2 time Tour de France stage winner Thomas De Gendt retired
at the end of 2024 after 16 years in the peloton. His last grand tour was the
Vuelta a Espana in September, the race which the Belgian won the mountains
classification back in 2018.
Speaking to the magazine Bahamontes about his time racing in
the Vuelta, De Gendt revealed some odd details of other riders in the peloton.
After the tenth stage, which was won by his countryman Wout van Aert, De Gendt told
Bahamontes, “I had to let go from the start, just like most of my teammates,
including Lennert Van Eetvelt. So we had to work hard to bring him back."
"We only managed that after eighty kilometres and even
then we had to drive very hard to keep Lennert there. Fortunately, we were able
to limit the damage to our leader."
After Van Eetvelt became ill, De Gendt revealed that the Lotto Dstny rider tried some very unique techniques to recover, before he eventually had to
abandon the race, "At the hotel, our chef told me he had read that
according to Chinese medicine, the substances an onion releases can slow down
infections and inflammation.
Thomas De Gendt revealed some unique methods to recover from illness in the peloton
“The most efficient place to get those substances into your
bloodstream would be the soles of your feet."
"So Victor Campenaerts, Lennert and three other
teammates went to get onions, cut them into pieces and tied them around their
feet with cling film. They put their socks on top of that and went to
sleep."
In a sport where scientific revolutions are constantly
changing the way riders train, race and recover, this is not how most fans
imagine that professional riders are recovering between stages.
Fin MajorCycling Journalist
Fin Major is a UK-based writer at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2024. He is the site’s main writer for FAQs and evergreen explainers and has written around 2,000 pieces for the platform. Alongside this work, he focuses on in-depth analysis and covers the biggest races on the calendar, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, providing clear context around performance trends, tactics, and key storylines.
In his reporting, Fin uses reputable data sources such as 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. Outside of writing, Fin is an active cyclist, which supports his practical understanding of the sport and its demands.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- I see (elsewhere) that Alaphilippe had more to say than what got relayed in this stub. Me: he was very good early but his latter third trajectory was the pits. His old boss did what he could (huffed and puffed) but Julian couldn't get his greatness back. Sometimes I wonder if crashes that didn't look like much changed the course of the rider.flyer14-11-2026
- I wouldn't classify it as a gift because the nasty consequences of taking it from Sepp would have been great and would persist and he knew it.flyer14-11-2026
- Ok. Tratnik's good and Red Bull's better so Tratnik may get what he wants.flyer14-11-2026
- Ok. So just saying he wasn't enjoying racing anymore is some kind of explanation? Me saying I don't enjoy his explanation is more explaining than he did.flyer14-11-2026
- Buitrago, was he their best rider in 2026? He's the chief loss for them and Martinez and Tiberi (especially) have to step up or they will be overtaken by Bahrain's younger riders like Omrzel. I'm still somewhat high on Martinez but Tiberi, after showing signs of promise, has fizzled. Bahrain still has a good team but they need to improve and exceed expectations. I'd be happy if Mohoric could manage to return to his better form for maybe one last year at least.flyer14-11-2026
- Hmmm, "... I just gained 30 seconds purely off the bike. Because it's really a big, big improvement compared to the previous bike". Is that marketing for Specialized or serious valid hype, or something in between? Very likely the former.flyer14-11-2026
- Nothing revelatory or controversial. Why do we have to report on Bruyneel's or Armstrong's thinking. It's a shame and enough that the Move's on TV and that people watch it .flyer14-11-2026
- Makes sense that training from home is a big asset or advantage but it's still remarkable that he can put in three quality majors and not pay some heavy price for the exertion. I wish he would have won that tour stage that his crash while leading allowed Carapaz the win. He's a darn good rider and teammate.flyer14-11-2026
- Sounds like we all agree with the over under exaggeration: "The German’s signing does not guarantee that Evenepoel will win the Tour in 2027. "flyer14-11-2026
- Seixas appears to be that good but if he isn't (an absolute rival to Pogacar) he would have plenty of company in rising stars that did not go on to fully meet the expectations of many. That Pogacar wasn't the greatest (as great) sooner can't be transposed onto another's development. It may be not that simple.flyer14-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment