"In Flanders they always criticize everything" - Christophe Laporte annoyed with criticism of Gent Wevelgem win alongside Wout van Aert
Cycling
Gent Wevelgem this year was dominated by Team Visma | Lease a Bike. The Dutch team exploded the race and won with a one-two of Wout van Aert and Christophe Laporte. The Frenchman won, but was displeased by some criticism that emerged over van Aert not taking the victory.
"But the criticism afterwards was annoying. The media then talked more about Van Aert's gift than about the song that Wout and I performed together," Laporte says in words to Sporza. This wasn't the first time happening, but some argue this shouldn't have happened as the Belgian isn't bringing huge wins into his palmarès. "It was Wout's choice that I should be the first to cross the line in Wevelgem and I was very happy with that. But in Flanders they always criticize everything. When the two of us rode to the finish in E3 in 2022 and Wout won, there was no critical voice anywhere. But after Gent-Wevelgem there was a lot of criticism."
The Frenchman went on to become European Champion later in the year coincidentally ahead of van Aert, however directly beating him this time around. "I'm still one step below Wout and Mathieu. They have a great honors list and are the favorites in every race where they start. I am part of the group of riders among them. It is not always the strongest who wins the race, that is what makes cycling so beautiful," he argues.
Laporte has already achieved a lot since joining the Dutch team "I have already won a Tour stage and classics. The next step is a monument. That is the most difficult objective to achieve, but I am going for it," he admits. Such a versatile rider, he is capable of a lot and was also asked about possibly going for the points classification at the Tour de France. The priority in the team will likely remain the yellow jersey solely for this upcoming season however. "For me, the green jersey is not a goal to win, I would rather win a classic."
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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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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Provisional #TDF2024 roster Visma- Lease a Bike: 🇩🇰 Jonas Vingegaard 🇺🇸 Sepp Kuss 🇧🇪 Tiesj Benoot 🇺🇸 Matteo Jorgenson 🇳🇱 Steven Kruiswijk 🇸🇮 Jan Tratnik 🇳🇱 Dylan van Baarle 🇫🇷 Christophe Laporte
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