Sunday, March 31, 2024 at 6:17 PM
Video After the finish in the Tour of Flanders, Dylan Teuns was particularly disappointed. The Belgian narrowly misses the podium because he is overtaken in the final meters by an oncoming group. Although that is not the only thing the Israel-Premier Tech rider is disappointed regarding. “We will never know whether I might have gone with Van der Poel,” said Teuns CyclingFlits.
“At the end the barrel was finished,” says Teuns. “The head still wanted but the legs were gone. I am very disappointed because I am not on the podium.” Just a hundred meters before the finish, the Belgian, together with Alberto Bettiol, is caught by a group of pursuers. In the final, the two men pulled away from the pursuers, but the effort proved not to be enough.
Teuns can also point to a bad moment earlier in the race. “On the Koppenberg there is the first moment of “bad luck”. Tim Wellens loses his balance there and becomes obstructed. I almost hit him full-on, so I had no choice but to get off. Otherwise I think I might have had the legs to go with Van der Poel. Maybe between quotes then. We will never know.”
“I felt that Mathieu might have driven away from all of us on the Oude Kwaremont if he had wanted to. He also held back then. So perhaps there was still some opportunity for collaboration at the Koppenberg. Unfortunately the bird started flying there. I fought for second place, which was the highest possible today. Just didn’t make it.”
Stomach problems
Nevertheless, Teuns can be satisfied with his performance today. In his last race, the Tour of Catalonia, the Belgian still had to drop out. “I had stomach problems since Strade Bianche. We have done a lot with a whole medical team to get this resolved. Even this morning I still had doubts. Since Catalonia I haven’t done a race to test my legs. I only trained hard twice on Sunday and Wednesday and I am very happy that it went so well.”
Tim Wellens: “I’m normally pretty good at Koppenberg”
It was also a disappointment for Tim Wellens (twelfth). “The Koppenberg was difficult to get to the top,” Wellens looks back on his course. “There was little grip. The climb is known for its tendency to slide quite a bit. I was well placed there. Normally I ride up there quite well, but today it was too slippery.”
“Then the race exploded,” Wellens continues. “At the end there were four of us in the team and we had a good run, but it was not easy to close that. The plan was to spin around, because everyone was at their limit. Nils rode a good sprint.”
