Our junior team sits on four wins now since the start of the season.
Simon Defrance came out on top in the second stage of the Penn Ar Bed – Bro An Hirwazh, taking the victory in the 7.5km individual time trial held around Plougonvelin, a small town in the French region of Bretagne.
The 16-year-old, already a top ten finisher last month at the Tour du Bocage et de l’Ernée 53 in his first junior season, averaged an impressive 48.12km/h, stopping the clock in 9:21, enough for his first victory. He was joined on the podium by Soudal Quick-Step U19 teammate Sune De Valck, who concluded the race against the clock just five seconds behind and moved into the leader’s jersey ahead of the final stage.
“I’m really happy to have been able to win my first UCI race with the team. I trusted my time trial skills, but I never thought about winning it. As a junior, it is something that motivates me even more and I want to continue like this in the upcoming races”, an elated Simon said.
In the afternoon, the victory belonged to Thibaut Van Damme, who emerged as the fastest from a five-man group to take his second success of the year. It was a win that elevated Thibaut to second place on the general classification, only one second separating him from the overall victory.
“I didn’t have the best feelings in the first two races, but knowing that the gaps were small after the time trial, I decided to go all-in in the last stage. The team did a great job to keep things together and close the gaps until the local laps. With 30 kilometers to go, I attacked on a climb and joined a small group where we had two guys, who rode incredibly to make sure we’d stay away. Eight kilometers from the finish, I made a selection and in the final, I gave it my best. I won the stage and even though I missed out on the GC win for a second, I am content with this weekend”, Thibaut explained after the race.
In addition to these two victories, Soudal Quick-Step U19 left France also with the prize awarded to the best team in the race.
Photo credit: ©Wout Beel
