The squad sits on a staggering 18 victories since the month of February.
Siebe Deweirdt became the tenth different rider to win a race for Soudal Quick-Step Devo Team this season after edging out his breakaway companions at the end of Sunday’s 160km-long action-packed Kemmel Koerse.
The 21-year-old Belgian was active from the very beginning, attacking together with six other riders just two laps into the race and putting around half a minute between them and the chasers, who had to work hard in order to join them. When they did, the squad had two men there, as Warre Vangheluwe had made the cut as well, and this played into their advantage.
Three laps from the finish, Siebe pushed the pedal to the metal and rode clear again, this time with Xandro Meurisse (Alpecin-Deceuninck), but the others caught them on the penultimate lap. On a short hill, Meurisse then accelerated, prompting a response from Deweirdt and Peter Schulting (VolkerWessels). The gap of the trio wasn’t big, and with Warre just a couple of seconds behind, this allowed Siebe to move the pressure onto the others. In the end, he easily outsprinted his companions for Soudal Quick-Step Devo Team’s 18th victory of the year.
“It was a hard and fast race, up and down the entire time. I felt good the whole day, so I attacked early, and even after we got caught, I remained confident in my chances. When our three-man group took off inside the final lap, we worked well together to build an advantage, and then I could play a bit with the others as I had Warre coming fast from behind. I could stay calm and do a good sprint. I’m very happy with this win”, Deweirdt said after the race.
Photo credit: ©Wout Beel
