O Gran Camino

Viktor Soenens concluded the fourth O Gran Camiño as one of the race’s breakthrough riders, after finishing eighth on the general classification of this hard edition that came to an end in the beautiful city of Santiago de Compostela.

A member of the Soudal Quick-Step Devo Team, which in the past two years has racked close to 50 victories, Viktor came to the start on Wednesday without any expectations, but ended up turning heads with these results and his combative way of racing, which propelled him to a top ten on the toughest stage of the week, a result followed by another strong outing and multiple valiant attacks just twenty-four hours later, during Sunday’s stage.

At just 19 years of age, the Belgian was the youngest rider to finish in the first ten on the overall standings of O Gran Camiño, which meant the white jersey – that he proudly displayed on the white gravel roads that spiced up the final day of the competition – remained firmly on his shoulders after the fifth stage, which teammate Thomas Pesenti concluded in tenth place.

“I’m delighted with this result, because it’s a dream come true to achieve this in my first pro race from a field comprising so many strong riders. I wanted to keep the jersey, so I did my best again today with the support of a great team to whom I want to say a big thank you. It was great to race with the Soudal Quick-Step squad this week, and I’m glad I could repay them for all their hard work with these results. I will now continue to work hard for the next goals and hopefully this is only the beginning of a strong season”, said a happy Viktor, who was joined on the general classification top ten by Mauri Vansevenant.

Photo credit: ©Sprint Cycling