Soudal Quick-Step places two riders in the top ten.
Yves Lampaert moved up to third overall on the general classification of the five-day World Tour race, after a solid outing in the 13.6km individual time trial that took place Thursday afternoon in Sluis. The result, which came just a couple of days after an impressive ride in Hamburg, means that the 32-year-old Belgian remains in contention for a good overall this week.
“The first part of my ITT was good, but then the pace went down a bit. I would have wanted to finish a bit closer to the winner, but Joshua was very strong today. The good part is that the gaps aren’t that big and the race is difficult to control, so we’ll try to play our cards right”, said Yves.
Soudal Quick-Step will have two options in the GC at the Renewi Tour, after Kasper Asgreen also infiltrated in the top ten on the stage won by Joshua Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers). Fifth in Sluis, just three seconds behind his teammate, the Dane sits fifth overall going into the hard hilly stage to Geraardsbergen.
“It was hard, like a time trial should be. A short effort meant you had to go full gas and see how long you can hold on. I gave my best and did a decent effort, despite some health problems that I had since yesterday. I look forward to the next stage, where it’s possible to open some big gaps. I like racing in Geraardsbergen, the Muur is legendary, and I hope we’ll get a good result”, added Kasper.
Photo credit: ©Luc Claessen / Getty Images
Kasper Asgreen 
Yves Lampaert 
