Groupama-FDJ defends itself after criticism from Van der Poel and others: "We have nothing to regret"

Just over ten minutes into the race, a large group of riders crashed around 25th position. Soudal Quick-Step was particularly affected, with Jordi Warlop, Gil Gelders (both suffering concussions), and Dries Van Gestel (with a broken elbow and wrist) among the victims. Behind them, the narrow road was blocked. “I think about thirty riders were ahead and the road was completely blocked. Everyone had to stop,” explained Alpecin-Deceuninck rider Gianni Vermeersch afterward.

Vermeersch, like team leader Mathieu van der Poel, criticized the lack of solidarity. “If the UCI wants to make a statement, they should neutralize the race at that point. That gives everyone a chance to come back. When there’s such a massive crash after only seven kilometers, right at the front of the peloton…” said Van der Poel. “It’s not fair play to go full gas after a crash that blocks half the peloton. That’s something our team would never do, but in the end, we managed to solve it well.”

The team that set the pace at the front and rode Van der Poel and others three minutes behind was Groupama-FDJ. It was a “hell of a day” for them as well, team leader Stefan Küng explained in a press release. “There wasn’t a single moment of calm. The big crash after ten kilometers split the peloton in two. We had five guys in the front group, so after a while, we started riding at the front to maintain that advantage.”

“We hadn’t expected this scenario,” sports director Frédéric Guesdon defended. “But since we had a lot of riders up front, it wasn’t a problem for us. Visma | Lease a Bike and Q36.5 also helped out a bit, but we realized fairly quickly that things would come back together and that the race would really restart in the hill zone. Still, it definitely had an impact on the race.”

Küng, who won’t be riding Gent-Wevelgem, finished sixth. “At least I still ended up in the top ten, so I’m not going home empty-handed. It’s not a podium, but it’s still something in a race this big.” Guesdon was also satisfied. “We have nothing to regret or feel bad about. Stefan finished where he belonged. We wanted a top five, and we got sixth. We’re happy with that.”

“It could have been even better if the group with Valentin Madouas and Wout van Aert had made it back,” Guesdon added. “But that’s racing. We lived up to our expectations, and that’s worth highlighting.”