Our squad finished the 34th edition having been a strong presence on all four stages, for which it was rewarded with the best team prize.
Commitment, hard work and endless panache of the entire Wolfpack, combined with one of his strongest ever sprints, helped Yves Lampaert move into the top 3 at the Deutschland Tour on the very last stage of the race, which concluded in Erfurt after another hard and intense day in the saddle, animated and controlled by the Deceuninck – Quick-Step boys.
Winner twenty-four hours earlier in Eisenach, Kasper Asgreen put in a gutsy attack in the opening kilometers of the race, drawing six other riders from the pack, together with whom he opened a two-minute buffer. Sensing the danger, a couple of teams posted delegates at the front of the bunch and reabsorbed the escapees with 80 kilometers to go, ahead of the last classified climb, Oberhof.
The entire Deceuninck – Quick-Step team amassed at the front, taking full control of the decimated pack and bringing back all those who attacked ahead of the final circuit, which was to be covered three times. One by one, Julian Alaphilippe, Enric Mas, Pieter Serry, Kasper Asgreen and Remco Evenepoel worked hard, keeping things together and protecting Yves Lampaert, who was still in with a solid shot at edging his way back into the top three.
Yves went for the intermediate sprint in Erfurt, missing out on bonus seconds, but that didn’t discourage the 28-year-old Belgian, who helped by one final effort of Evenepoel, slotted into position under the red kite, knowing that a top 3 finish would elevate him in the standings. Lampaert patiently bided his time, opening on the left side of the road just 100 meters from home and outpowering many sprinters on his way to a solid second place which netted him six vital bonus seconds.
“I am happy with this result, as it comes at the end of a tough week. Runner-up on the final stage and third overall are strong results, which give me a lot of satisfaction. This wouldn’t have been possible without the fantastic team we had, who rode as one and did a tremendous job! The Deutschland Tour was a nice race and it was great to take to the podium today together with the boys”, concluded Yves, referring to the best team classification won by Deceuninck – Quick-Step.
For Julian Alaphilippe, this was the first race in over three weeks, and the leader of the UCI World Individual Classification, winner of twelve races so far this season, was content with how things went for him: “I had a great time here and enjoyed the race and being back in action with the Wolfpack. The atmosphere was beautiful, and it was really nice to celebrate a stage victory, Yves’ deserved third place on the GC and the best team award, it’s always special to win it. I worked hard and built my condition, which I will continue to do over the next weeks, Canada included, where I look forward to racing again.”
Photo credit: ©Bas Czerwinski/ Getty Images
