Teuns: I think there's still room for progression
One of the first major victories of Dylan Teuns’ youth career came atop the Col du Rosier as a fifteen-year-old and in that moment, the Limburger’s predilection for Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Ardennes Classics was confirmed.
The summit finish provided a radically different challenge to the fare on offer in the Flanders region, and while Teuns had grown up venerating the cobbled Classics, he quickly realised that the forested hills of southern Belgium might prove a happy hunting ground.
“My first big win as a 15-year-old came in the Ardennes, so it was already clear that those races were suiting me,” Teuns told Cyclingnews at the recent Bahrain-Merida training camp in Hvar, Croatia. “It was a climbing race, just loop over the Vecquée and the Rosier, and the race finished at the top of the Rosier too.”
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Since turning professional with BMC in 2015, Teuns has gradually established himself in the hilly Classics. 13th place in La Flèche Wallonne as a neo-professional was an early signal of his intentions. He improved to place third on the Mur de Huy in 2017 before proving his mettle over 250km with another podium finish at Il Lombardia last October.
“Getting on the podium of La Flèche Wallonne was something very important, a really big step in my career. And that’s where I realised I can do even better,” said Teuns. “I feel I made another improvement from 2017 to 2018, and I’m not that old, so I think there’s still some room for progression.”
Teuns’ move to Bahrain-Merida, where he will link up with his old BMC under-23 manager – and new Belgian national coach – Rik Verbrugghe, will bring increased responsibility. Vincenzo Nibali is likely to ride Liège-Bastogne-Liège as a final tune-up ahead of the Giro d’Italia, but Teuns will be the principal bearer of the team’s hopes in late April. He is aware, of course, that there is still a world of difference between finishing on the podium of a Classic and winning one.
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