"Let a few farts out and it will feel better” — Yves Lampaert reflects on how cycling has changed in ten years

Yves Lampaert has published a new book, Forza Lampaert, co-written with journalist Wouter Deboot. The work recounts not only the many achievements of the 34-year-old, but also the dramatic evolution of professional cycling over the past decade.

One story that captures that change involves former teammate Tom Boonen, with whom he rode for Etixx - Quick Step in 2015-2017, the last 3 years of Boonen as a pro.

“Ten years ago, we still went out together the night before a race,” Lampaert told Het Laatste Nieuws. “That was ten years ago, and now it’s a rarity in the peloton. In Münsterland [one of the last victories for Boonen] we rode 42 kilometers per hour on average back then. Now it’s 48. You can’t afford any excess anymore.”

Nutrition, Lampaert says, is another area that has completely changed. Reflecting on his 2014 victory at the Arnhem–Veenendaal Classic, he recalled how little attention was paid to diet in his early days. “Now every team travels with their own chef and food is weighed. But at Topsport Vlaanderen [his team that year], we still just ate the hotel menu.”

And the next day, he paid the price. “During the race, I had stomach problems. Back then, no one really talked about nutrition, except that you should eat one energy bar and one gel per hour. When I woke up the next day, I had stomach pain from all that cream. After one hour of racing, I dropped back to the team car and told our director Hans De Clercq: ‘My stomach is completely blocked. You can’t count on me today.’”

De Clercq’s response was blunt and unforgettable. “He said: ‘Let a few farts out and it will get better.’” Lampaert followed the advice quite literally, and he does not seem to regret. “I did as he said and let go… It actually helped. I won solo, it was my first professional victory.”

In Forza Lampaert, the rider avoids discussing doping scandals directly, but he insists his career has taken place in an era defined by strict control and transparency.

“I’ve always been part of teams that win a lot but enforce zero tolerance,” he explained. “When I became a professional, the biological passport and no-needle policy were already in place. I am convinced that I’m living through the cleanest period of cycling. You can see that in the level of performance.”

He also described how results today depend more on form and physical condition than on anything else. “When I had a good day, I could compete for victory. When I felt less good, I couldn’t. That’s logical. There have been performances where people thought, ‘how is that possible?’ But I think — maybe naïvely — that it’s just a fantastic athlete on a fantastic day.”