🇧🇪#OHN24 🇧🇪#KBK24 What a weekend we had! 🤩🖤💛 Look back at the victories of Jan, Marianne and Wout on our website!⬇️
"The difference with the second string has gotten even bigger" - Jose De Cauwer sees alarming gap between contenders and pretenders at 'Opening Weekend'
CyclingWednesday, 28 February 2024 at 18:17
As the Classics season began this weekend, Team Visma | Lease a Bike were dominant, taking a double success through Jan Tratnik at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Wout van Aert at Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne.
"There is not much difference between Jumbo-Visma and Team Visma | Lease a Bike. Maybe they are even stronger," reflects the vastly experienced Sporza analyst, Jose De Cauwer in his post-weekend analysis for the channel. "Why? Because of the strength of their leader and the rest, they don't have much to prove. They really stand out."
In the coming races, as the likes of Mathieu van der Poel, Mads Pedersen and Tadej Pogacar join the competition, will Team Visma | Lease a Bike be able to continue their stranglehold on the peloton? "We don't know yet what van der Poel, Pedersen and Pogacar will do or where they will be," says De Cauwer reservedly. "But it's as if those leaders have become even better and as if the difference with the second string has become that little bit bigger. I don't immediately see any resistance."
That lack of a challenge is alarming for De Cauwer. "We thought that Lidl-Trek would put its foot next to that of Team Visma | Lease a Bike in the Omloop, but that did not happen. Yes, Toms Skujins was good, but he is on his own no team," he says. "But we didn't see a team - such as Soudal-Quick Step or Alpecin-Deceuninck - that was there on Saturday and Sunday."
"But you can't call it a surprise. When those yellow riders go forward, you know the race is on the cards. And yet they just ride away," he continues. "We don't know the competition. Everything is upside down. The leaders only ride when they have to. Just look at how little they race and how little they meet each other."
claps 0visitors 2803
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- Thanks Dadmobk22-12-2024
- Hard to believe with the advancment of modern medicine he can not find a cause for this.frieders321-12-2024
- You continue to platform these two cheats. With that in mind I can no longer use your site. I know my leaving means little, but, sometimes you have to take a stand. See ya!DJ21-12-2024
- Look at what Froome’s won since his last TdF, stop denying there is still more than possible one outcome to the future.Mistermaumau21-12-2024
- Bruyneel understands nothing about clean competition.Sweep21-12-2024
- Exactly. Remco won 3 WT races/stages last year compared to Pogocar's 19. Remco's single stage win in last years TdF earned him a meager 12 seconds over Pogocar who shellac'd him by 9 minutes in GC.Sweep21-12-2024
- Fortunately and as you point out, more than one strategy is possible and worth trying and I’m sure all concerned riders are well informed and counselled on this subject and don’t need such basic personal advice through media from an outsider.Mistermaumau21-12-2024
- The main SPOTY award is "decided" by public vote but the BBC "expert panel" decide who you can choose from, that choice has an equal split of genders and is focussed on the sports BBC show and a disabled athlete. Oh yea the ubiquitous "Pub Games" candidate there too, Darts and Snooker are not sports. The other awards are decided by the "Expert Panel" again it's about the sports BBC show, cycling has had it. Cav got his for his years and achievements in the sport, not just that 35th TDF win. Unless the BBC get access to Pro Cycling it will never feature "adequately" on SPOTYslappers6621-12-2024
- Ahhh..... you have to understand the "strange" diversity concepts of the BBCslappers6621-12-2024
- Avoiding him is a good strategy, you get more wins and then you can compete in the TDF relatively relaxed. Pit yourself against Pogi and not only there will be no wins, it will be considerable mental setbackabstractengineer21-12-2024