🥈👏 It's a strong 2nd place for @Tim_Wellens at #KBK24 🇧🇪. #WeAreUAE
Tim Wellens: "I was thinking about how I could win the race against Wout, but I didn't see many scenarios"
CyclingSunday, 25 February 2024 at 19:00
Tim Wellens believes he is not yet in top form, and that is perhaps the best news he could have after the opening weekend, as in the two races he showed great form and was the rider that matched Wout van Aert the best at Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne.
“It was a very good race for me. We rode away in the hilly area and then we always kept turning around. I was thinking about how I could win the race against Wout, but I didn't see many scenarios," Wellens told Wielerflits. The Belgian worked with van Aert and Oier Lazkano to build the winning gap and the trio flew through Flanders. A podium spot was assured but Wellens wanted a win, and he played his cards in the end with a smart attack using road furniture. "That side wasn't necessarily faster. On the contrary, I think it was even a little longer. But it was more difficult to sit on the wheel straight away," he commented on the move, which van Aert eventually responded to.
A sprint was unavoidable at that point, even if Wellens could benefit from an attack from Oier Lazkano. "On the other hand, beating Wout on the flat is not easy. So second was the highest possible. It was a strong headwind. So I knew that I was not allowed to start the sprint first, but now it is not the case that I am stranded on half a wheel," he says. Wellens finished second, as did Nils Politt the day before. “It was a very good weekend for the team, with Nils Pollit finishing second yesterday and me today."
The day before he was the fastest rider up the Muur de Geraardsbergen. The team believes he is still not at his best, and he takes plenty positive signs from the Opening Weekend: "I didn't expect to be in such good shape, because I hadn't trained very intensively. According to my trainer, I'm not in top shape yet, but it certainly felt that way during the race. That gives confidence for what is yet to come.”
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- yeah, that’s a more fair assessment. “reaching mathieu’s level” doesn’t mean you’re planning to replicate his whole career. the former IS doable, potentially. it’s just the latter that likely is not.OCexile25-12-2024
- That’s not entirely true. Every person follows their own development path and peaks differently. Remco and Primoz had hardly started cycling before elite level. Jonas was pretty much under the radzr until he unexpectedly had to take over responsibility at JV. Some guys only get real good in their thirties others have peaked mid-twenties. You can’t tell in advance how and upto what level they will progress, obviously his career might not have MVDPs length but nothing says he could not end up doing a few seasons at his level.Mistermaumau25-12-2024
- well, del grosso is 21 right now. when mathieu was a year younger than that, he was already winning elite level world championships, not U23. i think del grosso will be a very good pro for years, but if he was really going to be the next van der poel someday, he’d already have to be at that level right NOW. van der poel was showing signs of true greatness when he was 15-16. THAT’S what generational talent looks like.OCexile25-12-2024
- Yeah.... gear 😅.mikolajjj24-12-2024
- It shouldn’t be about expectations in the first place should it? Besides, if you look at everyone’s calculations as a whole they don’t add up in the first place. There’ll be 2-3 riders with a 50% chance, a dozen with 10 or 20% and dozens more with a 5% so we’re expecting at least 2 if not 3 winners. Remind me again who won before her? Says it all about using data to decide on participation.Mistermaumau24-12-2024
- Ok, happy I’m not too interested in this team coz’ the account of what happened is really hard to follow.Mistermaumau24-12-2024
- The UCI is worse than USA CyclingVeganpotter24-12-2024
- It's not like they wanted her to not win😅 She had an outstanding Olympics. But there's a reason why she wasn't expected to win the road race and that's ok. Things like this happen and it's great...better than seeing expected winners win.Veganpotter24-12-2024
- Bruyneel ? The man with a lifetime ban from cycling...why do you keep giving him and his doper mate, Armstrong, a platform?DJ24-12-2024
- yeah, agree. on the subject of being a “complete rider,” i do think that’s getting more interesting. mathieu seems to have decided he wants to get much better at climbing the the high mountain passes. he appears to be looking for new challenges, which should be interesting to watch. in most cases you’d dismiss a goal like that at age 30, but it’s mvdp. he’s never going to climb with the real climbers, but if he can improve enough it could open up stage wins when the parcours isnt just purely toothy and punchy.OCexile24-12-2024