Julien Vermote finished the 8-day event in the top 10, to cap off a great week for the team.
This year's edition of the Tour of Britain is done and dusted, and Etixx – Quick-Step can look back at it with pride, as it was again among the protagonists, despite facing a tough course, which didn't offer any moment a respite, pushing and challenging the riders to give it their all and go over the limit. Starting from Glasgow, the peloton had to overcome harsh weather conditions, slippery roads, tricky corners, taxing climbs and a fierce competition, before completing the race under the sunny sky of London, the capital of the United Kingdom, which saw thousands of people line up the road to greet the riders who made it to the end.
Julien Vermote and Tony Martin were the two Etixx – Quick-Step riders to bag a stage win apiece, while Dan Martin and Maximiliano Richeze also came to the forefront, each finishing in the top 3 once. Julien, a regular at the Tour of Britain, powered to his maiden victory of the season on a grim day, which he spent in the breakaway since kilometer zero, and donned the coveted yellow jersey for the first time in his career.
A four-day stint in the lead then followed for the 27-year-old Belgian, four days in which both he and the squad worked relentlessly to control the escapees and keep yellow, which stayed within the team until the punishing queen-stage to Haytor. One day later, Tony Martin rode to victory on the sole individual time trial of this edition, notching up a win which was made sweeter by the fact it was Etixx – Quick-Step's 50th of the season. By doing this, Etixx – Quick-Step also extended its own victory tally at the race to 20, an outstanding feat that underlines the fantastic depth and versatility of our outfit.
"We are delighted with our Tour of Britain, especially as this year's edition was one of the toughest since we are coming here. Unfortunately, we lost Adrien Costa to a crash on the second day, but the team did a wonderful job even in five riders and managed to take two beautiful wins and keep hold of the yellow jersey for several stages. We are very happy with the way this week went for us and now we are looking forward to the next races of September", said sport director Brian Holm at the end of the day.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele
