And now we come to the other Belgian World Tour team. Are they the Man City to Man United? The New York Mets to the New York Yankees? The White Sox to the Cubs? The Clippers to the Lakers? At times perhaps, at times certainly in the international media. Ah! But this team is more home-grown, this team is more authentically Belgian than the Quickstep All-Star team with its revolving door of imported and exported top talent. Thus perhaps the second fiddle comparison is not so applicable…though the rivalry with Quickstep is often there. What shall Lotto Soudal achieve this year? Their lineup looks highly respectable as ever, but there is not much new—nothing to be novel-ly to be excited for. Perhaps we should just dig in, and see what we can see. Perhaps once we turn over some stones, we shall find somethings that surprise us and excite us.
We begin with Caleb Ewan, the Pocket Rocket. He was the best sprinter at the 2019 Tour taking three stages. He took two more in 2020, but was matched and outdone by Sam Bennett (Deceuninck-Quickstep) who took two himself and the Green Jersey. He finished his season at Scheldprijs with a win, usually a big objective for the sprinters—but was it this year? Given Bennett’s Green Jersey and FDJ’s Arnuad Demare’s scorching post lockdown 14 wins, at best Ewan can be tied for best sprinter of the year, but should most likely be set below them. But now we turn the page to 2021, shall he reclaim the mantle as the top sprinter in the world? He will not have his native Tour Down Under to rack up early wins—and more importantly, an early source of confidence. Judging from the headlines, perhaps he shall target stages in all three Grand Tours—interesting, it would be quite a feat to win a stage of each, but I would more so appreciate seeing him finish whichever he starts. Either way, he is small, he is light, he is fast, he will be in the mix with the top sprinters.
Shall we cover that endearing Belgian duo next? Thomas de Gendt and Tim Wellens. What shall both achieve this year? De Gendt had a lackluster 2020 season, and he would be the first to admit as much. He was not anonymous, but he was not shaking up the races as he usually does. Thomas de Gendt one of the greatest breakaway specialists that has ever lived is now 34 years old. At times he is such a tank, he seems ageless; last year was the first and only time I have questioned his age. I hope is fire is still hot and ready for a full 2021 campaign of breakaway stage hunting heroics. Which stages has he picked out? What targets has he already required? Has he earmarked the routes and profiles that suit him best in the roadbooks…or in this 21st Century are the profiles bookmarked on his computer? Thomas, gird thy loins, strike out for more lone wolf victories that dazzle our hearts and gain you great renown; surely, I greatly wish to cover them. Meanwhile his bike-packing partner in crime is younger Tim Wellens who in characteristic fashion ended his season well, winning two brilliant stages of the Vuelta on the uphill sprints that are his bread-and-butter. Shall this be the year Wellens hits out and takes a couple of stunning victories in the middle of the season, when the competition is fiercest? Tim, how long must you make us wait to cheer you on to victory in an Ardennes Classic or Tour stage? Surely, now is the time!
But there is one result every cycling fan must be rooting for as well. Just the one more result one certain Lotto Soudal rider needs to complete his career in a way only three other riders have done before. Yes, I speak of Philippe Gilbert, the now veteran Philippe Gilbert. Though he will ride for victory in many other races, there is only one left that he is truly chasing after with all his thought. The one that is trickiest to win, Milan-Sanremo. Of the Five Monuments, he has won Liege and then il Lombardia twice—races on paper tailor-made to his characteristics. But after a spell of almost dormant or hibernating years, when all thought he was well over the hill: he stunned us all which his audacious long-range solo attack to win the Tour of Flanders in his Belgian Champion’s Jersey in his first year with that powerhouse Quickstep team in 2017. And in 2019, he absolutely mesmerized us with his thrilling Paris-Roubaix victory; a race we all thought was a bridge too far for the man—how wrong we were, for Gilbert stomped his authority over such a race. But he moved on from Quickstep last year, perhaps for the very reason they had too many other options to send in the race that now matters most to him. If Gilbert were to win Milan-Sanremo, he would become only the 4th rider to win all Five Monuments of cycling. It is an accomplishment only three compatriots have pulled off: Eddy Merckx, Roger de Vlaeminck, and Rik Van Looy—what an honor it would be to be counted amongst them! Thus once more, I have my top “favorite” to win Sanremo. Surely Gilbert can do it, but will he? It is a race that has been won by Quickstep’s Mark Cavendish and Fabian Cancellara, Trek’s Vincenzo Nibali has won it while Caleb Ewan has come in second behind him. The race is chaotic and explosive, seven hours of grinding racing decided in one decisive finale that is less than 10 kilometers. Will the race play out in Gilbert’s favor? I hope so, but we shall find out in March.
And what shall the others do? Will John Degenkolb finally have a season of racking up many victories as his did in the seasons before his fateful and horrifying training accident? Shall he take at least one special victory, like he did in 2018 on the Tour’s cobbled Roubaix stage? Surely, all wish him the best. What about Matt Holmes and Tomasz Marcynski? Both have struck gold before! Last year, Holmes was the man to finally snap Ineos’ Richie Porte’s Willunga Hill dominance at the Tour Down Under. A few years ago, Marcynski had that pair of marvelous Veulta stage successes, can he roll back the clock after 36 winters? And who else shall step up? This roster is filled with local Belgians, surely all of them have grown up watching the Classics. Surely, all have daydreamed someday they might win Flanders, Roubaix, or Fleche, or Liege. Yes, at the top the lineup has not changed much and that is reflected in minimal changes to the uniform as well: the same black shoulders with red and white torso and lettering. They shall be competitive as ever, but shall they turn up any or how many massive or legendary wins this season?
Cycling Odysseys 