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Did Vacek himself see this achievement coming? ‘I have worked a lot on my time trial in recent months. I didn’t ride there much, the last one was actually already in the Algarve, but that allowed me to prepare well. My form is good and I have improved considerably compared to last year,” he concluded with satisfaction afterwards in conversation with In de Leiderstrui.
The ‘natural Connection’ Between Thibau Nys and Mathias Vacek, Explained by the Czech.
‘Second place hurts a bit, but I gave it everything. I can’t blame myself. Maybe I should have gone a little slower in the first part, which would have given me an extra acceleration in part two. But hey, that’s after the fact. I would like to make up for the time I am behind as quickly as possible,” said the man who is also excellent at hill work. He recently finished fourth in the Tour of Norway.
Vacek still knows winner Waerenskjold from the promises. At the 2022 U23 World Time Trial Championships won by the Norwegian, he himself finished ninth. ‘Soren is a strong guy who knows how to organize his time trials. He rode the second part a lot faster, so I can do nothing but congratulate him. I’ll have to work on my time trials,” he winks.
Vacek about collaboration with Nys: ‘We know each other’s limits’.
The Czech’s good time trial is yet another in a row for the men of Lidl-Trek , which invested a lot last winter after the arrival of new sponsor Lidl. ‘We are working hard with the team on the time trials. A lot of testing was done during the training camps and it is now paying off. Nowadays it’s all about the details.’
The 22-year-old man from Central Europe has already led Nys to victories in Norway and Romandie, where they made a particular impression in that first race . ‘We have a natural connection, me and Thibau. We are the same age, but we are not competitive with each other. I am always happy for him, even when he won the Tour of Switzerland ,” said the exemplary teammate.
What makes them such a successful duo? ‘When we are together, we are always very motivated to make the best of it. We know each other’s limits well, so we can often express our plans well. That is very nice. Thibau is very strong mentally and he is a very good leader. At his age he is gaining more and more experience, but he is already very good and always has a healthy dose of confidence.’
