Philippe Gilbert tears into Tim Wellens over Worlds withdrawal: ‘He is completely detached from reality’

Wellens’ absence has already caused plenty of discussion in Belgium, particularly after the 35-year-old returned to form by winning the Tour of Britain. The former Belgian champion has repeatedly explained why he will not reconsider, but Gilbert is not convinced.

“I respect Tim, but I completely disagree with his reasoning and his point of view,” Gilbert told RTL. “I think he is completely detached from reality.”

For the 2012 world champion, the issue goes beyond Wellens’ physical condition or his programme for the final weeks of the season.

“You always have to stay loyal to your country,” Gilbert said. “Even if Pogačar had been there, that should not stop him from working for the Belgian team.”

It is a direct response to one of the arguments at the centre of the debate around Wellens.

After struggling with illness and exhaustion following the Tour de France, Wellens initially doubted whether he could recover sufficiently to compete at the World Championships. 

When he subsequently missed the Renewi Tour, he reached an understanding with UAE that other races later in the season would take priority. His unexpectedly strong return at the Tour of Britain changed the picture from the outside.

Wellens won the overall classification and suddenly looked capable of playing an important role in a Belgian team built around Remco Evenepoel and Wout van Aert. Evenepoel contacted him personally in an attempt to change his mind.

Wellens admitted those messages briefly made him reconsider, but he ultimately chose to honour the commitment he had made to UAE.

“I know my decision has been criticised, but I would certainly have no problem riding for Remco or Wout,” Wellens said last week. “My trade team remains my employer. They pay me.”

Wellens also stressed that his decision should not be interpreted as a refusal to sacrifice his own chances for Belgium. With Tadej Pogačar absent from the Worlds, he felt he could even have been useful deep into the final as Belgium tried to create a winning situation for Evenepoel or Van Aert.

That explanation has done little to soften Gilbert’s view. The former world champion believes representing Belgium demands a different kind of loyalty, regardless of which riders happen to be teammates during the rest of the season.

“At the end of your career, you may have had several employers, but your country will always be your country,” Gilbert said.

He pointed to his own experience at the 2009 World Championships in Mendrisio. Cadel Evans was Gilbert’s teammate at Silence Lotto at the time. Once the World Championships began, however, they were opponents. Evans went on to claim the rainbow jersey for Australia while Gilbert finished sixth for Belgium.

“He became world champion in Mendrisio, where I was sixth,” Gilbert said. “But I gave everything I had there for the Belgian team.”

Gilbert went questioned whether Wellens could eventually come to regret turning down the opportunity. “I did not send him a message, but maybe later he will realise that this was the wrong choice,” he said.

He also raised another uncomfortable question for Wellens. After making himself unavailable this year despite being back in winning form, Gilbert wondered whether a future place in the national team should still be considered automatic.

The criticism comes with Belgium heading towards the Montréal road race with two clear leaders in Remco Evenepoel and Wout van Aert, backed by a strong supporting cast.

For Gilbert, that makes Wellens’ absence even harder to understand. With Pogačar out and Belgium arriving with two major options for the rainbow jersey, the former world champion sees Montréal as exactly the kind of opportunity he would have wanted to be part of himself.

“In this dream scenario, with two leaders in form and a course that suits them both, I would have dreamed of being there,” Gilbert said.