If you've been wondering why Thomas De Gendt isn't getting in breaks; he's still putting up best ever power numbers but the younger riders have got better. In his words, "suddenly"
"Normally, with those values, I can ride the whole peloton to pieces. Here, I was 100 metres behind in a group of 70 riders – and I started from the front row. When you're not in the peloton after that it's clear that the general level is just much higher."
Lotto-Soudal are not a team that is at the cutting edge of anything, so it wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if they are behind the curve in all aspects of performance, be it nutrition, aerodynamics, recovery or doping.
If you've been wondering why Thomas De Gendt isn't getting in breaks; he's still putting up best ever power numbers but the younger riders have got better. In his words, "suddenly"
https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/de-gendt-its-clear-that-the-general-level-is-just-much-higher-at-the-tour-de-france/
"Normally, with those values, I can ride the whole peloton to pieces. Here, I was 100 metres behind in a group of 70 riders – and I started from the front row. When you're not in the peloton after that it's clear that the general level is just much higher."