Early on stage 6 of the Vuelta a España sharp-eyed fans will have noticed that a familiar figure was on the move for the breakaways, as specialist Thomas de Gendt tried his best to push clear in what will be his last ever Grand Tour.
The 37-year-old did not manage this time around. But as a rider whose ability to make breakaway succeeds now forms part of pro cycling's urban legends, expectations remain high that the Lotto Dstny racer will at some point be off the front and battling for at least one last stage win.
Although young teammate Lennert van Eetvelt is fighting for the overall, sports director Mario Aerts told Cyclingnews this would not affect the Belgian veteran's opportunities to shine on his own account.
"For the moment we're still keeping all our options open," Aerts said. "Thomas is Thomas, and when needed he will do his job for Lenny. And if there is a chance on one of the days for Thomas, then why not?"
De Gendt is riding his 25th Grand Tour and come what may, they will be celebrating his 500th day of racing in cycling's top three-week races on stage 20. The 37-year-old says, given that day will be one of the toughest of the entire Vuelta and a big GC stage, his chances of going for a win will be minimal. However, if there are other opportunities to go for his eleventh Grand Tour stage win and second to date in the Vuelta a España, he'll be sure to try to take it.
"I'm in good shape, better than the rest of the year, but I'll have to see whether I'm good enough," De Gendt told Cyclingnews earlier this week.
"Even with my best form, I think I'd have a difficult time to win a stage because in cycling the level has risen a bit more than my level was rising in the last weeks. I just hope it's good enough to be in a break but I know it will be difficult."
The route this year is not favourable to the sprinters, with just four or five opportunities at best and there are fewer transition stages than usual, too. But regardless of how the organisers have adapted the route as a result, De Gendt says the key factor is, as ever, getting in the right break with the right riders. As for the 2024 Vuelta a España, the absence of three major figures, Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep), Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) makes his own mission notably easier.
"There are some days that are really good for breaks this year, and even if it's a mountain or summit finish at the end it's still got possibilities," De Gendt said.
"You just have to have the right riders with you that you can beat on a climb and the freedom to manoeuvre as you want. To win, I just need to get some freedom."
"That's why it's important there's no Remco, Vingo' or Pog' in the race because if they were here, those teams always close the gap to get a stage win themselves. But this Vuelta is, I think, more like a traditional Grand Tour race."
The dearth of sprinting stages has already had one effect, De Gendt says, which is to suffocate the breakaways on the few flat days to date in the Vuelta. So the first time he made a move was on stage 6, where - with the exception of the GC stage to Villuercas - the fastmen had no chance of victory.
"I already knew there are not so many sprint days and only three or four real sprinters this year in the race," De Gendt said.
"So that makes it really difficult to win on days like stages 2 or 3, because you know that the sprinters' teams will be certain to control things. And so at kilometre zero, they were all lined up on the front, making sure there weren't too many riders up there in the breaks."
"It would have been stupid to attack on those days, maybe if you wanted the King of the Mountains jersey, but not for the stage. Even if there were five or six riders, they'd still have had no chance."
De Gendt may be pulling down the curtain on the breakaways and all the other features of his professional life very soon, but as he told Cyclingnews, any sense of nostalgia sparked by the imminent end to his 16-year career has yet to hit home.
"The Vuelta is not my final race, I will still do the Italian Classics after that. So for for the moment at least, it's just like one of the many Grand Tours you do. You just try to do the best you can, eat the best you can, and save as much energy wherever you can.
"I don't have any feelings about it yet, although maybe on the last day of the Vuelta as that''ll probably be my last time trial, that'll change. But for now, I'm just concentrating on the racing and staying focussed, all the way through to the end."
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