Wesley Vissers on Chris Bumstead’s 2020 Physique: “I honestly didn’t expect him to improve that much.”
The Classic Physique Olympia 2020 was set to be a rematch for Chris Bumstead vs Breon Ansley. But ultimately, in a surprise, not only did Bumstead win again, Ansley placed third. It was a shocking upset and a solidification for Bumstead that he is the reigning Classic Physique champion. In our GI Exclusive interview, we asked fellow competitor Wesley Vissers what he thought of Chris Bumstead’s physique at Olympia 2020.
Wesley Vissers knows that Chris Bumstead is one of the greatest Classic Physique competitors currently in action. What he didn’t expect, was for Chris Bumstead to improve as much as he did. This isn’t to say that Wesley thought Bumstead would do poorly. He simply expected a moderate improvement that would potentially keep him in first place at the Olympia. He certainly thought it would be a closer battle between Bumstead and his rival Breon Ansley.
But that’s not what happened. Instead, Chris Bumstead improved greatly. Breon Ansley, on the other hand, stayed mostly the same to his previous showing in 2019. Wesley Vissers thinks this is why there was a bigger gap in placing for both Bumstead and Ansley. The judges expect to see improvements, not just the same world-class physique as last year. Terrence Ruffin also improved – so he got second over Breon Ansley.
Of course, Wesley Vissers is not a judge. This is just his take from what he saw on stage while he was also competing. Wesley placed 11th at the Classic Physique Olympia 2020. He knows he has a ways to go to battle against the likes of Breon Ansley and Chris Bumstead.
As a man passionate about the division as a whole – Wesley Vissers was absolutely shocked and impressed by how much Chris Bumstead improved his physique.
“I honestly didn’t even expect him to improve that much,” Wesley Vissers states in our interview. He continues:
“I was like, ‘Okay, maybe he’s going to be a bit more conditioned.’ I was like, you know, if he looked the same as last time, maybe he was going to win again. Unless Breon improved a lot. But Chris improved so much it was like, ‘Wow, he’s just a different bodybuilder all together now.’ His weakest point, his back, almost became his strongest point.”
So what does all of this mean? It simply means that athletes like Breon Ansley, and Wesley Vissers, need to step up their game even more. The ceiling for Chris Bumstead has not been seen yet. Will we see the same vast improvements in 2021? Or will he plateau? In either case, Bumstead has now become an even bigger challenge to beat.
Hopefully, this kind of impressive showing simply inspires the entire division to evolve to the next level. This is a similar theory to what happened in the 90s when Ronnie Coleman rose to success. With the bar set higher, the chase grows more passionate and full of fire.
That’s what it seems like is happening for Wesley Vissers. Just hearing the tone of his voice, he’s not concerned but more inspired to follow suit. There has been much hype behind Vissers over the years. Hopefully soon we’ll see him battling it out against the top 5 at Olympia.
You can watch Wesley Vissers’ full comments on Chris Bumstead’s physique in our latest GI Exclusive interview segment above!
