> "The Wielermanager hype played an unintentional part": Tom Crabbe had "underestimated" the pressure in the spring, but is now liberated in Turkey

> Tom Crabbe had started 2026 like a comet, with stage wins in Bessèges and Andalusia. Those first professional victories earned him a spot in quite a few Wielermanager teams, but it was only in his final spring races that the fast man was able to score. "You might put too much pressure on yourself then. I have learned from that," the double stage winner in Turkey confided to us.

> Tom Crabbe is riding on a cloud in the Tour of Turkey. In the first stage, the Flanders - Baloise sprinter was clearly the fastest; the following day it was closer after a survival trek uphill and a tense sprint. "The focus here was a bit more on not putting pressure on myself and seeing where that would take me. Secretly, I had hoped to win once; twice is really crazy," Crabbe revealed in a phone call with Sporza.

> Pressure from the Wielermanager
> As a hype in the Wielermanager, Crabbe did indeed race around with a certain amount of pressure in the spring. With a price tag of just 3 million, he convinced about half of the nearly 100,000 participants to sign up for a spot on their team.

> "Unconsciously, that hype did play a part, yes," he agreed.

> "I had underestimated that a bit. You have to learn to deal with that pressure, and it is getting better and better now. There is a lot involved; you can't train for that. You might put too much pressure on yourself. I've learned from that; I just have to do my thing."

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