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Is Belgium looking for cobblestone riders? “No, it can’t hurt to leave the church tower” | Tour of Flanders

The race is ours, but the Tour of Flanders did not belong to the Belgians yesterday. With Wout van Aert, only 1 Belgian finished in the top 10. Is it a snapshot or is there more to it? National coach Sven Vanthourenhout and his right-hand man Serge Pauwels analyse.

Since the move to Oudenaarde in 2012, the honors list of the Tour of Flanders hardly has any Belgian flags.

Tom Boonen in 2012 and Philippe Gilbert in 2017 are the last Belgian winners on “the new course”.

Since Gilbert’s triumph in the tricolor, only 2 compatriots have stood on the podium: Wout van Aert came 2nd in 2020, Greg Van Avermaet took 3rd place in 2021.

Yesterday the top 10 was populated by only 1 Belgian: Van Aert finished 4th. “That change did not come suddenly,” says national coach Sven Vanthourenhout.

“We now have a wide range of Belgian riders. We compete in the rounds, we win sprints and we have top time trialists. We have a fantastic multi-terrain generation.”

There is certainly no anemia among the Belgian youngsters for our typical Flemish spring races.

Sven Vanthourenhout

And that generational change has been going on for a while now. Boonen and Gilbert are retired, and the era of Sep Vanmarcke and Oliver Naesen, among others, also seems to have passed its peak.

“That is not their fault. There is just a new generation ready. And I would certainly not say that those young people are anemic for our typical Flemish spring races.”

The national coach initially pushes Arnaud De Lie forward, but also does not erase fixed values ​​such as Yves Lampaert and Jasper Stuyven.

“The lack of Belgians in the top 10 is therefore not new and is not alarming.”

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Serge Pauwels: “I think this is a good evolution”

“We have been spoiled in recent decades with Johan Museeuw, Peter Van Petegem, Boonen and Gilbert, among others,” adds Serge Pauwels, Development Coach at Belgian Cycling.

“We have always had that culture of the classics, but that has also been a bit of navel-gazing.”

“Youth clubs always wanted to fire up the Paterberg or the Oude Kwaremont as quickly as possible during training, but now they go abroad for an internship and train in the mountains.”

The cobbles are actually a nice one. Now we leave the church tower and broaden our horizon.

Serge Pauwels

The Belgian youngsters therefore see – perhaps at an earlier stage than their predecessors – that the world consists of more than the Flemish stones.

“Look at a type like Remco Evenepoel. He looks further, because Flemish work is actually a niche. Now we leave the church tower and broaden the horizon.”

“There is nothing wrong with the Flemish races, but we have riders for the hard work like Catalonia and the Basque Country.”

“We used to have nothing to eat there. So I think this is a good evolution.”

“Note: I also don’t write off men like Stuyven and Lampaert, but in the past someone like Van Avermaet always got stars for the Ronde. Not now.”

“That’s the circle of life. Every rider discovers that competitors get half a percent better and you get half a percent less.”

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Are successors ready?

Sven Vanthourenhout emphasized it already: he also sees enough goldcrests in the youth categories that can one day shine in the races that are so close to our hearts.

“Steffen De Schuyteneer (19) won Gent-Wevelgem in the juniors in an impressive way and I also think of Vlad Van Mechelen, who took bronze at the World Junior Championships.”

“A process like this requires patience, but we always have guys ready who dream of Flanders.”

Look at that top 10 yesterday: you have the Big Three and after that you only see toppers. The places are very expensive.

Serge Pauwels

Serge Pauwels knows the youth through and through from his role at the Belgian cycling federation. “You should certainly not make it so clear that we have no successors. On the contrary.”

“We now count a lot of sprinters and climbers, but that is an addition. And don’t forget that the peloton is very international and does not kick on the spot.”

“Look at that top 10 yesterday: you have the Big Three and then you only see toppers. The places are very expensive.”

“We are also not allowed to compare with our former champions,” the national coach puts down the discussion.

Cycling today is very specialized, although Tadej Pogacar contradicts that of course.”

“Above all, we must continue to enjoy a race like yesterday. As a cycling enthusiast, I had goosebumps several times, even though only 1 Belgian finished in the top 10.”

Vlad Van Mechelen took bronze in Wollongong.

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