The Vuelta will start in Barcelona in ten days. The list of participants is anything but definitive, but it is certain that many Belgians will be cycling around in the third major cycling round of the year, just like in previous years. An overview.
Wednesday, August 16, 2023 at 4:55 PM
CLASSIFICATION RIDERS
Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step) will of course be the man in the Belgian (and international) spotlight. The fact that the 23-year-old starboy from Schepdaal returns to Spain to defend his title has everything to do with his retirement in the Giro. Evenepoel is hungry and ready, as proved by his victory in the Clásica San Sebastián and at the World Championship time trial. Evenepoel will only be able to use those time trial qualities in the only individual time trial of 25.8 km around Valladolid (and a bit in the team time trial in Barcelona). A bisnumber in the Vuelta seems more difficult than his first overall victory last year. The opposition is even stronger and more numerous than in 2022, when he had also made the Vuelta a main goal a year in advance.
Before Evenepoel’s confirmation, Cian Uijtdebroeks (BORA – hansgrohe) seemed to be the only Belgian classification man in the Vuelta. The still only twenty-year-old Uijtdebroeks makes his debut in a big round in the Vuelta. A debut in the shadows. Van Evenepoel, but also his experienced teammate Aleksandr Vlasov. This year, the cheerful Belgian climber already rode top ten places in the final classification of heavily occupied stage races such as the Tour of Catalonia (9th), the Tour of Romandie (6th) and the Tour of Switzerland (7th) and can dream of a good classification in Madrid.
Cian Uijtdebroeks — © Getty Images
SPRINTERS This year’s Vuelta route has little to offer sprinters, so most top sprinters send their cat to Barcelona. The perfect opportunity for a few compatriots with fast legs to take a shot at a first stage victory in a grand tour. Then we think in the first place of Gerben Thijssen (Intermarché – Circus-Wanty). The 25-year-old Limburger came close with a second place in Aguilar de Campoo in 2020 and saw his Vuelta mortgaged last year with a solid fall in the second stage. With three beautiful sprint victories on the counter this season, a good dose of self-confidence can already be taken with you. Debutant Milan Menten, this year’s winner of Le Samyn and collector of a series of podium places, can sprint for Lotto Dstny in the Vuelta. With seven grand tours on the clock, Edward Theuns (Lidl – Trek) can use his experience in the hunt for a first stage victory.
Gerben Thijssen — © VDB
RITTENKAPERS
At Lotto Dstny they bring quite a few freebooters who can hunt for stage wins. Thomas De Gendt won two stages in the Tour and the Giro and only one more in the Vuelta. An imbalance that the 36-year-old escape king absolutely wants to get off his palmares. With his experience, De Gendt can also mean a lot to the young race climbers Lennert Van Eetvelt and Sylvain Moniquet.
Thomas De Gendt — © BELGA
Uphill we also expect something from Steff Cras (TotalEnergies). He saw a good start to the Tour de France end dramatically after a fall by an unwary spectator and then immediately set his sights on the Vuelta. For Cras it will be his fourth participation in the Vuelta. After his debut in 2019, he finished twentieth and first Belgian in 2021. Last year he had to give up after a crash in the second stage. Rune Herregodts missed the Giro and the Tour due to illness, third time lucky in the Vuelta? The fast driver of Intermarché – Circus-Wanty is a crack at participating in breakaways. In the opening stage of the Dauphiné he stranded with the finish in sight. Also for Dries De Bondt (Alpecin-Deceuninck) the Vuelta will probably be his only grand tour this year. The 2020 Belgian champion won the eighteenth stage of the Giro last year.
SERVANTS
The knot of the Vuelta team around Remco Evenepoel has not yet been completely unravelled, but Patrick Lefevere revealed in his column in our newspaper this weekend that Louis Vervaeke and Pieter Serry – also important in Remco’s Vuelta victory last year – will certainly be there . Mauri Vansevenant will more than likely take over the role of the absent Ilan Van Wilder as first lieutenant. Vansevenant did an excellent job in the Clásica San Sebastián.
Peter Serrry. — © BELGA
Laurens De Plus (INEOS Grenadiers) in turn tries to guide Geraint Thomas to the overall victory, just like in the Giro. Pluski combined all that beastly work for the Briton in Italy with a tenth place in the final classification.
Robbe Ghys (Alpecin-Deceuninck) would also like to wear the servant livery in Spain. The 26-year-old Limburger who, together with Lindsay De Vylder, just missed out on a medal in the madison in Glasgow dreams of being able to profile himself as a lead-out for a top sprinter.
