Two weeks ago Tom Meeusen (Telenet-Fidea) underwent physical tests at Energy Lab. Based on the results, the team introduced new training programs. "I felt that I was being questioned. I've never experienced that happening halfway through the season. If they felt that it was going well, they would never have done that,” he told Het Nieuwsblad.

Team manager Sven Vanthourenhout did not deny that the poor results of Meeusen prompted them to adjust. 

"But," he said, "it is certainly not that we wanted to question Tom. We wanted to change his training approach: more stamina, less resistance. In practice this means less training in the forest, but more endurance training at a higher intensity on the road.”

The change appears to have an effect for the time being. After Mol, Meeusen scored his second podium in a week in Essen after an impressive comeback. Previously, he had not managed to be on the podium in a race with both Van Aert and Van der Poel at the start.