Intermarché - Wanty coach optimistic about Gerben Thijssen towards Tour: "He still needs to become more consistent in his positioning"
Cycling
The Intermarché - Wanty Tour de France selection is all about stage victories. The team is built mostly around two sprinters Gerben Thijssen and Biniam Girmay. The Belgian didn't have an ideal build up towards summer due to an injury at the start of April, however his team is confident he'll be ready to form a powerful duo with his Eritrean teammate.
"He lost two weeks with his ankle fracture that he sustained at Scheldeprijs," head coach Aike Visbeek explains to WielerFlits. "Gerben is slowly getting better. It is true that he has trained hard in Spain in recent weeks. We used May for those training sessions and to gain racing rhythm. The consequence is that in, for example, the Volta Limburg he only rode at 90 to 85 percent. He is not yet at his best, but we will use the upcoming Baloise Belgium Tour for that. He still has to take steps forward there."
The result is that Thijssen has not yet made the connection he wanted with the world top in sprinting. "Physically he has certainly taken a step. In the Volta ao Algarve, Paris-Nice and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, Gerben has shown that he has become a much better rider physically. We did miss a few sprint opportunities in March. Think of Nokere and Classic Brugge-De Panne, that was not good. The conclusion is that he is physically where he should be, but he still needs to become more consistent in his positioning. That is his most important point of work."
Thijssen won't be able to rely on Boy van Poppel's help in sprints anymore. "But that was the intention anyway," Visbeek explains. "You see that Alpecin-Deceuninck also makes do with multiple lead-outs. Due to the injuries, we are also forced to make do with those different lead-outs, but that does not necessarily have to be a disadvantage. Our sprinters are also becoming more mature and can handle that. The sprint train for the Tour will be doing the Baloise Belgium Tour. Gerben can get used to Mike Teunissen, Laurenz Rex and Adrien Petit."
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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