03/01/2024

Tim Wellens prepared to tackle rivals at Tour de France: "I can really deny that everything at Visma | Lease a Bike is planned out much more meticulously than ours"

Tim Wellens is in the '8' of UAE Team Emirates for the Tour de France. The Belgian rider will be part of a very strong lineup that looks to dethrone Team Visma | Lease a Bike, and he is confident that there will be enough firepower to achieve the goal.

Starting his season in Spain, Wellens will then focus on the cobbled classics where he will have his own chances, but also support Tadej Pogacar. “Will I miss the Ardennes races? It depends on. If I reach the finish in Roubaix with a super good feeling, then yes," Wellens told Het Nieuwsblad. "If I'm going to be happy that Roubaix is over, then not. In the first case, I do not rule out that I will still start in one of those competitions, but on the other hand, it is very optimistic to extend such a long period again.

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In the Emirati team, the 32-year old is a domestique. However one of the highest level support riders in the modern peloton. Last year he was struck by bad luck, being taken down in the mass crash that imploded the Tour of Flanders, which then prevented him from racing the Tour - due to not having his best form.

“I was not in the Tour last year, but I did participate in the previous altitude camp. So I had a front row seat at all the tactical briefings and it was great to see how everything went exactly as agreed in the first two weeks," he tells, providing insight into the team's thinking. "I can really deny that everything at Team Visma | Lease a Bike is planned out much more meticulously than ours.”

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Alongside Nils Politt, he will be helping an incredibly amount of four leaders in the flat and hilly days. “I not only hope that I will be there, but also that we can win with the team," he tells. Alongside the duo, also Pavel Sivakov and Marc Soler should be doing work in the mountains.

Winning as a team, regardless of the rider, will be the goal for the team. "That would make me very proud. If you ask what is at the top of my bucket list for 2024, that is it. I don't think we should throw Jumbo off balance. Just follow [Joxean] Matxin's plan. He is a master tactician.”