The 25-year-old concluded the short and fast individual time trial in 14th place.
Yves Lampaert was Quick-Step Floors' top finisher on the Tour de Suisse prologue, a 6.1km-long one held in Cham, a small town in the Zug canton, which played host for the first time in history to the race's inaugural day. The Belgian, who this season scored an emphatic victory at Dwars door Vlaanderen, was the team's last man down the start ramp and put in a strong ride, averaging more than 54km/h, at the end of which he was clocked in 6:39, 15 seconds down on stage winner Rohan Dennis (BMC).
Lampaert was 14th at the finish, less than one second separating him from the top 10, a result which augurs well ahead of the Belgian ITT Championships, scheduled later this month, on which the 25-year-old has his eyes firmly on after coming twice runner-up in the past seasons.
"I started the prologue with big ambitions and I felt good, especially as the parcours suited me, but in the end I just couldn't go faster. On the bright side, the condition is there and we look forward to the rest of the week. We came to the Tour de Suisse with a strong team and we hope to win a stage, because it's been already a week since our last victory", a smiling and confident Yves said at the finish.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele
