Although Belgium line up with one of the most accomplished squads in the Rio Olympic Games they do lack one of the out-and-out favourites, with a course that predominately suits natural climbers.
Yet in Philippe Gilbert, Greg Van Avermaet, Tim Wellens, Serge Pauwels and Laurens De Plus, the team have riders well capable of animating the race and achieving glory if events unfold in their favour. For Pauwels, who had a strong Tour de France for Dimension Data and is competing in the Olympics for the first time in his career, a lot will come down to the unpredictable nature of the race and a degree of flexibility within the national teams.
“We’ve got a plan and hopefully we can stick to it as much as possible. There’s still enough room for us to be flexible because that could be necessary in a race like this,” Pauwels told Cyclingnews from the athlete’s village in Rio.
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“There’s two elements to the race. On one hand it’s a very demanding course with a lot of altitude meters and climbing that suits only a few riders. On the other hand you’ve got those small teams and this ‘classics-racing’ style. They’re two totally different elements but they can make the race challenging but also give opportunities to a lot of riders because it’s not such a traditional race.”
Belgium has qualified a five-rider, the maximum allowed, and they are brimming with experience.
“I can’t really talk too much about tactics but we don’t really have a favourite,” Pauwels added.
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