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It’s important to scroll 32 locations down the Gent-Wevelgem outcomes sheet to search out the title of a QuickStep-AlphaVinyl rider – the Dane Kasper Asgreen.
After solely scraping a high 10 on the E3 Saxo Financial institution Basic on Friday, botching the lead-out at Brugge-De Panne in midweek, and falling completely flat at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad final month, this may usually be the stuff of disaster and scandal.
Nevertheless, there are mitigating circumstances aplenty for the Belgian squad being a shadow of their ordinary dominant selves this spring.
Already besieged by sickness and accidents, they have been compelled to conclude that the Classics gods merely have it in for them after a bruising encounter at Gent-Wevelgem.
Florian Sénéchal crashed and deserted, Bert Van Lerberghe additionally hit the deck, and to high it off, Asgreen’s chain got here off within the group dash behind the 4 leaders.
With pure sprinter Fabio Jakobsen dropped repeatedly on the Kemmelberg, Sénéchal out of the race, Stybar off color once more, and Yves Lampaert solely simply making his comeback from sickness, it fell solely to Asgreen to take cost.
“Sadly I used to be a bit alone up there,” the Tour of Flanders champion instructed Cyclingnews in Wevelgem.
“It is clearly a brand new scenario for me. We have been used to being the group up there with the numbers. Now we aren’t.”
Asgreen’s meteoric stand up the QuickStep Classics meals chain was initially primarily based on the power in depth round him. He was on the fringes of the squad in 2019 however immediately completed second at Flanders because the presence of his extra fancied colleagues opened doorways.
The next 12 months, he gained Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne, after which final spring he beat Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) in a two-up dash to win Flanders and successfully transfer to the highest of the group’s pecking order.
With out the likes of Lampaert, Stybar, and Sénéchal firing on all cylinders, nevertheless – to not point out the absence of World Champion Julian Alaphilippe from the cobbles this spring – he has encountered a unique problem solely.
“When the group with the 4 guys went, I used to be there alone and at that time I’ve to make some choices. Which teams do I observe and which teams do I let go?
“I selected to let that one go, as a result of there have been groups in our group with higher numbers than us, like FDJ. In the long run, they did not shut them down. That is the sport you must play whenever you’re up there alone.”
As if to verify they have been beneath some type of curse, Asgreen’s chain got here off as the primary group sprinted for fifth place.
“He virtually crashed – in any other case he would have been high three in dash,” Sport Director Tom Steels insisted.
‘We’re coming again’
As Steels took inventory in Wevelgem, there was a way of resignation, a shrug of the shoulders relatively than disappointment and even frustration.
“What are you able to do? We’re simply not in that circulate,” he stated. “The ball simply would not roll for us.”
For Sénéchal particularly, unhealthy luck appears to be lurking round each nook. At Milan-San Remo he was behind Giacomo Nizzolo when the Italian crashed not the descent of the Poggio, earlier than puncturing at a key second of E3 and now crashing out of Gent-Wevelgem when a rider went down in entrance of him.
“It isn’t straightforward, for certain. You construct up all winter for this era then three races in a row this occurs,” Steels stated. “You possibly can solely do one factor: maintain shifting ahead.”
If there was one ray of positivity on Sunday, it was Lampaert’s efficiency. His thirty ninth place was nothing you’d write dwelling about ordinarily, however the best way he usually made the second teams over the three Kemmelberg ascents was past expectations give his latest bout of sickness.
“I used to be very shocked by Yves,” Steels stated. “He was already there and made it to the second group, so we step-by-step we’re coming again.
“Dangerous luck you are able to do nothing about. There may be quarter-hour of disappointment however you must go ahead once more. It is biking. It is sport. You can’t stand nonetheless. In the event that they’re driving actually unhealthy, it is one other story, however they’re coming again.”
Asgreen echoed the ideas of his director, and completely satisfied together with his personal form and well being, appeared forward to subsequent Sunday’s Tour of Flanders with optimism. With Sénéchal freed from misfortune and Lampaert again close to full power, his prospects would immediately look a complete lot completely different.
“We’re not that far off, to be sincere,” Asgreen stated. “At the moment we had some unhealthy luck. On Friday we did not do a foul race as a group. The blokes missed the break up on the Taaienberg however did an superior job to return again they usually stored combating, which is essential. If we maintain doing that sooner or later we’re going get the higher of them.”
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