At the start of yesterday's Nokere Koerse in Oudenaarde, Cyclingnews came across a very confident and determined-looking Dimitri De Fauw. "Today, I think I can do very well. I'm determined to deliver a decent result one of these days. I'm riding very well, but I can't seem to get lucky," he said.
"Last Sunday, in Kemzeke, I tried a solo to bridge the gap to the leaders. With 50 metres to go, I saw that other riders were coming back behind me, so I stopped my effort. Suddenly, my team-mates Eeckhout en Barbé used me as a marking point to make a jump to the leaders - afterwards, it was not up to me to close the gap. Maybe I should've tried it because I wanted to be in the lead. The peloton decided to stop chasing the leaders, so I was trapped in our team tactics."
Continued the Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen rider, "In the Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen, I had a similar problem: I gave my best to win the sprint, but couldn't manage to finish it. Eeckhout rode his own sprint and finished as fifth. Afterwards, he talked to me and said he would've worked for me if he knew that I was so good. After such a situation, I could be very mad at everyone and everything I see; my team-mates know this and know they better get out of the way - I'm more dangerous than Rambo then!" joked De Fauw about the nickname given to his team-mate Nico Eeckhout.
But happily, the peloton knows the Belgian is a flamboyant person who's always in for a joke: "I get along and make jokes with most of the other riders. I think they like me being there too. If not, then probably that's because they're not enjoyed by anyone."
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