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Chapeau to Tim, one of my fav riders who always earns his wins.
Also had some Clinic related comments before the race.
Also had some Clinic related comments before the race.
Re:
If it's about him not being a Valverde-fan, then it's coming from an interview with him in Humo (a Belgian magazine) this week.
Just read it, and he made some interesting comments.
About him being pissed at Vanendert after Fleche Wallonne: It was agreed that Vanendert was going to bring him to the front of the pack, before the roundabout just before the Mur. He yelled at Vanendert 500m before the roundabout, but Vanendert refused. Wellens says it's the 2nd year in a row Vanendert does this.
In the end Vanendert was better than him anyway, so yeah.. he was portrayed in the media as being arrogant, he had no right to be angry at Vanendert.
In LBL Wellens sacrificed himself for Vanendert. He wanted to show he's not arrogant and that he does keep his promises.
About Valverde: he's not a fan - but that's clinic stuff, so I'll leave it at that. In the Challenge Mallorca he was descending behind Valverde, in the rain. Valverde looked scared (making his comeback after his TdF crash...), so Wellens, to make it worse, unclicked his foot and scraped the tarmac a bit. Wellens won the race.
About TUE: we already know this, he doesn't want to use them. If you need them, you're either injured or sick. And then you have to rest
About GT-ambitions: it's too much of a sacrifice. Sacrifices he's not willing to make. So he prefers stage wins.
And who can blame him. He's already making a lot of money, while he hasn't won _that_ much yet. And that's probably the main reason why there are no Belgian GT-contenders anymore.
Bardamu said:
If it's about him not being a Valverde-fan, then it's coming from an interview with him in Humo (a Belgian magazine) this week.
Just read it, and he made some interesting comments.
About him being pissed at Vanendert after Fleche Wallonne: It was agreed that Vanendert was going to bring him to the front of the pack, before the roundabout just before the Mur. He yelled at Vanendert 500m before the roundabout, but Vanendert refused. Wellens says it's the 2nd year in a row Vanendert does this.
In the end Vanendert was better than him anyway, so yeah.. he was portrayed in the media as being arrogant, he had no right to be angry at Vanendert.
In LBL Wellens sacrificed himself for Vanendert. He wanted to show he's not arrogant and that he does keep his promises.
About Valverde: he's not a fan - but that's clinic stuff, so I'll leave it at that. In the Challenge Mallorca he was descending behind Valverde, in the rain. Valverde looked scared (making his comeback after his TdF crash...), so Wellens, to make it worse, unclicked his foot and scraped the tarmac a bit. Wellens won the race.
About TUE: we already know this, he doesn't want to use them. If you need them, you're either injured or sick. And then you have to rest
About GT-ambitions: it's too much of a sacrifice. Sacrifices he's not willing to make. So he prefers stage wins.
And who can blame him. He's already making a lot of money, while he hasn't won _that_ much yet. And that's probably the main reason why there are no Belgian GT-contenders anymore.
Re: Re:
De Gendt made more or less the same kind of observations after his Giro podium, keeping your weight down to unhealty levels and the stress of having to always be attentive took too much of a toll on both his physical and mental health, so he gave up about GC.Valanga said:
...just got home from work, watched the last 5 km: that was a tough finish, very tough. Great rider and great win. Wellens positioned himself very well, produced his effort at the right time and had the goodies to back it off. Nice for him.
Thought Wellens rode a mature place - He's good enough to win in a bunch kick, so he doesn't always have to break away to win.
DNF in Suisse. He says he's just empty.
Looking back at his season so far, it's not really that abnormal. He's ridden every race in the spring for the win (Mallorca, Ruta del Sol, Paris-Nice, hilly classics...), followed by a super hard Giro.
So I suppose he's okay for the remainder of the year after some extended rest and build-up period.
Looking back at his season so far, it's not really that abnormal. He's ridden every race in the spring for the win (Mallorca, Ruta del Sol, Paris-Nice, hilly classics...), followed by a super hard Giro.
So I suppose he's okay for the remainder of the year after some extended rest and build-up period.
Well... i did not expect this. Two wins in one week, but especially the ITT surprised me a bit. I wonder if he'll be able to keep going crescendo until the Ardennes.
Re:
He probably gonna keep racing throughout the spring, a break after LBL and then prepare for Tour.
Logic-is-your-friend said:
He probably gonna keep racing throughout the spring, a break after LBL and then prepare for Tour.
Re: Re:
He seems to be really good in the spring and some of the classics suits him really well. But then sending him to the Giro might just be too tough of a schedule, like last year, and especially when he is racing every race to win right now before said Giro.
Not sending him to Tour, does not make any sense if he not doing Giro. Even if he dont like the heat.
tobydawq said:
He seems to be really good in the spring and some of the classics suits him really well. But then sending him to the Giro might just be too tough of a schedule, like last year, and especially when he is racing every race to win right now before said Giro.
Not sending him to Tour, does not make any sense if he not doing Giro. Even if he dont like the heat.
Re: Re:
I think he is a special case. The last time he went to the Tour he was good for nothing. And it's not that he doesn't like the heat, he said it makes him physically ill.
So why not go for Poland, Binckbank, Canadian races instead?
I don't think he should do the Tour just because that's what most good riders do.
Salvarani said:
I think he is a special case. The last time he went to the Tour he was good for nothing. And it's not that he doesn't like the heat, he said it makes him physically ill.
So why not go for Poland, Binckbank, Canadian races instead?
I don't think he should do the Tour just because that's what most good riders do.
Re: Re:
Yeah, of course. If he cant do Giro because he been racing to heavily before, then going to Tour might not be the best option for him. If he has problems with the heat. Same with Vuelta. But Im guessing the team and sponsors want to see him there though.
But yeah, not doing a three-week race at all is of course an option. Maybe it is the best option. Focus on one-day races and short stage-races.
tobydawq said:
Yeah, of course. If he cant do Giro because he been racing to heavily before, then going to Tour might not be the best option for him. If he has problems with the heat. Same with Vuelta. But Im guessing the team and sponsors want to see him there though.
But yeah, not doing a three-week race at all is of course an option. Maybe it is the best option. Focus on one-day races and short stage-races.
Never read this thread before but because there was a new post I just read the first page of the thread and had to laugh a little with this comment. How times have changed.
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.
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