"Don't kill cycling" - Jumbo-Visma defend Wout van Aert after chain-lubing moment at E3 Saxo Classic
Cycling
"The greasing of chains from a moving vehicle shall be forbidden," says the UCI rules. Yesterday at the E3 Saxo Classic this rule was broken by race winner Wout van Aert, however no consequences came from it.
Whilst some fans have pointed out the inconsistency, Jumbo-Visma have defended their rider.
This happened following the climbs of the Paterberg and Oude Kwaremont, where the wet cobblestones - which were found throughout the day in other areas - left the riders' drivetrains dirty and less efficient. This is part of cycling, but every detail matters and Jumbo-Visma was prepared and did an on-the-move chain lubing on the Belgian in the last 30 kilometers.
Later on social media criticism was shown following the move. Mostly as this is said to be banned under UCI rules. Criticism was split between Jumbo-Visma and the UCI's inconsistencies, and became relatively important as van Aert sprinted to victory on the day.
"I'm 33 years a DS already. I do 150 races every year, and I saw it already in 100 races every year," team DS Arthur Van Dongen told Cyclingnews. "It's ok that people make a big story about it on social media, but that's not up to us. It happens a lot, but not often on television. It's like that. The jury made a good decision, don't kill cycling, because he has really no advantage from that. If we bring him back behind the car or whatever, then we say ok eh, but this was not the case," Van Dongen explained.
Whether it was a planned move or not, it can be argued it did make a difference - otherwise Jumbo-Visma would not take the risk - which further fuels the debate. "There are a lot of rules in the book but, in my opinion, you have to play with the rules. You have to say 'ok, is it an advantage? Does it play important role in the race? Yes or no'. You have to work with it," van Dongen concluded.
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- He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- What a race! I didn't expect Vanthourenhout to collapse like that, and Wyseure did take the fight to Nys, but there was no doubt at the end. I also wonder what Aubin Sparfel would be capable of were he to race in the elites now. In the U23 ranks he is making good work of Giel Lejeune, who himself is among the better riders in the elites, and a top 10 contender in the big races (3rd at Kleebergcross, 8th at Berencross and 5th at Heerderstrand). In the French Cup, Sparfel is significantly better than Romain Debord (8th at Koppenbergcross and 10th at the Euros) and Rémi Lelandais (12th at Koppenbergcross and 19th at the Euros).
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
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It's clear now that if Wout wins the sprint it's due to the magical lube chain. 🤪 #E3SaxoClassic
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