Would Yves Lampaert be welcomed by a guard of honor of thirty farmer ‘s sonsfrom Belgium, with tractors and all? Which expensive words had Michel Wuytspurchased to celebrate the 2022 cycling year? And what color would the promdress in which Oumaima Rayane would stride down the red carpet? Everything waswide open at the presentation of the Crystal Bicycle, except – and this is notunimportant for an award ceremony – who would win at the end of the evening.
Jasper Van LoyThursday, October 13, 202211:04
Bad luck for VTM: just in the year that the station decided to broadcast thegala of the Kristallen Fiets for the first time, a funny ket from Schepdaaland a classic queen from Rumst made it the least exciting edition in years.Lotte Kopecky winner of the Tour of Flanders and winner of the trophy forthe third time in a row, had already opted for the early breakaway to theTrack Cycling World Championship and received the jewel in Paris from thehands of Stijn Vlaeminck , who, as everyone else on these matters,generously quoted from the cahier entitled ‘1,001 easy questions for sportsjournalists’. “Do you realize how impressive this is?” Do you realize, Stijn,how this kind of flattery disguised as a question doesn’t exactly make it moreimpressive?
I could have understood that obligatory number if Freek Braeckman andLies Vandenberghe until then hadn’t tried so hard to keep up the tensionthat Braeckman almost burst out of his suit with the artificial excitement.Because it was just a stop! And everything could change! Did I mention it wasexciting?! The only thing that could have been done was that Johan Museeuwwith a snowblower came roaring in order to let Rempo Evekoel sink through theice.
When the world champion came to collect his over-earned Crystal Bicycle,anyone who read a sports newspaper in the past month could dream of what wouldhappen. A happy Remco and a smug Patrick Lefevere – rightly so in bothcases – **** had borrowed each other’s straight faces not to tell in unisonwhether they will ride the Tour next year.
Every now and then you got a glimpse of what the Crystal Bicycle could havebeen, a celebration of a great racing year in all its facets. The rightfultribute to Paralympic hour record holder Ewoud Vromant and the disarmedinterview with juniore’s brother Febe Jooris were stories of the romantickind on which the course lives, although the item about Vromant remainedsomewhat vague. Tiesj Benoot who fought back tears at his front doorbecause he didn’t think it was him, but his teammate Nathan Van Hooydonckthe Crystal Sweat Drop for best helper deserved: clean. But otherwise, thevictorious Evenepoel, as so often this season, left miles of emptiness behind.Isn’t this the big show station that barks ‘The Voice’ for three hours everyweek? Where was that rainbow colored show ballet for team leader of the yearSven Vanthourenhout? Where was the Lotte confetti for Lotte Kopecky? Wherewas the fanfare that came to interpret ‘In de silent Kempen’ for Wout vanAert?
What’s more, the second best Belgian rider of the year was absent from theKristallen Fiets. The Savior of Herentals condescended to a video in which heexplained from a Kempen field that he was spending his scarce holidaySarah and Georges wanted to spend, “and unfortunately not on cyclinggalas”. So the evening was so boring, and exclusive images of it could be madePatrick Evenepoel who danced the polonaise to his son’s fidelity andKoen Wauters who, panting on an exercise bike, sang the praises of Remconothing to change.
Oh yes, Yves was nowhere to be found, Michel talked about a _grand cru classé_and Oumi wore dark green.