At Last Sunday's Paris-Roubaix race, Jumbo-Visma, the Belgian national champion Wout van Aert, who had just recovered from covid-19, finished second.
This is already valuable for a driver who has just recovered from COVID-19 and has not yet returned to normal training – after all, the biggest pre-race favourite Van der Poul only finished ninth.
In order not to put too much pressure on him, the team did not let him play as the main player, but let Christophe Laporte and Mike Teunissen take charge of the team to help him share the pressure. Unfortunately, these two drivers did not have any bright performance in the race, but Van Alte became more and more courageous, and even if he encountered mechanical failures many times, he still did not stop his progress.
After the game, Van Alto said: "It's a magical feeling, I can't believe that I can finish second after just experiencing the new crown, I am proud. I was very surprised and surprised to have such a performance, and due to the infection with the new crown, I had to give up the normal way of preparing for the race and meet the game in a more relaxed state. ”
"Although I have the strength to fight for the title, I still can't stop Dylan from winning the final victory. When he got out, I knew it was tricky. I made a tactical mistake and if I had teamed up with Stefan Küng to distance myself from the other drivers, I might have been able to catch up with him. Unfortunately, on the contrary, we can only watch him drift away. "
At a post-match press conference, a reporter asked Van Alte about doubts about the Jumbo team's statement about his status and role as a "vice-general" in the race, and van Aalt said: "I don't care at all. ”
Van Alto said the team's decision was deliberate, as he didn't know what he would do in the race before he went on the race.
"I decided to start training a week after I was sick, but I wasn't in great shape and I was always tired, so I gave up playing the Golden Race in Amstel. It wasn't until the eve of Paris-Roubaix that I felt a noticeable improvement in my form, so after discussions with the team, team doctors, my doctors, and coaches, I decided to participate in this year's Paris-Roubaix. Luckily, I found that today's state is not bad, at least for now, the competition is a wise choice. "
"After entering the game, I didn't know what my state was, and I felt that my state was not affected by the condition, which was the case. Given the good form, I easily found my own rhythm, focused on the game, and chose the right tactics to grab as many opportunities as possible. "
"Although some people will think that it was a smokescreen from the team, or that my performance today showed no signs of being affected by the illness, it turns out that even after I fell ill, I still have the strength to stand on the podium, which makes me proud and convinced that my decision to participate is wise."
Some people asked if Van Alte had not contracted the new crown, would he have been able to compete with Mathieu van der Poel in the Golden Race between Flandres and Amst, get a better ranking in the Golden Race in Armst, or rise to the next level in Paris-Roubaix on Sunday.
"If I hadn't contracted COVID-19, my performance would have been better. These weeks should have been promising, but they were delayed by the illness. "
Later, at a news conference, he said there was no point in discussing the past.
"The game is not so easy, even if you are at the peak, there are always opponents who are at the peak like you. That's the situation now, and I have to fight as usual, looking for new chances to win. "
For Van Alto, there will be a good opportunity next week – Liège-Bastogne-Liège. As was customary in previous years, he would not participate in the Ardennes III, but due to this illness, his schedule has changed.
"We have to work hard to turn setbacks into strengths and I'm actually in a better mental state now than I was before because I haven't competed in the last few weeks and I've had enough mental rest. Before the game I decided that if Roubaix was in good shape, I would add Liege to my programme. Obviously, I recovered very well and I got runners-up from Roubaix. Liege is the stadium I've always wanted to go to and now I can use my current form to feel the game and see how far I can go there. "
Paris-Roubaix's results show that Van Alte is very calm-headed, and even if he falls behind due to mechanical failures several times, he can still actively respond and attack again.
In an interview, Van Alto mentioned the two large groups that were split at the beginning of the race: "When the group split, I was in the back, but we had 4 drivers in the front group, and we were not in a hurry to catch up with the front group, and did not consume too much energy, so in the end I still had a good state. "
After a massive group crash 146 kilometres before the finish line, the main popular drivers rejoined into a group and headed for the famous Areenburg Forest section, with Van Alte reappearing in the broadcast footage.
"I feel very lucky to be on the podium today, having encountered 3 vehicle failures during the whole process, riding a total of 4 cars during the race, and even having to ride 10 kilometers with my teammate's car. I had a total of three cars prepared today, and before entering the Forest of Areenburg, I came to the front of the group, and because my driving line was too far to avoid a rock on the side of the road, I crashed into it at a speed of 50-60km/h, which eventually caused the wheels to be damaged. "
"When I stopped, my wheels were scrapped and I took Timo Roosen's car and moved on. For the next half hour of the melee, I had to stop again and swap in my spare car, and then I had another puncture, which of course was part of the race. Unfortunately, Christopher was left behind in this section of the road, and if we were together, the race would have more possibilities. Classic races are usually tough, and this year's Rubét is even more chaotic, suffering until the finish line. Everyone's luck is good and bad, but you have to stay calm no matter what, that's the charm of the game and why I like it so much. "
Edit: Johnny
Image credit: Paris-Roubaix and the Jumbo Team official media