Chaos unfolds in Intermarché after Hermans' snub: "I don't want to be part of a team that treats its riders like that"

Quinten Herman's absence from the Tour de France was one of the surprises in the week leading up to the Grand Boucle, as the Intermarché - Wanty - Gobert seemed to be a certainty and a leader in the Belgian team. Team DS Aike Visbeek has explained the decision.

Visbeek told Sporza that "Quinten must not say now that he does not know why he would spoil the atmosphere. The atmosphere was already bad. He proved us right with that reaction and it is better that we leave him at home". After a shocking revelation for the audience that the Belgian puncheur was left at home, questions were asked to both Hermans and the team, and the response was harsh.

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"Obviously this was not an easy and not a nice decision, but this did not happen overnight," Visbeek explained. "It has been chaos with Quinten since November. People from our team have tried to repair the damage and they succeeded before spring, but the situation only got out of hand after that. The last two months were especially difficult," he added.

Such information was not made public, and it came off the back of Hermans' win at the Baloise Belgium Tour - where he finished third in the GC and seemed a certaint piece of Intermarché's lineup for the Tour. "All those emotions have all come together in recent weeks and this was not a good situation. So there has been talk in recent days and it has been decided to leave Quinten at home," Intermarché's representative said. 

Visbeek continued explaining that in a Grand Tour Hermans was not an ideal piece in the puzzle: "The Tour is a race of almost 4 weeks, with a lot of stress. You sit on that bus for 4 weeks, you live close together. Then you don't just have to send the 8 strongest riders, but a team that hangs together, that can fight for our goals... There is already enough stress in the Tour. We wanted to avoid even more emotions and distraction."

Hermans however has responded in the meantime calling the statements "character assassination" in a talk with Het Nieuwsblad. His move away from Intermarché seemed certain already with Alpecin-Deceuninck as the likely next move, however Hermans was shocked by the decision: "I don't want to be part of a team that treats its riders like that. Aike says things he knows aren't right".

“Look, one day before departure I was told that I was not allowed to go to the Tour. There was not a word about me in the team's press release," he added. The argument that at the Baloise Belgium Tour the environment at the team was also approached by the Belgian: "The atmosphere was great then. That was not so long ago."

"I have had messages from many teammates and team leaders stating that they did not see this coming and that I do not deserve this treatment. That negates everything Visbeek cites. I can only hope that a few people will dare to stand up and confirm my words," he continued.

"I want to continue to behave professionally until the last day. I just hope I get the chance to do that. Because when I hear all this, I don't know if I will be able to race a lot this season," Hermans concluded.