Remco Evenepoel could still win the Benelux Tour, but being 57 seconds behind Benoot, Wellens, Mohoric, Asgreen and Kelderman isn’t what he had hoped. He lost that time after hitting Gianni Vermeersch’s rear wheel.
He lives. Follow the LIVE time trial in and around Lelystad!
Gianni Vermeersch is no saint. In Giro he already had problems after the sprint. For example, Jos van Emden had to surrender after the fall – in which Vermeersch took part. Vermeersch also got fat yesterday and was excited about it. The culprit was Remko Evenpoel. According to Vermeersch’s captain, Christoph Rudhoft, this is unjustified. “Remco is driving Gianni’s rear wheel and as a result he has lost some front wheel spokes. His fault. Then you have to kick yourself and not scream at another rider.”
Remko didn’t do that when he was thirty kilometers from the finish line on the side of his broken front wheel. He initially shouted at the neutral Shimano mechanic when he came trotting with a rear wheel instead of a front wheel. Evenepoel lost a lot of time this way.
Immediately after the ride, Evenbühl went to speak to Vermeersch – live on TV. “I’m only in the group and you come straight. You mustn’t run away but admit your mistake. Are you going to laugh at me in my bowls now? Boy…”
conciliatory conversation, handshake
Vermeersch did not respond to the allegations, but he knocked on Evenbühl’s door in the bus parking lot five minutes later. A conciliatory conversation took place between them, after which they shook hands twice.
Evenball didn’t want to respond after that. Vermeersch does. “I’m driving forward, the wind is coming in from the left and so the group swings to the right, causing Remco to drive to my rear wheel. I don’t think I can do anything about it. I’ve learned: If you’re driving someone’s back wheel, you’re wrong.” Remco said I was driving very nervous, but everyone was racing nervously. I think it’s a shame that Remco did a bad job in the standings, but I think he’ll get his love in the time trial.”
Remco vs. short time trial specialists
The Lelystad Time Trial is a pool game, barely 11.1 kilometers long and has five innings. “This should suit me better than the time trial on the Tour of Denmark, which I won. It was 10.8 kilometers long, but had more curves. I prefer the long straights, where I can take advantage of my aerodynamic situation. I would have preferred a few more kilometers, Especially against short-trial specialists like Stefan Kung,” Evenbeuil says.
For the Swiss, it will be his first race since the Tokyo Games. “I just got back from altitude training, where I’ve been training often on the test bike, but basically I see the Benelux as a run-up to the World Cup,” says Küng.
It is also his first race with Tom Dumoulin since taking silver at the Tokyo Trial. “This is my first measuring moment. Not that trying time with long, straight roads suits me well, but I want to try.”
Stefan Bisiger is the perfect time trial guy. The Swiss from EF-Nippo won a similar time in Paris-Nice this year. “I usually kick on a flat track with no corners, but I got hit by a car during practice on Friday and I got hit in my right hand,” Bessiger says.
Victor Campinaarts will once again be satisfied with the top ten. “I don’t train as much on the test bike as I used to, but because I make the end result a goal, I can lose as little time as possible.”
Geraint Thomas is someone who doesn’t expect a great performance. “I haven’t trained much on the test bike since Tokyo,” says the Welshman, who won’t be riding the World Cup time test.
The first rider starts at 11:45 a.m. The last contestant starts at 2.23 p.m.
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