The 23-year-old became one of the youngest riders to take a victory at the World Tour race.
Warre Vangheluwe delivered our team’s 34th win of the year with a brilliant late surge in the final 300 meters of the Tour of Guangxi stage 2. The Belgian, who earlier this season held off an entire peloton at the Quatre Jours de Dunkerque en route to his maiden pro success, punched the air as he crossed the finish line after producing an impressive turn of speed in Jingxi.
Up until that point, the day had been animated by a six-man breakaway which featured his Soudal Quick-Step teammate Martin Svrcek. The Slovak, a silver medalist at the U23 Worlds last month, was one of the only two riders in the group to remain off the front until 500 meters to go, when the peloton overhauled them after a massive effort, helped also by the slightly uphill roads in the final part of the stage.
Moments after the break was caught and a crash disrupted the bunch, Vangheluwe came out of nowhere and powered down the middle of the road to a spectacular win. It was Soudal Quick-Step’s eighth stage victory at the Tour of Guangxi, a record for a team since the race was created.
“I came to China with high expectations and it’s just incredible I got this victory. I trained hard at home and was very motivated, I even told my friends that I will come back only after I get a win here, so I’m delighted I could do it. My job was to lead out Luke Lamperti, but he got boxed in, and the moment the peloton caught Martin I launched my sprint and gave my all to finish it off. I am so happy with this victory”, Warre said after the stage which saw teammate Martin Svrcek move to tenth place overall.
Photo credit: ©Dario Belingheri / Getty Images
