Jan Bakelants

Jan Bakelants (born 14 February 1986) is a Belgian former professional road racing cyclist, who competed as a professional from 2009 to 2022.

Career

His major wins include the 2008 Tour de l'Avenir and stage 2 of the 2013 Tour de France, claiming the yellow jersey after winning the stage by only a second of an advantage on the peloton after a late attack. He also rode the 2010 Giro d'Italia, in which he finished 36th.

Bakelants left at the end of the 2013 season, and joined for the 2014 season. In August 2014, it was announced that he would be leaving after one year and joining on an initial two-year deal.

Ahead of the 2017 Tour de France Bakelants faced criticism for remarks he made that were deemed sexist. In an interview with Het Laatste Nieuws he was asked if it was difficult to go without sex for three weeks during a grand tour. He jokingly answered that there were podium girls after all and he would make sure to pack condoms. This prompted Tour director Christian Prudhomme to demand a public apology, which Bakelants delivered on social media.

Bakelants was severely injured in a crash at the 2017 Giro di Lombardia when he crashed into a ravine on a fast descent, fracturing seven ribs and the first and third vertebrae. He did not lose consciousness and was transferred to the hospital in Como. The crash left Bakelants shorter. After his crash, Bakelants spoke out about safety standards in cycling. He hoped to return to racing in March 2018, and did so at the Classic Loire Atlantique in France.

After one year with Team Sunweb in 2019 he spent the last three years of his professional career with Intermarché–Wanty–Gobert Matériaux, where he also won his last professional race with stage 5 of the 2022 Tour de Wallonie. Bakelants announced his retirement on 24 December 2022 after a non-amicable split from his last team. He felt the way he was treated by management, especially Aike Visbeek, didn't reflect the work he put in to help the team establish themselves on the World Tour.

Bakelants is married to Daphne Hofmans and they have two daughters and two sons.

Major results

2006 10th Liège–Bastogne–Liège Espoirs 2007 3rd Paris–Tours Espoirs 2008

1st Stage 6

1st Liège–Bastogne–Liège Espoirs 1st Flèche Ardennaise 2nd Overall Le Triptyque des Monts et Châteaux 2nd Grand Prix de Waregem 3rd Road race, National Under-23 Road Championships 4th Overall Tour des Pyrénées 4th Circuit de Wallonie 8th Overall Circuit Franco-Belge 9th Overall Giro delle Regioni 2009 2nd GP Triberg-Schwarzwald 5th De Vlaamse Pijl 7th Le Samyn 9th Overall Eneco Tour 10th Overall Tour of Belgium 10th Overall Ster Elektrotoer 2010 6th Overall Tour de Wallonie 7th Trofeo Inca 10th Clásica de Almería 2012 4th Road race, National Road Championships 5th Grand Prix de Wallonie 6th Overall Tour Down Under 6th Overall Circuit de la Sarthe 10th Overall Eneco Tour 2013 1st Grand Prix de Wallonie Tour de France 1st Stage 2

2nd Amstel Curaçao Race National Road Championships 3rd Road race 4th Time trial 3rd Overall Tour de Luxembourg 4th Overall Eneco Tour 4th Grand Prix of Aargau Canton 7th Overall Tour of Beijing 10th Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal 2014 1st Stage 6 Critérium du Dauphiné 3rd Grand Prix de Wallonie 7th La Drôme Classic 2015 1st Giro dell'Emilia 1st Gran Piemonte 2nd Grand Prix de Wallonie 4th Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal 6th Overall Critérium International 7th Overall Circuit de la Sarthe 7th Coppa Sabatini 2016 2nd La Drôme Classic 3rd Overall La Méditerranéenne

1st Stage 4 5th Giro dell'Emilia 6th Coppa Sabatini 8th Overall Tour La Provence 9th Classic Sud-Ardèche 2017 3rd La Drôme Classic 4th Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal 5th Grand Prix de Wallonie 2018 6th Grand Prix Pino Cerami 2019 5th Overall ZLM Tour 2020 4th Road race, National Road Championships 6th Overall Tour de Luxembourg 9th Trofeo Matteotti 2022 1st Stage 5 Tour de Wallonie

Grand Tour results timeline

Grand Tour general classification results timeline Grand Tour 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Giro d'Italia 36 22 34 — — — — — — 43 — — Tour de France — — — 18 24 20 50 22 — — — 48 Vuelta a España 18 31 22 — — — 17 — — — — —