jandal7 - We'll get that wildcard next year Dierickx certainly pushed his limits on the Ronde and put our entire team on the map, for sure!
VoetsT - It would not be fair to ask for more. In fact, we would have been happy with way less. But this is wonderful!
Tamijo - Yes, the boys are showing their potential!
Croatia14 - Almost, almost! I think they lack that bit of consistency to be up to WT standards. But that result in the Ronde (and the E3) certainly show us that WT won't be many years ago. Maybe in 2 seasons we could already be in the World Tour, who knows!
the_hoyle - Thanks. We have the advantage of not being any favorite, so we can hide rather well. I think after this performance, Dierickx won't be able to sneak his way in the front group anymore
Been a while. We've been super busy with a whole heap of one day races. Unfortunately, we've not been able to add another win to our counter. Some races have gone downright bad for us. Others, on the other hand, have gone surprisingly well.
So here's a list of the one day races we've competed it. We've also entered two stage races, but both were very forgettable races for us, unfortunately.
First, the Scheldeprijs. A sprinter's festival. Huyge found the right wheel to follow and finished a respectable 13th place.
The beauty of leading a team of 20 neopros is that you have 20 potential leaders. Riders get in and out of form, and always some rider will stand up in great shape. Louis Gaerdelen sort of missed his early season, but the last few weeks, he's been in amazing shape. Remember his name for the final result for today!
But anyway, in Paris- Camembert, he played a very active role and made the top 5, a noteworthy result!
The Brabantse Pijl was more disappointing. We had hoped that Roets might've been able to ride himself in the top 20, perhaps. Maybe that's too much to expect of these young men. But we've worked with them for years and they are not just any riders. All of these boys have potential and can be great!
Anyway, the race didn't go our way and our first placed rider was Maxime Thomas, 32th.
Brabantse Pijl - Top 10
1
Michal Kwiatkowski
Team Sky
5h05'39
2
Magnus Cort Nielsen
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
3
Patrick Konrad
BORA - hansgrohe
+ 9
4
Stefan Küng
Groupama - FDJ
s.t.
5
Felix Grosschartner
BORA - hansgrohe
s.t.
6
Jhonatan Narváez
Team Sky
s.t.
7
Georg Preidler
Groupama - FDJ
+ 20
8
Robert Gesink
Team Jumbo-Visma
s.t.
9
Andrea Pasqualon
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
10
Jonas Vingegaard Rasmussen
Team Jumbo-Visma
s.t.
Moving away from the races where the startlists are dominated by WT riders, we entered the Tour du Finistère. Both Gaerdelen and Thomas Cuyper were very attentive and they managed to get in the right attack at the end. Four riders would sprint for the win. Unfortunately, mostly due to inexperience, they were unable to exploit their numeral adventage and finished 3rd and 4th, but still, not bad!
Then it was time for the World Tour Classics. First was Flèche Wallonne. (we missed a wildcard for the Amstel, unfortunately). Roets had good legs and we made him co-leader for the day. He made it in the pack until the final climb of the Mur de Huy, but he was badly positioned for the climb. He did his best to move up places, but it was tough.
In the end, he had to be happy with a 27th place. We think it's a very promising spot for his first time here. He was less happy.
And finally, Liège - Bastogne - Liège.
Remember what I said about form? We start every race with 6 or 7 riders, and we almost never have a clear leader in our head before the start. Instead, we rely on the riders' feelings to guide them, to be honest with each other and let the form of the day decide who'll be protected near the finale.
Today, Louis Gaerdelen fairly quickly came over the radio, saying: I have the best legs I've ever had! You gotta trust me.
Obviously, we did. Our entire team trusted him and everyone went to work for Louis. It was incredible to see all egos shoved aside for a team member.
And, you know what, the gamble totally payed off. Louis was iron strong and never let the peloton go! He hung on, sometimes barely, until the final climb, the final kilometer!
Only at the very last acceleration, the one leading up to the sprint, he had to leave a gap. He was totally spent. But we can only be proud of him. A 17th spot in our 2nd monument. Congratulations, Louis.
Roets was our second best rider, coming in at a 45th position.
Liège - Bastogne - Liège - Top 25
1
Julian Alaphilippe
Deceuninck-Quick Step
7h07'36
2
Enrico Gasparotto
Team Dimension Data
s.t.
3
Michael Woods
EF Education First p/b Cannondale
+ 7
4
Daniel Martin
UAE Team Emirates
s.t.
5
Fabio Aru
UAE Team Emirates
s.t.
6
Alejandro Valverde
Movistar Team
s.t.
7
Sergio Luis Henao
UAE Team Emirates
s.t.
8
Jelle Vanendert
Lotto Soudal
s.t.
9
Michael Matthews
Team Sunweb
s.t.
10
Dylan Teuns
Bahrain - Merida
s.t.
11
Wout Poels
Team Sky
s.t.
12
Patrick Konrad
BORA - hansgrohe
s.t.
13
Rui Alberto Costa
UAE Team Emirates
s.t.
14
Domenico Pozzovivo
Bahrain - Merida
s.t.
15
Davide Formolo
BORA - hansgrohe
s.t.
16
Wilco Kelderman
Team Sunweb
s.t.
17
Louis Gaerdelen
Wanty - Gobert Cycling Team
+ 33
18
Roman Kreuziger
Team Dimension Data
+ 1'07
19
Rigoberto Uran
EF Education First p/b Cannondale
+ 1'17
20
Simon Yates
Mitchelton-Scott
s.t.
21
Tim Wellens
Lotto Soudal
s.t.
22
Bjorg Lambrecht
Lotto Soudal
s.t.
23
Bob Jungels
Deceuninck-Quick Step
s.t.
24
Thomas De Gendt
Lotto Soudal
s.t.
25
Andrey Amador
Movistar Team
s.t.
So, some ups and some downs in these races. In these longer races, you can see age does matter. Louis is one of the older boys in the squad, and he performs best here.
We have no doubt about the capacities of our squad, though. They'll all get there.
Currently we hold the 5th place in the Continental Team Rankings, and 22nd in the CQ Team Rankings.
Wow, everyone. Thanks so much for the overwhelming support. This reminds me of the time I was doing my first stories. It feels great to get so much back from you, writing this!
Thanks!
VoetsT - I hope so. Some definitely have not missed their start, that's for sure!
Kiserlovski01 - Thanks very much
valverde321 - Either Alaphilippe will win in your story, or someone from Wanty
tsmoha - Yeah, sorry about that but after a blitz start, things will take a much more casual flow now!
the_hoyle - Some are certainly knocking on the door of some WT team already. If we don't get to WT ourselves within a few seaons, it might be hard to keep the squad together.
sutty68 - We value those greatly! They'll turn into more wins eventually
Jakstar22 - Thanks a lot, man, I really appreciate it!
Tamijo - Cheers! Yes, that's exactly what I like about it, too, playing. I'm very used to playing with a team with 1 or 2 star riders and focusing on them. Now, a lot of these guys are very similar in abilities (though not in potential), and every race is a new chance for anyone to show themselves.
It also allows me to use daily form best. For example, Louis Gaerdelen had a +5 daily form in Liège, hence his great result.
I expect that the flat hierarchy will continue for 1 or 2 seasons. After that, potential'll probably come into play and the difference between riders will become more clear, and I think we'll go to a more traditional set-up, with a few leaders.
But until then, every man has a shot at being a leader!
Also, I'm already thinking ahead about the first GT next year. Let me know if anyone has good ideas. I think TDF is out, because too much pressure, too much circus. Let the boys start more casually in a GT. I'm thinking Vuelta or Giro, or perhaps try to get wildcards for both and send 2 different teams.
I would go for the Giro. It's is the perfect Grand Tour to start imo. Not to much pressure like TdF and the Vuelta is more for climbers. I think a young team has more chance of success on a Giro route.
Ian, you're right, this is like a classic Ian story with pace and love from the followers, I've been thinking - it's missing something: I wonder what TMM would think about Dierickx's stats to get so good in RVV?
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant." [PT] Xero Racing
VoetsT - Excellent suggestion. Giro is also generally more fun than Vuelta, and like you said, more chances there. Vuelta, especially in PCM, is mostly top climbers winning.
jandal7 - Thanks for the love the pace started wild, but as you can clearly see, my "break/holiday" from work is over and now I hope to bring 1-2 updates per week, it won't be more.
Still, it's fun to be back, with this squad.
Dierickx 85, obviously!
Another few races have finished, and we're slowly looking towards the bigger stage races. Especially around July, we'll enter in some races with real mountains, and we hope there our boys will shine!
Yet we are still racing in the neighbourhood at the moment, and our boys are already shining, especially in the lower-category races.
La Flèche Ardennaise was the perfect race for some of our boys to show themselves. and show themselves they did, with no less than 4 riders in the top 20!
On to 5 Jours de Dunkerque. What was remarkable there? Well, Sagan won 5/6 stages and came in 3rd on the other, so a mediocre performance from him.
Our boys didn't really stand out, beside two accounts of being in the breakaway of the day. Roel Huyge managed to finish inside the top 10 twice in the sprint, but only just.
However, Dierickx did perform at a constant level and managed to finish 11th overall. Not in a most glorious fashion, but a result nonetheless. Especially looking at some of the names before and just behind him.
Dierickx certainly pushed his limits on the Ronde and put our entire team on the map, for sure!
the pace started wild, but as you can clearly see, my "break/holiday" from work is over and now I hope to bring 1-2 updates per week, it won't be more.
