2025 Races with Spoilers.

[Lanterne Rogue]

"It's classics season, so we need to be more like Quickstep."

-beat-

"Not that Quickstep! Not that Quickstep!"

 

[KingstonGraham]

That was very funny.

 

[MadMalx]

The race is in pieces. The wind has done it’s job.
Mads Pedersen is in a group of 4 chasing the Visma trio and “Ian Stannard” Powless.

Chapeau!

 

[Adam4868]

Lol...

View: https://x.com/soudalquickstep/status/1907443507217809531?t=4iMIMcP81GT5Hee8pSIaTg&s=19

 

[orraloon]

Did not expect that finish result. Respect to Powless, well done.

 

[TomDW]

Wout holds his hands up and says it was his call and he was greedy. Says he cramped in the sprint

He must be feeling crap right now. In hindsight why weren't the 3 team mates attacking to wear out Powless? They seemed confident in just 1 end scenario. i've only watched the highlights so perhaps they did?

 

[KingstonGraham]

He must be feeling crap right now. In hindsight why weren't the 3 team mates attacking to wear out Powless? They seemed confident in just 1 end scenario. i've only watched the highlights so perhaps they did?

They didn't. Once and once only Benoot was third wheel and let a gap grow that Powless closed pretty quickly but that was it really. They seemed to be supremely confident in wva's sprint.

 

[TomDW]

They didn't. Once and once only Benoot was third wheel and let a gap grow that Powless closed pretty quickly but that was it really. They seemed to be supremely confident in wva's sprint.

thx for clarifying. Interesting interview with Powless here about how it played out.

 

[Pross]

He must be feeling crap right now. In hindsight why weren't the 3 team mates attacking to wear out Powless? They seemed confident in just 1 end scenario. i've only watched the highlights so perhaps they did?

They didn’t. Benoot tried to sit up and take Powless out the back but none of them attacked. I think they were worried about the chase behind but also I suspect that having had to ride so hard for so long none of them had the legs to go solo.

 

[No Ta Doctor]

I honestly don't think the Belgian press will bother him much at all - they've always been like this, and he's been around long enough to know how they work. He's got good people around him that he'll be listening to before he worries what some old cokehead with a taste for underage girls is saying, regardless of the palmares.

'I'm going to confess I was completely wrong about this, the Belgian press have got right into his head and screwed him up. LIstening to him after he lost the sprint was painful.
Demi Vollering put it really well on her insta:

 

[Gweeds]

"Critics are men who sit and watch a battle from a high place and come down to shoot the survivors."

 

[Adam4868]

I'm not worried about Wout, he'll bounce back. I thought Visma rode the race perfectly until the finish....seriously underestimated Powless 🤣
It's why we love bike racing right ?

In other news winner of Paris Camembert Lander Loockx tells us" he's not to fond of smelly cheese...he said he likes other cheeses but doesn't like the soft ones"
Thats 72kg of Camemebert going begging then...ungrateful git 😁

 

[Dorset Boy]

There's a photo of the breakaway 4 from yesterday, and Wout's right knee looks in a right state - has he had a couple of crashes that haven't been made public since his big one last year?
Is his knee praying on his mind?

 

[rich p]

Q36.5, Astana and Jayco all points hunting at the Hellas Tour.
Moschetti outsprinting Groenewegen and Syritsa. I wonder if the small teams that race are pissed off with the big boys joining the race.
Or blame the UCI?

 

[Keeper01]

There's a photo of the breakaway 4 from yesterday, and Wout's right knee looks in a right state - has he had a couple of crashes that haven't been made public since his big one last year?
Is his knee praying on his mind?

That all seems to be from the Vuelta crash last year. The scarring has been very visible in the photos/stories he put on Instagram during his recovery