Stuyven criticizes fellow countrymen after Gravel World Championships: "Very clear they were here to help Mathieu"

Jasper Stuyven started as one of the top favorites at the Gravel World Championships in ‘his’ Leuven on Sunday, but ultimately missed out on the podium. It was a déjà vu for the Belgian, who experienced the same during the road race at the 2021 World Championships. Speaking to Sporza, he expressed frustration over the lack of cooperation in the group behind Mathieu van der Poel.

Timo Kielich, Xandro Meurisse, and especially Gianni Vermeersch and Quinten Hermans seemed to have Alpecin-Deceuninck in mind more than the Belgian jersey they were wearing. Because of this, they naturally didn't chase after Van der Poel, who is normally their team leader, which understandably stalled any attempts at collaboration.

"Everyone knows they can be frustrating to race with," Stuyven remarked about Vermeersch and Hermans. "They don’t take turns, only when it suits them. It was very clear that all the Alpecin guys were here to help Mathieu. I expected it to be more of a team race (by nations, ed.)," Stuyven lamented after the finish in Leuven.

Hermans and Vermeersch confirm Alpecin-Deceuninck strategy but claim they "weren’t a hindrance"

Hermans, who finished third, admitted afterward that "the plan was to race as a team," and Vermeersch also felt they had done nothing wrong. "It's always better if an Alpecin rider wins. It wasn't up to us to close the gap," the fifth-place finisher said in response.

"But we weren't really a hindrance. We always tried to take turns a bit. I would have liked to win myself," the former world champion in the discipline told Sporza. "In the end, we’re all trying to go for the title. I don’t think it was really a problem," Vermeersch concluded.