Jasper De Buyst on return to racing amid Covid-19 concerns: It will be a bit strange in the peloton
Jun 28 2020 05:42 am CET
Image: Lotto Soudal logo
Lotto-Soudal's Jasper De Buyst is getting ready to be one of the lead-men for Caleb Ewan, but he is mildly concerned about the current health situation in the world.
The Belgian rider and his team are already preparing for the restart of the season -which had to be stopped due to the coronavirus pandemic- but he remains realistic in what this means for the competition. "We will have a very eager and nervous peloton at every race," he said to Belgian broadcaster Sporza.
"One on hand, we now feel like in the months of January and February because we haven't raced in a long time. But on the other hand I am also aware that we shouldn't prepare now as in February. Our first race is not the Challenge Mallorca but the Strade Bianche. Everyone should be on top. We will not have much room for improvement during the season. It is therefore important to do enough simulation on training and do it a little bit harder than in February."
The Union Cycliste Internationale and organisers in races like the Tour de France have stated recommendations for the Covid-19 during races, like the so-called bubbles with constant testing and social distancing in stances where is possible. The Belgian team has also divided its riders into groups to train and to avoid the any spread of the disease at a large scale.
But this doesn't mean that riders are not concerned about the situation. "As a top athlete you are always afraid of getting sick," explained De Buyst. "But I've noticed that now I have a bit more a fear of contamination than usual. It will also be a bit strange in the peloton, but I've heard that the football matches were strange at the beginning and are already more normal.
"In the race you will think about everything from the beginning. But in a peloton of 150 riders it is impossible to not ride into any snot. But if you think about it and you would want to avoid it, you should just not start in the race."
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