Development Brilliant week for our Development Team: De Ceuster wins Vlaams-Brabant, Eeman shines in Alsace
In Vlaams-Brabant, Milan De Ceuster took a commanding overall victory after five tough stages and a decisive time trial. The team showed grit from start to finish, bouncing back from a difficult start and delivering multiple top finishes along the way. One of the highlights came in stage 3, where Mathieu Kockelmann claimed a brilliant win.
“After a bit of a bad start, the team never gave up and only gave more to get the best possible results out of this week,” said sports director Grace Verbeke. “Eventually, their hard work got paid off by multiple places of honor and even a win in stage 3 for Mathieu Kockelmann. Because of his very strong time trial and the extremely hard work done by the complete team, Milan De Ceuster managed to claim the win in the general classification. As sports director, I can not be less than proud of what our boys showed in the past week.”
De Ceuster himself highlighted the team’s unity as the key to his success: “It wasn’t an easy week for us in Ronde van Vlaams-Brabant. This overall win would not have been possible without the hard work the whole team did and I am extremely proud that we didn’t give up the fight. I am beyond thankful for all the support I got from them.”
Meanwhile, at Tour Alsace, Kamiel Eeman delivered another standout performance, finishing second overall in the general classification after five demanding stages, including a summit finish at the iconic Planche des Belles Filles. “Personally, I had an amazing week in Tour Alsace,” said Eeman. “With a well-balanced team, we strived every day for the best result possible. At Planche des Belles Filles, I had a very good day which laid the base for my second place in the General Classification. The final stage was very tough but Lorenz Vandewynkele did a perfect job and both Milan Donie and Niels Driesen were unbelievably strong in the final, helping me perfectly to maintain my position. Also a big thanks to Liam Van Bylen for positioning me so well throughout the whole week. I tried to do the same for him in the mass sprints as he is currently also doing very well and I have a lot of trust in him for the future.”
"These back-to-back results once again underline the strength and depth of our Development Team. I am very proud of all our riders for the hard work they all showed this week", says a satisfied Kurt Van De Wouwer, Sports Manager.
