The 20-year-old becomes the first Belgian rider to triumph at the Italian one-day race.
Starting and finishing in Terranuova Bracciolini – a small town in Tuscany most known as being the birthplace of Poggio Bracciolini, the man who rediscovered Lucretius’ De Rerum Natura, which basically kickstarted the Renaissance – the 54th edition of the Ruota d’Oro concluded with another Soudal Quick-Step Devo Team victory.
Responsible for this was Gil Gelders, this season’s Gent-Wevelgem winner. The Belgian was involved together with teammate William Junior Lecerf in the main move of the day, a strong seven-man group which arrived together at the base of the penultimate climb, Cima Monticello, with 15 kilometers to go. The leaders worked well together and made it also over the top of the final hurdle, the steep Cicogna, with a nice gap over the chasers, which allowed them to battle for victory in a small sprint.
Gil used his superior speed to come out on top, racking up his squad’s 28th victory of the season – a result that made the future Soudal Quick-Step rider incredibly happy: “I am so delighted with this win. Our team did a great race today and showed what it is capable of doing on a demanding course, where we weren’t afraid to take the initiative. Having William in the leading group helped a lot, and I’m glad I could finish it off and win one of the most prestigious races on the Italian U23 calendar.”
Photo credit: ©Luc Claessen / Getty Images
Gil Gelders 