Opponents criticized by Evenepoel, who was the best says Belgian champion Wellens: "You'll never win a race like that"

Wellens' victory in the Belgian Cycling Championship was a milestone for the 34-year-old Belgian from UAE Team Emirates-XRG. He celebrated his 40th career victory, even though he wasn't even sure he wanted to start. "This is definitely the best victory of my career. Everyone wants to wear this jersey, and now I get to do so for a year. So this is my most important victory ever. I was very relaxed at the start; it was only on Wednesday evening, during training with the team, that I decided to participate."

This was due to a high-altitude training camp that Wellens had completed in recent weeks, together with Tadej Pogacar and Jhonatan Narváez, among others, in preparation for the Tour de France. “I couldn't feel my legs and wanted to take advantage of that,” he said boldly to Sporza. Wellens shook off a 42-kilometer solo ride. “But it wasn't until the last kilometer that I felt sure of victory. I heard congratulations in the last 20 minutes, but I was struggling. I don't know if I've ever suffered so much.”

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Although Wellens built up a maximum lead of one minute, Evenepoel kept up constant pressure behind him. However, he had Philipsen on his tail for a long time, so the gap at the finish line was still 38 seconds. “I was mainly thinking about holding on because I was definitely not the strongest in the race. I think everyone could see that Remco wasn't feeling his legs, but that meant everyone was watching him, and I was able to get away.”

It was a brilliant move, although Wellens did need a pair of miracle legs to ride 42 kilometers alone. He is, therefore, glad that he didn't have to make up an excuse to skip the Belgian Championships, which were mandatory for everyone. “I felt really good, and I'm glad I started here, even though I only arrived very late yesterday. It wasn't the ideal preparation, but I had to do something with these legs. You never know with the Belgian national championship. A WorldTour race ends in a sprint here, but the Belgian national championship is always a race from start to finish. Then you have to have the legs for it.”

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Evenepoel took the silver but stood on the podium with a defeated look. In his flash interview, he was completely honest about why he did not manage to win. Philipsen was able to follow him in the chase on Wellens, but according to Evenepoel, the Belgian from Alpecin-Deceuninck hardly helped. “Would we have had another chance if Jasper had taken over sooner? Maybe, but I don't think he could have. It was one and a half against one, and we got a little closer, but I didn't want to take Jasper with me just like that.”

Evenepoel's irritation was not only because he had to chase Wellens alone but mainly because other teams were riding to help Wellens catch him. “Exactly. Jumping on someone's wheel always works, but then... The Lotto guys, in particular, were riding strangely. You'll never win a race like that,” criticized the Olympic time trial and road race champion.

“Those are strange tactics sometimes,” said Evenepoel, who didn't understand why the riders didn't want to ride with him. "Oh well, it doesn't matter anymore. Wellens is a great Belgian champion, and the fact that he stayed ahead of us means he had a superb day. Now it's time to enjoy a few days of rest and then go full throttle for three weeks," he said, referring to the Tour de France. The biggest race of the year starts for Wellens, Evenepoel, and Philipsen on July 5 in Lille.