Cyclingflash
Tim Wellens completes long solo but escapes unharmed: "Had a lot of luck"

Tim Wellens completes long solo but escapes unharmed: "Had a lot of luck"

Whether Tim Wellens has good legs, so early in the season. The Belgian champion won the Clásica Jaén after a solo of more than fifty kilometers, following an equally dominant performance by his team UAE Emirates XRG. No wonder Wellens was in a good mood after the Spanish one-day race.

In an interview with TNT Sports, he looked back on his race. "I actually attacked quite early, but I had good legs. I had to go deep to drop Mark Donovan (with whom he was initially in the break, ed.). Once I was alone, I kept riding at my own pace."

Wellens seemed set to win by a large margin for a long time, but in the last ten kilometers his lead dwindled. He saw the first chasers Tom Pidcock and Maxim Van Gils coming closer and closer, but he still 'just' held on.

"At the end, the other riders got close, but I was able to keep pushing my wattage. I really felt good today. Our team tactic was clear as well. We started here with a very strong selection, and we needed to take advantage of that. The plan was always to have someone up front so that the teammates could follow, and it was up to the competition to chase."

Almost crashed 
Wellens clearly felt at ease on the many unpaved roads but did have one close call. The Belgian nearly went down in one of the many tricky corners on the course. "I was very lucky to save myself there," said Wellens. "In my mind, I was already preparing for a crash."

Watch here Tim Wellens' skid during his solo ride: