Second victory of the month for the young Belgian.
Leander Van Hautegem delivered Soudal Quick-Step Devo Team’s tenth success of the season in Dwars door Wingene, the 156.1km one-day race held on Belgian soil Saturday afternoon. Ten days after capturing his first victory of the year at Course de côte Herbeumont, Leander was again prominent and dominant, producing another impressive ride.
The 21-year-old attacked with a couple of laps to go and opened what looked to be a comfortable lead over the chasers, but on the final lap another rider joined him. The two worked well together as the group behind was closing in, and in the last kilometer of the race, Van Hautegem surprised his opponent by launching the sprint from the distance, with 500 meters to go, and kept the power all the way to the line, where he put his arms in the air to celebrate the win.
“I am incredibly happy with this victory, my second of the month. I felt good today and was part of a very strong team, who did a great race from the beginning. I was confident enough to make a move early, and although I was joined by another rider in the final kilometers, I had enough left to open my sprint early and leave everything out there on my way to this win”, said Leander, who was joined on the podium by teammate Senne Hulsmans, third in Dwars door Wingene.
Photo credit: ©Wout Beel
