Spotted on Strava: Van Aert shares striking messages, Evenepoel apologizes to Declercq

Here we are again! The last "episode" of our "Spotted on Strava" series already dates back the end of January, although we must honestly admit that we recently shared a number of individual Strava files, including the joint running session of Fem van Empel and Wout van Aert. With the first stage races and Strade Bianche already behind us - and Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico in full swing - it's a good time to review the efforts of the past weeks and pick out the most enjoyable (or most notable) rides, KOMs, and titles!

Let's look back one more time at that running session of the Visma | Lease a Bike stars, where the playful Strava titles particularly caught the eye. 'Wij moeten just niks' (We don't have to do anything), was the title from Van Empel, obviously referring to the well-known saying of her Flemish colleague, who in turn referenced a frequently recurring statement of Van Empel in his title. 'Gelukkig gene grote vuurbal gezien' (Luckily, we didn't see a huge fireball), Van Aert described his 6.18-kilometer run, hinting at the cult series New Kids.

Perhaps the most memorable victory so far was that of Tadej Pogacar in Strade Bianche, where he completed a solo of a whopping 81 (!) kilometers. 'Bella vita, bella Italia' (Beautiful life, beautiful Italy, ed.), the Slovenian described his triumphant ride. On Strava, he also took several KOMs, although that might not even surprise us anymore.

What's also fun to see: some riders come up with the most creative Strava titles, while others don't even change the standard title. For Ben Healy (twelfth), Strade Bianche was just a 'Lunch Ride'.

Now, let’s talk about the spring classics. Jonas Rickaert (Alpecin-Deceuninck) arguably had the best description of all with his Le Samyn upload. “I thought: I’m 100 men strong. But then quickly came across 101,” joked the Belgian. And when Van Aert added Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne to his list of victories, he playfully revised the race's name via Strava. “Kortrijk-Brakel-Kuurne*,” posted the Flemish rider in his caption, referring to the start and finish locations of the classic.

At the time of writing, two major stage races are in full swing: Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico. Here too, we’ve spotted countless fascinating titles. In the French race, there was a noticeable squabble between two former teammates (although the tension was also quickly resolved). Remco Evenepoel was upset about a move by Tim Declercq, who, starting from Lidl-Trek ahead of Soudal Quick-Step, let himself fall back. The Aerokogel from Schepdaal claimed it wasn’t entirely done as it should have been. “He stayed in front of us in a technical turn and didn’t move aside. A big thank you to him. That was really nasty,” Evenepoel sounded furious.

Declercq only did the reconnaissance of the TTT with his Wahoo (a power meter, ed.), so unfortunately, a fact-check regarding the incident and the speeds reached at that particular section can’t be conducted. Evenepoel did refer to the incident in his team time trial Strava file. “Tim didn’t cause us to lose the race today. I was a bit overhyped after the stage, and I don’t want to blame him for being a bit in the way! The race commissioner should have warned him, so he knew we were getting closer.”

After the opening of Paris-Nice, Victor Campenaerts gave his followers a golden tip (at least, for those who are into cycling manager games). “If you don’t have Cédric Beullens in your fantasy team yet: buy him quickly!!” Vocsnor was simultaneously praising his younger compatriot and teammate at Lotto-Dstny. Beullens indeed grabbed a KOM on the Montainville climb, albeit in the same time as Matteo Jorgenson and Evenepoel, completing the 450-meter climb at an average of eleven percent in just over a minute.

And let’s also wrap up with Van Aert, who is always a reliable source of interesting Strava titles. It’s a shame that Mathieu van der Poel is now inactive on the cyclists' Facebook, as the two rivals could have made a competition out of it. As known, Van Aert is currently in Tenerife, undergoing altitude training. On March 3, the man from Herentals shared a striking message with his nearly 600,000 followers. “Den tyngste delen er dørstokkmila,” was the title of his 131-kilometer ride. In short, a message in Norwegian, the language of sponsor Visma. When translated, Van Aert meant to say “the toughest mile is the one getting out the door.”