Eddy Planckaert, José De Cauwer and Serge Pauwels shed their light on the eventful first stage in the Tour yesterday in Vive le Vélo. In addition to the missed opportunity for Van Aert and the safety in the race, the final bottle of Remco Evenepoel also passed in review.
De Cauwer: “Own fall got into Wout’s head”
Wout van Aert did not get involved in the debates at the final sprint of the first stage. Out of fear after a tumultuous ride, he said himself. Serge Pauwels understood it. “I understand that Wout has put himself aside. It was typical today that nobody wanted to lose anything. There are still 20 days and I think it was very reserved today. ”
José De Cauwer also agreed with Van Aert’s caution, who also went down in the first stage. “That trap got into his head. He knows that he will play an important role within the team and that it concerns Roglic and Dumoulin. I also told him not to join the sprint. ”
Eddy Planckaert saw it differently. According to him, Van Aert may have shot a unique moment. “You don’t get much chance to win a stage. He could have taken the stage and the yellow jersey. He will not get that chance 5 times in his life. ”
Van Aert: “I didn’t want to take any chances”
Pauwels: “Not the responsibility of the riders to stop the race”
After the incident-rich opening stage with numerous crashes, safety was of course also put on the table at Karl Vannieuwkerke. Some argue for a safety car, but José De Cauwer is not really enthusiastic about it. “The riders have to solve that themselves. Today they did well. The riders shouldn’t see, they just have to do it themselves. ”
“I thought it was a logical step for the peloton in the first stage. But you can’t keep doing this. The Astana men tried something, but went wrong. If Lopez does not fall, we will have a completely different final. But then Astana would also have gotten the bill back. ”
According to Planckaert, the timing also played an important role in the decision of the riders to stop the race. “If this had been the last 2 days of the Tour, where the final classification is at stake, it would have been race. It is also the riders of the teams who have an interest, of the classification riders, who stop everything. The adventurers are thus a little bit boycotted. ”
Serge Pauwels can be found in front of a kind of safety car. “I don’t think it’s the riders’ responsibility to stop the race. Such a safety car may be appropriate in a situation like today. Then it must be considered how this should be organized, but safety is nevertheless a very important point in the course. A finish like in the Tour of Poland, it is not the riders’ responsibility to say: we will not do this. ”
Planckaert about final bottle: “You got her right”
In recent days there was also a lot to do about what was removed from Remco Evenepoel’s back pocket after his heavy fall in the Tour of Lombardy. A small bottle with nutritional supplements, it sounded to his team Deceuninck-Quick Step.
Eddy Planckaert is also familiar with the “final bottle”. “You got her right from that. A little caffeine for the last 40 kilometers, you had 10 cups of coffee within 5 seconds. But it is all so magnified. I brought small water bottles with caffeine or honey. You got a huge mental boost from that. But what are we with now busy? I think we are going far now. ”
“Patrick Lefevere himself said it was a final bottle”, Serge Pauwels adds. “I think it makes sense that those pockets are emptied if someone is put on a stretcher.”
De Cauwer also doesn’t like the commotion. “I didn’t see Evenepoel take a bottle when he became world champion twice in a row. I
don’t mind that it is talked about, but normally this is unimportant. ”
It is all so magnified, I think we are going far now.
