Dries Devenyns will make his last appearance for the squad this Thursday, closing out his 17-year career as a pro.
The 107th edition of Gran Piemonte puts on the table a 152km course from Borgofranco d’Ivrea to Favria, a route that can be divided into two separate parts: one completely flat and one featuring four challenging climbs stacked in the last 60 kilometers; the most difficult of these is the Alpette, averaging 9% over just 5 kilometers, and the place where the big moves of the race should come.
Having won Tre Valli Varesine after a spectacular display of offensive riding from Ilan Van Wilder, Soudal Quick-Step will take on Thursday’s Italian event with a lot of confidence and motivation to be again a protagonist. It will be a special day for the entire Wolfpack nation, as it will mark Dries Devenyns’ final outing in the jersey of the team he rode for a total of twelve seasons.
The 40-year-old Belgian will be joined at the start by Andrea Bagioli – third at the beginning of the week in Coppa Bernocchi – Mattia Cattaneo, U23 Il Lombardia winner William Junior Lecerf, Mauro Schmid, Pieter Serry and Louis Vervaeke.
“We have a team that can play multiple cards in Gran Piemonte. Of course, the route isn’t an easy one and the peloton has many strong riders who can have a say in the finale, but we are keen on doing our best again and leaving everything out there in our pursuit of a good result at the end of the day”, said Soudal Quick-Step sports director Davide Bramati.
Photo credit: ©Luc Claessen / Getty Images
Pieter Serry 
Mattia Cattaneo 
