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Thomas De Gendt and Tim Wellens bikepacking home to Belgium after Il Lombardia

Lotto-Soudal pros to take the scenic route home after final race of the season

Lotto-Soudal riders Thomas De Gendt and Tim Wellens will be finishing their season a week on Sunday at Il Lombardia, but they’ll still have a bit of riding left to do – the pair have decided to bikepack their way back to Belgium from Italy.

The itinerary of their 1,000-kilometre trip, which is due to last six days, was shared by De Gendt on Twitter.

The Belgian, who last month won the mountains jersey at the Vuelta, also tweeted pictures of his Ridley bike complete with Apidura bags.

Speaking last night at the town hall in Gezere at a reception to celebrate his Vuelta success – he gave the mayor a signed polka-dot jersey and got a crate of local beer in return – De Gendt said: "We’re chucking all the luggage on the bike in Italy and then we’ll ride from hotel to hotel at ease, without too much of a rush.”

Laughing, he added: “Yes, there are elections on October 14 but I’ve already arranged a proxy vote.”

De Gendt and Wellens aren’t the only pros to have been bitten by the bikepacking bug.

Last month, Connor Dunne and Larry Warbasse went on a trip in the Alps that they dubbed the No Go Tour after their Aqua Blue Sports team folded on the eve of the Ovo Energy Tour of Britain.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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2 comments

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Butty | 6 years ago
1 like

As if repeat breakaway attempts aren't enough for TdG all through the year, he does this little end of season pootle back home.

Total respect!

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Samtheeagle | 6 years ago
2 likes

Just done something similar - Zurich to Ramsgate. 110 miles a day hopping from town to town following quite roads, voie vert and canal side towpaths. Fabulouse experience and not a close pass (until i hit blighty) along the way. Bike set up was almost identical.

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