July 31, 2024
A look at the ups and downs of racing the biggest Classics in the world
This article was produced in association with MAAP
There’s no place like Flanders. In the bike racing world, this region of Belgian is the cycling heartland, it holds an ethereal, mythical quality. The things that happen in Flanders don’t happen anywhere else in the season – the cobbles, the mud and the rain evokes a sense of chaos and carnage that isn’t really replicated in any other sporting arena. That’s part of what makes it so enthralling: for fans, the races are always a spectacle. For riders, it can make or break them.
For a team like Lifeplus-Wahoo, who start the Tour of Flanders as the unapologetic underdogs, the challenge can be to simply make it to the finish of such a gruelling event. As a Continental team with a lower budget, the British outfit has to dream big as they go up against the likes of Lotte Kopecky or Demi Vollering to try and get a result. Lifeplus-Wahoo’s sports director and former professional rider, Gosia Jasinska, explains that motivating the riders is crucial ahead of De Ronde.
“The day before the race, I put a YouTube video up of the race I did in Flanders when I finished in sixth place. I explained that while they see a good result, before that I had done five Flanders and I never did a good result,” Jasinska explains. “But every time I raced I was fighting and gave my 110% effort. I said to the riders that I didn’t know what their 110% would be tomorrow but I know they could give it. Cycling is so strange but beautiful. Maybe today you don’t feel good but everything can change tomorrow.
“I try to make it so when they put the numbers on they don’t think about the big names like Vollering, Kopecky and Niewiadoma. They have to remember that they are the same human and they don’t need to compare with those stars. They put energy in and love this sport, I always say they should enjoy every second. If I could go back ten years ago, I would take the opportunity because I know what beautiful days they were.”
Lifeplus-Wahoo’s YouTube series, Made This, documented the team’s experiences on the bergs and cobbles this year in granular detail. From the scary fight for position, to the rain which makes surfaces treacherous…