Development Lotto Development Team kicks off Tour de Namur with a strong start

From the early kilometers, our riders were highly visible at the front of the race. Tars Poelvoorde and Leon Taillieu helped control the race, working alongside other teams. The decisive move came on the final climb, where the team formed a leading group of around 20 riders - five of whom wore our Lotto colors.

“It was not easy to maintain this lead, but we tried to take as much advantage as we could”, said Mauro Cuylits, who finished the job in the sprint. “I decided to start my sprint quite early, but no one could really hold on to it. It was a great day. I would also like to give a special thanks to our teammate Leon (Taillieu), who only just returned and is just riding is second race. He worked extremely hard for our team today.”

Today’s result was also a clear display of team cohesion and tactical execution. Victor Van de Putte, who crossed the line in second position, also praised the strong team effort: “It’s a real pleasure to start off the Tour de Namur like this. I worked hard towards this stage race and it gives me a lot of satisfaction to see that it already paid off today. We decided to play Mauro’s card since he is in a winning mood and he showed himself once again. Sprinting to a one-two finish and Aldo also sprinting to a strongly deserved fourth place after such hard work feels fantastic, especially after the hard work done by the team today and for delivering us perfectly at the last climb.”

With such a powerful opening statement, our team heads into the second stage with confidence. On the menu for tomorrow is a 141 kilometer long stage between Mettet and Jemeppe-Sur-Sambre. 

Photo: Alexis Dancerelle