"Now I can at best follow..." - Quick-Step veteran on cycling's wattage evolution and Tadej Pogacar's feats

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.”

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.”