In 1924, French poet and journalist Albert Londres called cyclists "forced laborers of the road," as they fought against the elements, the course and with their primitive equipment. The modern cyclist is scientifically guided and prepared in every possible way, knows the value of a carefully sculpted image and races on an aerodynamically shaped bicycle made of feather-light carbon. Everything is customized these days. But the suffering has remained. Cyclist Wout Poels also knows this.
Text: Lex Stolk | Online Editor: Natasha Hendriks
Image: Fidel Bagan
Wout Poels (Venray, Oct. 1, 1987) is used to the best of the best. The Limburg climber and winner of the 2016 edition of the oldest cycling classic on the calendar, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, rode no less than five seasons for Team Sky/Team Ineos of four-time Tour winner Chris Froome. Since its inception in 2009, the British team revolutionized cycling by focusing on marginal gains. The smallest improvements that led to supreme dominance when it came to the Tour de France, the largest and most important cycling race in the world. Nothing was left to chance by the team. Equipment and nutrition, weight and power of the riders, every element of cycling was analyzed and adjusted and improved where necessary. Right down to the Jaguar team cars. Everything was planned and thought out to perfection. This was no ordinary team.
Still, Poels has managed to find a team for 2020 that can rival his previous team. When it comes to the team cars anyway, you would think upon hearing the name. Indeed, the team Poels will ride for in 2020 and 2021 is Team Bahrain McLaren. And when it comes to pulling off sprints, any McLaren wins over any Jaguar. But a cyclist is not in a car but on a bike. After five seasons on an Italian carbon bike, Poels has now switched to a strikingly painted Merida. The exuberant papaya orange is a reference to McLaren's historic house color, and the wildly contrasting blue and red are the national colors of the kingdom of Bahrain. What sounds like a swearing color combo on paper looks like an energetic composition in reality. As if the 1913 cycling painting Dinamismo di un Ciclista by Italian futurist Umberto Boccioni were coming to life.
In earlier times, cyclists rode bicycles made of loose steel tubes. Such a bike can easily be welded to size. High-tech carbon is something completely different. Manufacturing carbon monocoque frames in one piece requires expensive molds. Making a carbon fiber custom bike for each individual driver is simply too expensive. Even for Team Bahrain McLaren. But for Wout Poels, that poses no problems: "By playing with the length of the saddle and stem and the choice of seven frame sizes, I still end up with a bike that fits me perfectly. I am 1 meter 85, ride with a saddle height of 80.5 centimeters and then a Scultura in size L turns out to be the most suitable. With a 12-centimeter stem, the bike fits perfectly. In my previous team we rode with Shimano and fortunately that has remained unchanged. The brake levers feel familiar and I don't have to get used to a new shifting system."
Image matters in cycling, and Team Bahrain McLaren presents itself as a well-oiled machine. And that machine needs to shine. Not only are the colors of the race jerseys, bikes and team cars perfectly matched, even when the team presents itself outside the race, the presentation is tiptop. "Saville Row tailor Cad & The Dandy made us a custom suit," says Poels. "Very special are the buttons. They are in fact made from the drive shaft of a McLaren Formula One car. It's nice to wear something other than sportswear for a change. By the way, we visited Woking, where McLaren's headquarters are located. Very impressive. And I'll get ahead of you, no, we don't have a McLaren from the company."
It marks the "pro with passion," as Poels calls himself. "If you don't have passion for the sport, cycling becomes impossible to do. To suffer at training and in races, the way of life, the sacrifices and dedication: you can only do that if you really love it. It's also a kind of mode you get used to. Suffering becomes natural. But that's only possible if morality is good." And one way to keep morale up might be an unexpected one. "I polish my bike twice a week, because a clean bike gives morale," reveals Poels, who has ambitious plans for the seriously flawed 2020 cycling year. "I've already proven that I can finish high in a race that lasts three weeks. This year I'm riding for my own chances. In a grand tour and in the hill classics. Especially in a race that lasts three weeks, it's about great form and the smallest details. Winning such a race is indeed tailor-made."
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