Tour of Leuven - Memorial Jef Scherens

Soudal Quick-Step in the thick of the action in Leuven

Soudal Quick-Step went at the start of the Tour of Leuven with a young seven-man squad, comprising three neo-pros and three other riders who are racing for our devo team this season, but that didn’t stop the Wolfpack from being one of the most active teams.

On a course featuring dozens of climbs, young Belgian Gil Gelders showed our colours early, joining a strong counterattack group that set off in pursuit of the breakaway, which they got and dropped before the penultimate lap. Gil was incredibly strong in this group, taking some long pulls at the front helping the eight-man move establish a 50-second gap over the peloton. When a first selection happened there, he quickly responded and joined the three men that rode clear, but when more attacks came, despite his best efforts, he got distanced and eventually overhauled by the bunch.

Our team did their best, together with other squads, to bring back the two leaders of the race, but they ran out of road in the end and Markus Hoelgaard (Uno-X Mobility) claimed the victory. Luke Lamperti showed his fast turn of legs, sprinting to sixth from the bunch that came home twenty seconds later – a result that underlines the American’s potential in one-day races.

 

Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images