A hard day of racing in Belgium concluded with a Soudal Quick-Step Devo victory, as Cériel Desal outsprinted his opponents in the closing meters of the 57th Grand Prix Cerami, our feeder team’s last race of the season on home soil.
Running between Mons and Frameries, over a distance of 168.6 kilometers, Saturday’s one-day race came with a nice mix of short climbs and cobbles that resulted in multiple attacks and a nail-biting finale. The first rider of our team to attack was Gauthier Servranckx, who made it into a strong breakaway group that forced the peloton to work hard in order to reduce the gap.
With two and a half laps to go, Cériel joined a counterattack of six riders and waited patiently there to see how things would unfold. When the breakaway was reeled in, he attacked on the final cobbled sector, and together with the two men that were able to follow him, established a small gap on the reduced bunch, where our squad was represented by Marc Zafra. Entering the final kilometer, the trio could feel the chasers coming back rapidly, but just as the road began to rise, the 26-year-old Belgian waited patiently for the road to rise before producing a ferocious acceleration that dispatched the others.
For Desal, it was the second win of the season after the one he claimed almost six months ago at the Boucle de l’Artois, where he also arrived solo after a cunning late attack: “I’m really happy to take the victory today in Cerami. It was a tough race from start to finish, but I gave it my all until the end. A big thanks to my team for their work and support throughout the race. I’m delighted I could bring it home for them.”
The guys rode a strong race today and deserve the be congratulated!
“They followed the plan we discussed in the morning and straight away went on the attack. Gauthier was in the first breakaway and that allowed us to stay well-positioned in the peloton and don’t waste any energy. Then Cériel followed the attacks, went with a small group and showed what he is capable of. He was one of the strongest there and demonstrated he can deliver after a hard race”, Soudal Quick-Step Devo sports director Eliot Lietaer said.
Photo credit: ©Luc Claessen / Getty Images
