Omega Pharma- Quick-Step Cycling Team had many great moments to speak of from the 2013 Tour de France. To start: OPQS won four stages, they earned a team combativity award for the first time in the history of the Tour de France, Sylvain Chavanel earned another combativity award for his Mont Ventoux attack on Bastille Day, and Michal Kwiatkowski finished 11th in the GC after also wearing the white jersey for several stages. Finally, OPQS won the "best team" award for multiple stages.
However, to simply state the accolades does not truly explain the great teamwork and overall effort of OPQS during the Tour. First, it is important to note the comeback of Tony Martin. After suffering a painful Stage 1 crash with injuries including a concussion, bruised left lung, and soft tissue damage including a deep wound on his left arm, Tony stayed in the fight and was able to recover in time for an incredible Stage 11 ITT victory in Mont-Saint-Michel. Another example of great effort was Jerome Pineau. The Frenchman spent more time than anyone at the head of the peloton, and was essential for helping Mark Cavendish pass through the mountains.
Then, there was the Stage 4 TTT for OPQS. The defending UCI World TT Champions finished just .75 seconds behind stage winner ORICA-GreenEDGE, who set the record for average speed in 100 years of the Tour de France. While the loss was disappointing, the performance was the maximum of the whole team and really demonstrated how powerful OPQS is as a unit.
Michal Kwiatkowski, just 23-years-old, was able to finish 11th in the GC and even wear the white jersey for a few stages due to several top finishes. The most notable finish for the Polish Champion was his podium placing — he was was 3rd in Stage 9. After refusing to lose contact in the mountains with a select group of GC contenders, he made it back to the front group by the time they descended Cat 1 La Hourquette d'Ancizan (9.9km, 7.5%) thanks to the help of teammates Matteo Trentin and Peter Velits. He then won the field sprint behind two riders who stayed away until the finish.
Legendary sprinter Cavendish brought his career wins at the Tour de France to 25, winning two stages of the 100th edition. Stage 13 was perhaps the shining moment for all of OPQS, as they blew apart the entire peloton in the crosswinds of a flat stage. They did so just 60km into the stage with the order of Gert Steegmans. Thanks to their domination, they were able to keep the Manx Missile in the mix when the front group split with about 30km to go. Kwiatkowski helped carry Cav across, and a brief sprint effort ensured he was able to make the junction. Cavendish went on to win the stage with Sylvain Chavanel serving as his leadout, and Peter Sagan (Cannondale) in a difficult position behind Chava as his teammates chased down Niki Terpstra on the attack inside the final kilometer.
Matteo Trentin earned an emotional fourth victory for OPQS in Stage 14, winning out of a breakaway after launching his sprint from long distance and overtaking several riders for the win. It was not only Matteo's first grand tour victory, it was also his first time racing the Tour de France. His teammates were so excited for him that they waited after the stage to hug him one-by-one. Sport Director Davide Bramati, however, was the most emotional of all, as was evident in the OPQS victory video posted on our #opqstdf blog.
These were just some of the highlights for OPQS at the 100th Tour de France, but it is more than enough to be certain that the team had a successful experience, and also bonded as a team.
Attached to this article is a gallery of some great photos from BrakeThrough Media, which we posted on our #opqstdf blog in the last three weeks! There were some clear visual highlights that we wanted to share with our supporters.