There was a lot to rejoice in regards to the 2023 Tour of Flanders males’s race, with Tadej Pogačar’s spectacular efficiency, Mathieu van der Poel’s fourth straight podium, however even Van der Poel was unimpressed with one second within the race: Staff DSM’s ways on the Kortekeer with 126 kilometres to go.
John Degenkolb and 4 teammates amassed on the entrance of the peloton because the early breakaway held a six-minute lead and proceeded to go at such a sluggish tempo that some riders towards the again have been pressured to place a foot down. Then, excessive, they accelerated sharply.
Van der Poel commented on a video of the second with a sarcastic “Chapeau Staff DSM” on Twitter, whereas commentators decried the tactic – additionally employed by Trek-Segafredo throughout Dwars door Vlaanderen on the identical climb. The transfer provides to the stress within the peloton, forcing riders to take dangers within the scramble to shut the gaps attributable to the whiplash acceleration. Eddy Merckx known as it “harmful”.
Cyclingnews columnist Fabian Cancellara additionally famous the tactic and the absence of any Staff DSM riders on the high of the outcomes sheet.
“A footnote, that was fairly a particular transfer from DSM, going so sluggish on the Kortekeer after which sprinting. Good strive, however in the long run I noticed no DSM in any respect within the entrance,” he wrote.
Such a tactic is comparatively new, with Sporza stating that Staff Sky using it in the course of the 2019 Tour of Flanders.
John Degenkolb tangentially addressed the staff’s transfer in his post-race feedback. The staff misplaced the lengthy struggle to get into the breakaway, “so we appeared to our positioning going into the important thing moments of the race and tried to regulate the pace simply the identical as Trek-Segafredo did on the similar level on Wednesday [at Dwars door Vlaanderen]. It was additionally an opportunity for us to attempt to avoid wasting power for later after which additionally attempt to play our playing cards.”
Chapeau @TeamDSM 👏🏻 https://t.co/yJcWCpq6qQApril 2, 2023
