments, but Wellens is the better all-rounder.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

One of the relatively few prominent riders who every fan seems to like. The guy is very good as a racer but he’s great as entertainment.

 

[movingtarget]

Re:

One of the relatively few prominent riders who every fan seems to like. The guy is very good as a racer but he’s great as entertainment.

Yes good to watch and racking up some impressive wins.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

It's a great style to win, most of the time solo.

 

[Bardamu]

Re: Re:

Its actually insane to think about how much he has won considering the type of rider he is. He has no sprint to speak of (how many of his wins have come solo?) and yet he has 20 wins at 26 y/o. What a great rider. Benoot, with many of the same qualities, has one!

He's not that bad of a sprinter.

Grand Prix de Montreal: beat Yates in a sprint with two.
Stage 7, Paris-Nice 2016: beat Contador and Porte in a sprint with three.
Stage 5, Ruta del Sol 2017: beat Simon Clarke in a sprint with 6.

All his other wins were solo (or GC wins because of a solo).

He was also fourth in the first stage of Paris-Nice this year and if he was placed a little bit better he could've even beaten Demare imo.

For now, I rate Benoot higher in the Monuments, but Wellens is the better all-rounder.

Would you rate Tiesj higher for LBL and Lombardia?

 

[Jspear]

Re: Re:

Its actually insane to think about how much he has won considering the type of rider he is. He has no sprint to speak of (how many of his wins have come solo?) and yet he has 20 wins at 26 y/o. What a great rider. Benoot, with many of the same qualities, has one!

He's not that bad of a sprinter.

Grand Prix de Montreal: beat Yates in a sprint with two.
Stage 7, Paris-Nice 2016: beat Contador and Porte in a sprint with three.
Stage 5, Ruta del Sol 2017: beat Simon Clarke in a sprint with 6.

All his other wins were solo (or GC wins because of a solo).

He was also fourth in the first stage of Paris-Nice this year and if he was placed a little bit better he could've even beaten Demare imo.

For now, I rate Benoot higher in the Monuments, but Wellens is the better all-rounder.

Would you rate Tiesj higher for LBL and Lombardia?

You’re not asking me, but nah I don’t think so. At least not when Wellens is in the kind of form. He’s the better climber.

 

[Jagartrott]

Re: Re:

You’re not asking me, but nah I don’t think so. At least not when Wellens is in the kind of form. He’s the better climber.

I think Wellens is the better rouleur (hence all the successful solo's), but I don't know if he's still the better climber. Benoot was quite impressive in both Strade and Tirreno.

 

[Valv.Piti]

They are very similar IMO, really hard to distinguish really.

I see Wellens is doing the Giro, thats good news. He can win a few stages if he's on really good shape, I think.

 

[El Pistolero]

Re:

They are very similar IMO, really hard to distinguish really.

I see Wellens is doing the Giro, thats good news. He can win a few stages if he's on really good shape, I think.

With his current sun allergy his Giro participation was never in doubt. Hopefully he can win some nice stages there and perhaps a points jersey or KOM jersey.

 

[Sestriere]

Re:

They are very similar IMO, really hard to distinguish really.

I see Wellens is doing the Giro, thats good news. He can win a few stages if he's on really good shape, I think.

Yep, the last two years the Giro was definitely missing a world class classics specialist/puncheur who adds a bit of fire to hilly/medium mountain stages. Too often the GC riders just tried to "stay safe", in that case a couple of strong riders who don't care for the overall make those stages more relevant (also for GC)

 

[Brullnux]

Re: Re:

They are very similar IMO, really hard to distinguish really.

I see Wellens is doing the Giro, thats good news. He can win a few stages if he's on really good shape, I think.

Yep, the last two years the Giro was definitely missing a world class classics specialist/puncheur who adds a bit of fire to hilly/medium mountain stages. Too often the GC riders just tried to "stay safe", in that case a couple of strong riders who don't care for the overall make those stages more relevant (also for GC)

Wellens was present in 2016, as was Valverde and the-only-ever-good-in-Italy Ulissi

 

[Sestriere]

Re: Re:

They are very similar IMO, really hard to distinguish really.

I see Wellens is doing the Giro, thats good news. He can win a few stages if he's on really good shape, I think.

Yep, the last two years the Giro was definitely missing a world class classics specialist/puncheur who adds a bit of fire to hilly/medium mountain stages. Too often the GC riders just tried to "stay safe", in that case a couple of strong riders who don't care for the overall make those stages more relevant (also for GC)

Wellens was present in 2016, as was Valverde and the-only-ever-good-in-Italy Ulissi

Now that I think about it, you are right of course. There were actually some decent finishes with Ulissi, Jungels, Amador... Last year was pretty bad though.