Thomas is truly a class act, a breakaway specialist who chooses style over science by not opting for an aero bike as his weapon of choice. Try as often as you can so you gain experience. Jens Voigt (breakaway hero) Jacky Durand (breakaway hero) and Eddy Merckx (hero).ĭo you have any parting advice for riders who are looking to become breakaway specialists? If you could choose three riders to join you in a breakaway, who would they be and why? It was that stage that really made me fall in love with cycling! Which breakaway win was your favourite? Mine was your win on the Stelvio in 2012. What’s your preferred way to win from a break? Sprint or solo attack? What’s your favourite time to attack from a breakaway? Does it depend on the route, or do you look for certain signs from the other riders in the break? Sometimes I fake good legs to scare them so they won’t attack too early. Sometimes we make plans, sometimes we don’t speak a word.ĭo you find that other riders lean on you more to do the work? Because of your experience and massive engine.ĭo you have any sneaky tactics that you play on riders while in a breakaway? Like faking tiredness or missing a few turns. What’s the atmosphere like inside a breakaway? Is there a lot of banter and jokes? Or is it more heads down, let’s get on with it? Then try to get the strong guys with you. Start the moves yourself and see who is eager to follow. What are your tips for launching a successful break after the starting gun? Is it best to follow riders straight away, or sit back and wait for an early climb? No, but you can see in the neutral who is motivated to go. On the morning before targeting the break, do you do anything differently to normal? Perhaps more food at breakfast? Some motivational music on the team bus?ĭo you talk to any other riders before the start and agree to make a breakaway together? If so, who do you like to attack with? It has to be difficult for the chasers to keep organised. What makes a certain route particularly good for a breakaway? I look for stages that are too easy for GC riders and too hard for most sprinters, or if the final suits me. How do you choose which stage you’re going to attack? Luckily, amid preparing for the final week in the Alps, De Gendt was able to take a few minutes out to answer some of our questions. Thomas celebrating his solo win on stage 8 of the Tour de France 2019Īfter watching in awe as Thomas De Gendt of Lotto Soudal rode away from the rest of the Tour de France to take yet another stunning, solo breakaway win, we couldn’t help but wonder ‘just how does he manage to do this time after time?’
When Thomas answered our questions, he had already clocked up about 2500km with the rest of the tour still to go (980 km) so it was no surprise that his answers were short and sweet! Thomas stormed his way to victory on stage eight with a monstrous solo breakaway and we were lucky enough to get a rider’s perspective on breakaway mechanics. One name we have missed out of the list above though is another hero of the peloton, Thomas De Gendt. Not to mention unbelievable performances from Julian Alaphillipe who held on to the leader’s jersey for 12 stages, Simon Yates with two impressive stage wins and Thibault Pinot who looked like a true contender until disaster struck and he had to pull out from the race on stage 19 with a muscle tear in his left thigh.
We saw Egan Bernal, the youngest rider in 110 years taking the prized yellow jersey, lord Sagan securing a seventh green jersey and (to French delight) Romain Bardet claiming the polka dot jersey in the mountains. I think you wo uld agree that this year’s Tour de France was epic to say the least. Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck–Quick-Step) anticipating an attack from Geriant Thomas (Team INEOS) on the Galibier.
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