Kuurne - Brussel - Kuurne

Lamperti in the top 10 at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne

Luke Lamperti made his Classics debut, and the 21-year-old American didn’t disappoint, finishing in the top ten the fastest edition of Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, which took place over a distance of 196.4 kilometers and saw the peloton average a stunning 45.14km/h, despite the more than a dozen hills spread over the route.

There was a lot of nervousness in the bunch Sunday afternoon, which resulted in a number of crashes that left only 50-odd riders at the front with 100 kilometers to go. Lamperti was there together with his Soudal Quick-Step teammates Julian Alaphilippe and Yves Lampaert, but when the race exploded on Le Bourliquet, he got distanced.

Instead of panicking, Luke remained calm and rode his own pace, and this ended up being the best decision, as the group he found himself into soon caught those ahead and started to chase the three leaders. Making the catch would have always been an almost impossible task, and despite their best efforts, the trio stayed away and Wout Van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) took the victory in Kuurne, but the peloton managed to reduce the gap and conclude around one minute and a half behind them.

A big crash happened on the final corner of the race, but Luke escaped it and could show his fast turn of legs in a reduced sprint, taking an impressive seventh place and making it for the sixth year in a row that our team places a rider in the top ten at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. It was another strong result that said a lot about the potential of Lamperti – who delivered the best result for the US in 13 years at this race – after his podiums in Mallorca and Oman.

“The race was full gas and it took some 50 kilometers for the break to go. We had a moment where things were a bit quiet, then full gas again in the final 100 kilometers. I suffered and went from group one to group two, then came back to Julian’s group. We later had also Kasper there, and it was really nice to see him working for me. In the sprint, Lampy helped me with the positioning, but I went a bit early in the headwind. Despite everything, I got a top ten in my first Classic, which makes me happy, it’s a good result in the end and it makes me more confident for the next races”, said Luke at the finish.

Photo credit: ©Luc Claessen / Getty Images