Jasper De Buyst is not shocked by Van der Poel's dominance: "Together with Pogacar, he's the most talented"

Jasper De Buyst is heading into his tenth season with the current Lotto-Dstny in 2024. The 30-year-old Belgian is one of the loyal lieutenants in the team led by CEO Stéphane Heulot. During his employer's media day, he spoke to IDLProCycling.com, about a range of topics: from ups and downs in 2023 to the winning prospects of golden boy Arnaud De Lie!

De Buyst's previous year can be summarized as a series of unfortunate moments in an ultimately disappointing spring, followed by an extremely successful second part of the season. To delve deeper into this successful period: a third place in the Druivenkoers, victory in the Egmont Cycling Race, a fifth place in the Bretagne Classic - Ouest-France, and bronze in the GP de Wallonie were the absolute highlights. And that's not even mentioning his fifth place in the Belgian Championships! The very last races of the year, however, ended in disappointment for De Buyst, who contracted a nasty case of COVID-19. "I got sick at a time when everything was going super well for me," he reflects.

The bitter aftertaste of the severe COVID-19 infection seems to have already been washed away by De Buyst

"I had a severe COVID-19 infection. It bothered me for quite a long time. A few years ago, I also caught the coronavirus, but that was over after a few days. This time it was different. I ended up resting much longer than planned, although I don't think it has disrupted my preparation significantly. By mid-November, I was back to training," he says, sounding optimistic. "Moreover, I spent a long period in Spain. I suspect that I'm at the point where I want to be. But such an infection is, of course, something you have to be careful with."

Then, a bit about 2023, which De Buyst himself admits was a good year. "Apart from the spring season, that is. Things were a bit off then. From June, around the time of the Baloise Belgium Tour and the Belgian Championship, things went well. In almost every race I participated in, I was able to compete for the win or a good result. I managed to continue this trend until the end of the season. Now, the goal is to carry that momentum into the spring of 2024," he continues, anticipating what probably would have been the next question. "Last year, this was also possible, but I had a bad fall in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, resulting in a concussion. I couldn't cycle for a week and definitely paid the price for that crash. If I can avoid such incidents and maintain the form I had last fall, great things should be possible."

Does Lotto-Dsnty have another leader in addition to De Lie and Vermeersch?

So, great things should be possible. But what does that really mean? Could it even entail leadership in some races? "I don't necessarily know if I am the shadow leader. I just think that I have my value both in the peloton and in the team. Also, I know what I can and cannot do. The latter is particularly important. I know that I can make it deep into the final stages and still be a strong support. If the pieces fall into place, it could also go my way. Last year, I proved that I can race in a different way and still achieve results. But I don't see myself as a sprinter. So, I won't be profiling myself as such. For me, there might be certain opportunities in tough races that end in a sprint, but not so much in mass sprints."

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Speaking of classics, tough races, and mass sprints: at Lotto-Dstny, of course, they have Arnaud De Lie, the phenomenon from whom so much is expected. "Last year, we didn't have 100 percent confidence in Arnaud. Of course, we had a lot, but not the full 100 percent in a classic. At the time, that was somewhat logical, considering he was still very young. That's now changed. It's very clear: if someone from our team attacks, we won’t be participating in the chase. We can always say we have Arnaud as our ace up our sleeve," Victor Campenaerts had said. De Buyst seems to agree. "With Arnaud, we have someone in the team who can really win big races. It’s important to set aside your own success for that. And for me, that's obvious. So, I definitely won't be claiming the leadership role."

De Buyst on 'De Lie versus Van der Poel' and Ewan's Departure

So, De Buyst also expects a lot from the "Bull of Lescheret", De Lie's nickname. When potential duels with and between Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert, and a few other classics specialists are mentioned, De Buyst has his reply ready. "Looking at the last few weeks, it's mostly about Van der Poel. I'm not necessarily surprised, as he and Tadej Pogacar are the most talented cyclists around. In terms of talent, no one comes close. But that's well-known, though still impressive to see. Arnaud should tackle the classics like Mads Pedersen. That’s someone he should emulate. To mirror someone like Van der Poel is nearly impossible. Sure, no one is unbeatable. But someone like Pedersen is a good role model for Arnaud."

Then there's the case of Ewan. The Australian rode for the Belgian team for years but decided last year - reportedly due to internal tensions - to try his luck elsewhere. The pocket sprinter eventually chose Jayco-AlUla. De Buyst almost always served as Ewan's lead-out. Will his departure change much for him? "Yes and no. In principle, I remain in the role of lead-out, but this time more in service of Arnaud, of course. I spent years working with Caleb. We were also very close, having spent hundreds of nights together in hotels. We still have contact, so there is certainly no animosity. It was more that we got into a situation where it became professionally difficult to work together. At some point, everyone is under pressure. And if you start passing that pressure onto each other, it becomes difficult. Apart from that, nothing happened between us. So that changes, but professionally, everything remains more or less the same."