Eddy Planckaert delivered a colorful appearance on the Flemish cycling discussion program Wielerclub Wattage, taking aim at French world championship tactics and sharing memories from his career. Filling in for Dirk De Wolf, who had cycling commitments on Tenerife, the former winner of the green jersey, the Tour of Flanders, and Paris-Roubaix offered unvarnished opinions on modern racing strategies.
The program, recorded in Izegem, featured Planckaert critiquing how the French national team approached the World Championships. He took specific issue with their early aggression on the road. “They were already riding 700 kilometers from the finish line. What kind of idiots are they?”, he said. “They were going to arrange it for a 19-year-old who still has his pamper on. Paul Seixas is indeed a super good rider, but he has 0 experience at a World Championship. Then you don’t go take the race in hand that far from the finish.”
Planckaert also addressed the attacking style of Mathieu van der Poel during the event. While acknowledging Van der Poel’s strength as the race’s top rider, Planckaert questioned his tactical execution. “I found that action so stupid or I don’t know what,” he said. “Van der Poel was the best man in the race. If he reads the race like his father [Adrie] could read it, then he should have become world champion on one leg, wouldn’t he?”
Stories of Deception and Fictional Critiques
As part of the show’s customary storytelling segment, Planckaert shared an anecdote from a post-Tour de France criterium in France in 1988, claiming his team manager José De Cauwer had to step in for him. “I had just won the green jersey then and received 160,000 Belgian francs [approximately 4,000 euro] if I rode that criterium. A lot of money in those days,” he recounted. “But the evening before I had fallen ill after eating oysters. So José put on my green jersey. Under the name of Eddy Planckaert, José even won the prize for the most elegant rider back then.”
While 70 percent of the studio audience initially believed the tale, Planckaert revealed after the broadcast that the entire story was fabricated. Fellow panelist Mark Uytterhoeven subsequently labeled the stunt as “boerenbedrog” or rustic deception.
The Hidden Prop at Château Planckaert
Planckaert also revealed that his penchant for practical jokes nearly derailed the production of Château Planckaert before the show’s first episode was ever filmed. During a walkthrough of the family’s historic estate, he decided to test the television crew.
“In the castle there is a dark cellar. And I had asked a friend to play a corpse,” Planckaert said. While giving the director and production team a tour, he opened the door to the castle’s burner. “And when I opened the door of the castle’s burner, an arm fell out. So there was ‘a dead person’ in that burner.”
The practical joke prompted an immediate reaction from the crew. “The director sprinted outside and said in all panic that they weren’t going to be able to film anything there. I was standing there laughing and crying at the same time.”
The episode offered a retrospective look at the World Championships in Montréal, reviewing international tactics alongside veteran analysis.
