Mathieu van der Poel was the only Dutch rider in the break at the UCI gravel worlds—but did he have help from the Belgian riders on Alpecin-Deceuninck? Jasper Stuyven sure thinks so.
Stuyven is referring to Quinten Hermans and Gianni Vermeersch. While they wore the same Belgian jersey today, they are teammates at Alpecin-Deceuninck on the road with van der Poel. Stuyven said to Sporza, “It’s frustrating. Those guys don’t pull through, but only when it suits them.”
“It wasn’t up to us to close the gap,” Gianni Vermeersch said after the race, defending his ride.
Although they ride for van der Poel during the year, Stuyven expected his teammates to ride for Belgium. “It was very clear that all the Alpecin-Deceuninck guys were here to help him. I expected it to be more about team racing with nations,” Stuyven, who is from Leuven, Belgium, said.
At the 2024 road worlds, when Tadej Pogačar broke clear in an effort to bridge to the break, his fellow Slovenian Jan Tratnik—who rides for Visma Lease a Bike—dropped back to help him. Similarly, Red Bull–BORA–Hansgrohe rider Primož Roglič rode tempo at the front to set up Pogi’s attack. However, Pogi would ultimately ride with his Team UAE Teammate Pavel Siakov, who did what he could to give the Slovenian some draft, despite knowing he wouldn’t hang on.
Another attack for the history books
Van der Poel #HappyMondayEveryone
eurosportcycling pic.twitter.com/uEY2kiipqg
— BKOOL – indoor cycling simulator (@BKOOL_en) October 7, 2024
Gianni Vermeersch said that his loyalty was still with his trade team. “It’s always better if someone from Alpecin wins. It wasn’t up to us to close the gap. But we weren’t really a hindrance,” he said. “We always tried to contribute a bit. I would have liked to win myself.”
He also said that everyone in the break wanted to win. “In the end, we all try to go for the title. I don’t think it was really a problem,” says Vermeersch.
After van der Poel’s 100 km break attempt, the decisive move took shape as he and Connor Swift attacked, joined by defending champion Matej Mohorič, Jasper Stuyven, Quinten Hermans, and the Vermeersch brothers, forming a seven-rider group for the final fifty kilometres. The Belgians tried to use their numbers, with Gianni Vermeersch attacking in Leuven and Stuyven on the Ramsberg. However, van der Poel maintained control, following Florian Vermeersch’s attack 40 km from the finish to create a gap. He then dropped Vermeersch on a steep climb with 25 km to go, securing a dominant victory. Florian Vermeersch finished second, while Hermans won the sprint for third.
The result? Another rainbow jersey for Alpecin-Deceuninck.
The post Stuyven accuses Belgian teammates of helping van der Poel appeared first on Canadian Cycling Magazine.
