Interview: Dimitri Claeys (Wanty- Groupe Gobert)

Dimitri Claeys will be looking to make an impact in his debut in the cobbled classics this year. The twist in this tale, however, is that the Wanty-Groupe Gobert rider is 28 years old and has already been around the top level for nearly ten years. After debuting with Jong Vlaanderen, a feeder team to the better known Topsport Vlaanderen outfit, in 2007 alongside the likes of Jurgen Roelandts and Sep Vanmarcke and arriving a year after Greg Van Avermaet left. He earned his first pro deal with German Conti team NetApp in 2010 after winning back to back Belgian U23 titles. After two years, however, he wasn’t retained and wasn’t seen at UCI races until last year when an impressive run of results saw him finish 3rd in the UCI Europe Tour and win a ticket back to the big time with Wanty-Groupe Gobert.

PM: This is your second chance at a pro career after your two years at Netapp in 2010 and 2011. Can you tell me what happened with them?

DC: NetApp wasn’t really the best team for me. It was a really old-fashioned team and they were still living and training like the old East German riders. The training was too long and too hard for young guys. I never really found any kind of shape or rhythm because we were just pushed so hard.

I remember at the very first training camp with NetApp, we were there for three weeks and all we would do is ride hard for six or seven hours then rest. After even a few days I was just fucked up. It’s too much at 22. Huub Duijn, who’s at Roompot now, was there too. We always roomed together because we were the only Dutch speakers but he left after one year. There were a lot of talented guys on that team whose enthusiasm was just killed by the regime there. Mine too. I always loved cycling and I loved training but after the second year I was on the point of stopping and I searched for a normal job. I actually ended working for Oxfam in a factory dividing boxes of food for three years after that.

PM: So it was a conscious choice to step away from professional cycling after 2011? Or was it more that you couldn’t find a team willing to take you on?

DC: To be honest, I wasn’t even looking. I had no results for my first two years and all my self-confidence was gone. I didn’t think other teams would look at me without results and I just thought maybe it was me, maybe I wasn’t strong enough to be a professional. So after more than ten years of training and racing I hung up my bike and just thought ‘What now?’

After three weeks at a normal job, I started thinking that I just loved the sport too much, I was sure that I was still able to be one of the best Belgian riders and I was only 23. I had always looked after my body, you see a lot of young guys who are burned out because they train too hard and do too much but I wasn’t like that. I just didn’t expect that it would take so long!

PM: So how did you start to build your comeback?

DC: In the start, I signed for an Algerian professional team, but I never raced for them. So in 2012 I was actually racing for a really small Belgian amateur team. I had to start right at the bottom again, doing inter-club races and a handful of really low-level UCI races. That was all we had on our programme.

After the 2012 season I met Kristof De Kegel, who coaches Edward Theuns, and started working with him. We did some power tests and he told me that I still had the ability to be a really good professional. So we started working together and he helped me with training plans and knowledge he gained from working with professional riders.

PM: That was something that struck me about your story that you would have to have some means of keeping up the training and lifestyle of a pro, whilst being an amateur.

DC: Yeah, because you have to be able to compete against and beat them. It was really hard because I was working in the morning and then I had to train three or four hours in the afternoon.

I thought at the start that I’d give it one year of working and racing. After one year, I was thinking ‘I’m so close!’ So I went for one more year and then after two years, I was thinking ‘I’m so close!’ so I gave it one more year. Then luckily after two years Willems Verandas signed me and I was getting paid again. I was still winning more than 10 races both of those years, including the amateur Omloop back to back, but I was also still working in the mornings, training in the afternoons and racing every weekend.

It was a really hard time. But, on the other hand, I learned how much I love cycling and how lucky I am that all I have to do is train and race my bike. I appreciate everything much more than before.

PM: At Willems Verandas last year, you really exploded results-wise. You won the Tour of Normandy and a hatful of one day races. So what changed to bring you that success?

DC: Before, maybe I was… I wouldn’t say weak but maybe I lacked a bit of self confidence in the finale of races. When I became amateur again, I said to myself "Now I have to take every chance I get, I can’t afford to use races to learn or to make mistakes. There’s no time for that anymore."

I still have that feeling now. Last week in Le Semayn, I missed the first big break and it never came back and the race was gone. I was angry with myself for days afterwards because I know I have no time to lose. So now, I start every race with the feeling that I have to do something, that today has to be my day.

In the Tour of Normandy, I had a really close battle with Alex Peters (PM: Now at Sky) and it actually came down to bonifications on the last day, so it was a really good race.

PM: You were also 3rd in the UCI Europe Tour last year. You beat guys like Boasson Hagen and were only behind your friend Edward Theuns and Nacer Bouhanni. Was that the motivator for Wanty-Groupe Goubert to sign you for this year?

DC: They told me that they started following me at the Tour of Belgium in May. There was a really hard stage in the Flemish Ardennes, I attacked and only Benoot, Van Avermaet and Leukemans could follow me. Afterwards, Leukemans told the Directeurs that he was struggling to follow me and they had to sign me.

I had a good ride in the Belgian championships too. Before the race, I thought Stijn Devolder would be the man to watch, because he had won it already three times. When I saw him attack I thought that was the moment so I followed... Maybe it was too early. In the end I look on it as a good chance missed.

Claeys Third in Etoile de Besseges stage. Photo by Sylvain Thomas, AFP/Getty

PM: You’ve hit the ground running this year too. You were 4th in GP Marseille, you finished 3rd in a stage at Etoile Besseges and you got 12th in the Omloop.

DC: Yeah, I got caught less than 20 metres from the line in Etoile. I gave everything and it just wasn’t enough. I was so close to starting the season with a victory so it’s annoying.

In Omloop, my goal was top ten and I came 12th. So again, I wasn’t really satisfied. The first group was too strong for me at the moment, with Van Avermaet and Sagan. That last little bit has to come from me in the next three or four weeks. In the second group I was still feeling strong, I was a bit sad I had no leadout at the end, otherwise I think I would have done a good top ten. Marco Marcato was there too, but we talked and we both wanted to do our own sprint.

PM: So you’re aiming to be in top shape for the Flemish Classics?

DC: Yeah, I’ll do Dwars Door Vlaanderen, E3, Ronde Van Vlaanderen and Paris Roubaix. After that I’ll do Tro Bro Leon then a little break and after that 4 Days of Dunkirk, maybe the Dauphine and then prepare for the Belgian Championships.

At training camp, we sat and talked about my schedule. The management have belief in me and gave me a programme until the end of June. So unless there’s any injuries or sickness I know what I’ll be doing and I can base my training around those goals.

PM: So how was that training camp with Wanty- Groupe Gobert? It’s your first professional team in 5 years, so what’s changed since then?

DC: The training camp is still hard, but I’m more patient now and I know to save my legs for the races and not just training.

Cycling has really changed a lot as well. It’s really more now about focus on certain goals and races. Every year there’s something different with food or training. Teams are a lot more organised in the peloton now, too.

PM: I understand as well that there’s a friends cycling club amongst the Pros in Gent, can you tell me about that?

DC: Yes, we have a Whatsapp group and anyone who’s in town will try and meet by the town hall each day. It’s hard after January with everybody at camps and then races but every Monday after a classic race we all go for a café ride to talk about the race but in November and December we go out together quite a lot. All the guys are motivated so we keep each other focused.

(PM: The known members of this shadowy society are Dimitri, Bert De Backer(Giant- Alpecin), Tiesj Benoot (Lotto- Soudal), Gijs Van Hoecke (Topsport Vlaanderen), Iljo Keisse (Etixx- Quick Step), Kenny De Ketele (Topsport Vlaanderen), Nikolas Maes (Etixx- Quick Step) and Edward Theuns (Trek-Segafredo)

PM: So, what are your goals for this season?

DC: The Flemish Classics mainly. The period from Omloop to Roubaix is really important for me. My first goal was to do some top tens. I got 12th in Omloop, so my goal is to go further than that.

I’ve missed a lot of experience in those races over the last few years so I don’t have five rides in my back pocket to call on. I can’t afford to lose one to gain experience or make a mistake and learn from it. I have to do everything now! So I’ve been watching them on You Tube a lot over the winter to learn the crucial points, watch the fight for position, all of that.

PM: Is it still exciting for you to go to these big races for the first time?

DC: Of course. I’m really excited for the classics here in Belgium. Maybe a little less for the Spanish stage races because I’m no climber so it’s always going to hard.

I rode Omloop once before in 2011, but I only just finished. This year, at the front of the race was completely different. I can’t even compare it. My form, my focus, my motivation are all so much higher than they were then. Back then, I would start and not know if I was going to finish. Now I’m confident that I’m amongst the strongest. I just have to wait for my chance and take it.

PM: Classic Flemish cycling question: Which is better, Old Ronde or new Ronde?

DC: I never rode it yet, so it’s hard to say. For a rider like me, I think the old course was better. Now, it’s a really hard race. There’s no space for a surprise. It’s always the strongest guy wins, the second best guy is second and the third best guy is third. In the past, there was always a surprise winner every few years, like Nick Nuyens in 2011. It would get to the last 10kms and if you were there, you’d have your chance. Now, maybe it’s more honest but there’s less suspense.

PM: What’s the main difference for you now in being at the sharp end of these races from your NetApp days?

DC: The big difference is the fight for position. The intensity and the tension before the important sections is incredible. On Omloop there’s a narrow descent and then a 90 degree bend on to the Taaienberg, it’s crazy! If you touch your brakes you lose 40 places. It looks really dangerous, but everyone is so focussed that you don’t see any crashes at the crucial moment. I can’t explain why, but maybe it’s just that focus that keeps everything together.

PM: So if you could pick one of the races you’ve got scheduled this year to win, what would it be?

DC: Ronde Van Vlaanderen. For a Flemish rider, that’s by far the most important race.