Praise for Dylan van Baarle keeps growing, even without results ahead of Flanders and Roubaix

Since Van Baarle’s move to Visma | Lease a Bike’s rival Soudal Quick-Step, the noise around the former Paris-Roubaix winner has been overwhelmingly positive. Coach Michel Geerinck took Van Baarle back to familiar methods, he was already on the attack during Opening Weekend, and after an altitude camp with fiancée Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, Van Baarle himself spoke of feeling “fresh.”

That freshness was what the Dutch powerhouse brought into Dwars door Vlaanderen, although on Wednesday he may initially have been a touch too fresh. “We wanted Dylan to be in the strong early moves, but the engine hadn’t really fired up in the opening phase yet,” sports director Sep Vanmarcke said afterwards at the team bus of The Wolfpack.

Because Van Baarle was distanced in the opening phase, he spent a long stretch racing more or less in the background. But according to Vanmarcke, what he did there was especially impressive. “He basically rode back from the second peloton to the first one on his own, which was really strong, but that did leave him chasing the race. He also had a puncture, so by then the legs had already taken a hit.”

In the end, Van Baarle did make it back to the front, and once there he still had enough left in the tank to help carry out Soudal Quick-Step’s secondary plan. “At the same time, our plan was also to ride for Paul Magnier in the sprint. He’s in good shape, but things just haven’t clicked for him this spring yet,” Vanmarcke said.

Magnier won two stages in the Algarve this year, but has not quite been able to convert that form since. “But he is still one of the fastest riders in this peloton, so we had to try and bring Wout van Aert back for the sprint. We did everything we could, with Dylan and Pepijn Reinderink both riding fantastically,” said a satisfied sports director.

“Dries Van Gestel then closed a few gaps in the finale, but that also meant we burned our last man for Paul. We could have chosen to keep Dries with Paul and sprint for a respectable placing, but we wanted to go for the win. We used everyone, but unfortunately Paul never really got into position.”

Van Baarle and Magnier are both set to line up on Sunday at the Tour of Flanders, but within Soudal Quick-Step the biggest hopes appear to rest above all on the Dutchman, with Jasper Stuyven naturally another major card to play. “At some point it all has to come together. Dylan has a big engine, and once that gets going he can just keep riding and he doesn’t run out. It just takes him a little while to get up to speed.”

Fortunately for Van Baarle, the Tour of Flanders is 278 kilometres long, giving him plenty of time to warm that engine up properly. “He only really came alive later, then managed to ride back to the front and still do work on the front afterwards. He is definitely in good shape; we already saw that during Opening Weekend and in E3 as well,” Vanmarcke added.

The former Belgian rider has full confidence in his leader. “The way Dylan is riding and training now, that will pay off in the big Classics. Yes, Pogačar and Van der Poel are there too, that’s reality. But Dylan is in that big group just behind those two — a strong group with a lot of depth. Pogačar won’t wait until the third time up the Kwaremont, so it will be crucial to tap into Dylan’s big engine.”

Bram van der Ploeg ( X: @BvdPloegg | email : [email protected])