Opening Weekend offered affirmation of some issues that we’d have already got guessed, but it surely additionally raised quite a lot of little query marks for the Classics nonetheless forward. Though some prime riders have been lacking, like Mathieu van der Poel and Mads Pedersen, it was nonetheless an fascinating two days of racing at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne. And now it’s going to be thrilling to see the way it all develops.
Consistent with the pattern of current years, these races are opening up earlier and earlier, with massive assaults coming from distance. Up to now, you may say Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne was extra of a race for sprinters, however on Sunday, the profitable transfer went clear with nearly 90km to go. It’s loopy how early every part goes now, and in races and conditions like these, I believe you really want a powerful staff round you.
On that word, Visma-Lease A Bike have been the dominant staff. Like final yr, they gained each races, this time with Jan Tratnik and Wout van Aert. I believe they proved that they’ve the strongest staff and so they confirmed that they’re going to have the strongest line-up on the Classics. They’ve constructed an ideal roster of riders for these races.
However although that they had one other very profitable weekend, they weren’t flawless. Visma-Lease A Bike are on the very prime of the sport on the subject of issues like vitamin and coaching, they’re main the way in which in these departments. However tactics-wise and racing-wise, they don’t seem to be any completely different to the others.
At Omloop, they regarded in an ideal place with three riders in a break of six and, by some means, they nonetheless nearly misplaced the race when all of it got here again collectively over the Muur. All of us thought the race was over at a sure level, however then it practically ended up as a bunch dash.
Within the finale, Tratnik was capable of seize maintain of the scenario for Visma once more and win the race, however I wasn’t sure about their technique earlier than that, when Van Aert was within the break with Matteo Jorgenson and Christophe Laporte.
It was comprehensible that they began attacking the opposite riders within the transfer – Arnaud De Lie, Tom Pidcock and Toms Skuijns – however I’m unsure if Jorgenson was the correct rider to ship up the street. He went, however he didn’t actually go in a means that stated, ‘Okay, I’m gone.’ It was extra like he was using as bait in entrance, possibly ready for someone to affix him. I’d have anticipated Laporte to be the rider to assault earlier than the Muur, as a result of Jorgenson didn’t look as easy as him.
Visma-Lease A Bike confirmed their collective power this weekend, however they will additionally destroy themselves. They actually need to race collectively as a staff, they should collaborate.
They’ve acquired quite a lot of prime riders on the staff who’ve already gained Classics earlier than, in different phrases, like Dylan van Baarle, Tiesj Benoot, Laporte and Van Aert. Now we will add Tratnik to that checklist, so let’s see if he has ambitions to go for the following races himself or if he’s comfortable simply to trip for others. That’s a query going ahead – how will they divide the races between them and the way will they resolve the ways?
The opposite fascinating query is Van Aert’s schedule for the following few weeks. Often, Tirreno or Paris-Good is the place to go in March to develop the legs and see the situation evolve, however Wout goes to coach at altitude as an alternative. He gained’t race once more till E3 Harelbeke, and he’s lacking Strade Bianche and Milan-San Remo too. I don’t know if this appropriate or not, but it surely’s actually a distinct and new preparation.
One factor I can guess is that he’ll be going very deep in coaching. I didn’t race Opening Weekend very a lot in my profession, I often most well-liked to skip it, like Van der Poel and Pedersen have executed this yr. When Omloop and Kuurne have been going down, I’d be at residence coaching, and I knew I needed to go deep these days, as a result of my rivals have been going deep in these races.
That was my motivation to exit for six or seven hours, both motor pacing or on the climbs in my area. I successfully raced my very own race in coaching, possibly inflicting extra ache on myself that I’d have executed within the race. In a means, it was a little bit of psychological coaching too.
Tudor gaining expertise and making an impression
This yr, I used to be in Belgium for Opening Weekend, after all, as a result of Tudor Professional Biking Crew was racing Omloop and Kuurne for the primary time. I used to be very proud for our organisation to be there, however that is only the start of the journey that we’re on. We didn’t search for invites in 2023 for structural causes and since we’re seeking to develop step by step, however we’ll be racing so much on the cobbles this yr.
We got here away with prime 10 finishes in every of the races – Matteo Trentin was ninth at Omloop and Marius Mayrhofer was ninth in Kuurne – and we additionally got here away with quite a lot of classes discovered about competing in Belgium on the cobbles, which is essential for a staff with so many younger guys.
These aren’t simply common bike races, there are such a lot of particulars it’s essential to find out about positioning, the parcours, the wind route and so forth, so this was a extremely massive expertise for them. The early cut up at Omloop was an enormous lesson about biking on the highest stage. And when the race got here again collectively, it was one other lesson – the race is rarely over till the end line.
On Sunday, possibly a number of the guys paid a bit for the fatigue of Omloop, and we weren’t within the entrance group. Possibly the fatigue was greater than they anticipated, however that was additionally a great expertise. I used to be there to help the boys with my very own expertise – not of profitable, however simply of all the fundamental stuff about racing in Belgium.
The important thing factor now’s that they digest the expertise of Opening Weekend in a constructive means and construct on it, so that they’ll be prepared for the following races. We’ll be at Strade Bianche subsequent weekend after which Tirreno-Adriatico, and we’ll even be again in Belgium for E3 Harelbeke, and people are greater and more durable races.
Matteo isn’t but on the extent the place he desires to be, however we’re engaged on that, and the staff additionally carried out nicely on the UAE Tour, so we’re wanting ahead to what’s coming. We’ve already acquired over 1,000 UCI factors, way more than final yr, however whereas the rating is vital, we’re fascinated by way more than outcomes and wish to race with a unified, daring method.
It’s additionally good that persons are paying attention to what we’re doing, together with Wout van Aert. He isn’t going to depart Visma any time quickly, after all, however final week, Het Nieuwsblad requested him the place he would signal if he ever needed to make a change. Wout named Tudor and Uno-X, pointing to our construction and our concentrate on growing riders. I take that as a praise. It exhibits that we work correctly, and that now we have a plan and a imaginative and prescient.
