"Now I can at best follow..." - Quick-Step veteran on cycling's wattage evolution and Tadej Pogacar's feats
Cycling
Now a World Tour rider for over 10 years, Yves Lampaert have seen many come and go from the battles in the cobbled classics. This also allowed him to see the rise and confirmation of the best Grand Tour specialist in the world, Tadej Pogacar, in the terrain in which he used to thrive in - one where nowadays he can only follow at best, according to his own words.
“Omloop, Strade Bianche and Milano-Sanremo were quite demonstrative in that sense. Van der Poel rides maybe a bit more calculated, more reasoned. But Pogacar, man," Lampaert said in words to Het Laatste Nieuws. "How long was he out front again in Tuscany? 78 kilometers? Crazy. And it’s not a one-off. I’ve often wondered what the tactical benefit is of such incredibly long solos".
Most of it comes down the Slovenian's power output, which is just superior to the rest of the peloton when it comes to the uphill efforts. However his raw power is also substantially high and his endurance is virtually unmatched in the peloton, making him a pure threat to win even races such as Paris-Roubaix which would ordinarily not be well adapted to a rider such as Pogacar.
A trademark of the Slovenian have become the long-range attacks, sometimes several hours long and by himself. The Belgian wonders what the reason is behind such risky moves: “If you’re that strong and have that much left, you could also wait longer with your attack and benefit from teammates or rivals. This costs your body tons of energy. Is there a specific training approach behind it? Do they know his penultimate effort is better than his last? Is it to avoid potential dangers? I don’t know.”
However it's something that Lampaert, a former Paris-Roubaix podium finisher, simply cannot keep up with anymore. “It’s simple. With the wattages I pushed four or five years ago, I would ride away from the peloton. Now I can at best follow," he admits. The speeds that the peloton is riding at currently are much superior.
"It’s not that I’ve become worse. The overall level has risen. Guidance is more professional. As a young rider I trained without a heart rate monitor. Only at Quick-Step (in 2015, ed.) did I discover the power meter. Now they use it already in youth categories.”
Lampaert during the 2024 season
Remaining career goals
However Paris-Roubaix remains a race where experience, positioning, endurance and luck play major roles - not the W/Kg battles that have now often marked even the less difficult big races. This, and the race's history, allow Lampaert to remain ambitious in the 'Hell of the North'.
“Paris-Roubaix remains a race close to my heart. You’re allowed to dream, right? You have to, even. If there is one Monument that suits me and where everything can come together, it’s that one. If I win one in my career, it will be completely successful," he adds. Quick-Step are focusing on the cobbled classics quite a lot this year, with the signings of former winner Dylan van Baarle and Jasper Stuyven; and so suddenly Lampaert's importance has grown once again.
“In cycling, the retirement age is a bit lower than 65, right," he joked. "I hope I can keep going until I’m 38. That would be a nice age to finish. It would make me proud and happy. Three more years, in other words. 2029 is the farewell year I have in mind.”
Read also
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
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.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
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)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- When Thomas gets the bullet from INEOS he can get a job as a comedian.
Senna196013-11-2026 - Right on. The more the merrier.Occam13-11-2026
- Remember, Del Toro struggled in this Tour. He is great, no doubt about that, but comparing him to a four time gt winner is absurd at this point. He has the potential. We'll have to see how he develops.awp13-11-2026
- what did Jonas gift and to whom? just curious, haven’t heard about this.mij13-11-2026
- You don't gift grand tours as it has come to light that Jonas has come to regret doing such.
Front24213-11-2026 - Exactly you said it urslf - he outclimbed del toro by 19 sec. 19SEC and you say hes alot better than del toro still lol? And can also do the same where del toro did that to jonas even and del toro dauphine numbers better than jonas all year so why this hard whats the issue its super easy stuff - del toro wasnt that before. Then factor in both their trajectory the last years and the answer is self explonatory like i said. Nothing against jonas like many do but the typing is no the wall and so stupidly easy as its so self explanatory now. Have a good daymiguel13-11-2026
- Dirty ex doperFront24213-11-2026
- As far as points go they need to take a page or ten out of the Astana playbook!Lozza13-11-2026
- Ah, seems he’s been busy elsewhere! 😆Lozza13-11-2026
- Where is he when you need him!? Wake up man! You’re missing an opportunity!Lozza13-11-2026
Loading
1 Comments