1st pro win at age 31 - Louis Vervaeke over the moon with emotional victory in Oman
Cycling
Louis Vervaeke is a selfless domestique with Soudal - Quick-Step and over the years has supported the team's climbers to success - most recently being a right-hand man for Remco Evenepoel. Today he got his opportunity and he grabbed it with both hands, to win for the first time as a professional rider at age 31 after succeeding in a Tour of Oman breakaway.
“At the front we worked well together and I want to give a shout-out to Mikel Azparren, he was really strong and put in a strong effort as we joined the breakaway," Vervaeke said in a post-race interview. "It’s great to get a 1-2 with the team, especially as we came here to win a stage and we’re delighted to now have it".
The Belgian was part of the day's breakaway, which managed to hold off the peloton. More specifically, Vervaeke did, as he dropped his breakaway companions in the final climbs of the day and rode the final 10 kilometers by himself. The peloton was hot in his tracks, even spotting him finally in the finishing straight, but a goliath effort saw Vervaeke hold on by a few seconds and take his first pro win in the Yitti Hills.
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“It’s such a beautiful day for me, it feels incredible to take my first win as a pro. I came close several times in the past, and to finally pull it off makes me very proud," he admits. "In the final ten kilometers of the stage I was empty, but I kept thinking of my family and found the power to press on and give my best. That’s why I pointed to the tattoo on my right arm when crossing the line, because being a rider means a lot of sacrifice, from both yourself and your family.”
It's an emotional win for the rider who turned pro in 2014, which also rewards him with the race lead into tomorrow's hilly stage. He has his moment in the spotlight and will have more tomorrow, but the main focus remains in his teammates who can fight for the overall win by the end of the week. "From tomorrow, we’ll focus on the general classification with Valentin [Paret-Peintre] and Mauri [Vansevenant]," he concluded.
The #TourofOman red jersey for @LouisVervaeke ✌️ pic.twitter.com/q4ZxRy8Gm2
— Soudal Quick-Step Pro Cycling Team (@soudalquickstep) February 9, 2025
It's always fantastic to see the hard workers get their chance to go for the glory. Chapeau to Louis Vervaeke on a well earned win.
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- agreed. flanders is a beast. i like tadej, but i’m full on rooting for mathieu next sunday.OCexile29-03-2025
- Indeed, strong as ever on the flat, maybe stronger on climbs. There are very few records within reach for contemporary riders (Cabendish had to extend his career to get his and took twice as long as Merckx to equality), this would be one that would be very hard to take away.Mistermaumau29-03-2025
- I thought newspeak was condensing any statement into the smallest number of pertinent words.Mistermaumau29-03-2025
- flanders is mvdp’s favorite race and he’s one win away from being the lone record holder with 4 wins. i’d be very surprised if the gap that pogačar opened in him there 2 years ago wasn’t THE major focus of all his training. and when mathieu has a goal, he turns himself inside out to achieve it. we’ll see next week if he got there, but i’d agree with van avermat’s assessment of van der poel’s fitness.OCexile29-03-2025
- It’s almost like newspeak. It’s classics season, Pogacar’s main rival has always been van der Poel. Then grand tour season will begin, and we will pivot mid sentence and Pogacar’s main rival will have always been Vingegaard. What a season this promises to be. Let’s hope they stay healthy (and Vingegaard gets past the concussion).RidesHills29-03-2025
- Great that he’s decided to do Flanders though his weight remark is irrelevant, Mads is proportionately heavier and MVDP has the same weight but is around 10cm shorter.Mistermaumau29-03-2025
- Yeah, looks slow up there.Jumpyjohn28-03-2025
- lol His aim was well off! MVP was well past him before the guy decided to spit.Cyclingsbestfan28-03-2025
- But you know that’s what makes this website live ;-)Mistermaumau28-03-2025
- I hope he stays upright too and I hope that in this years Paris Roubaix we get a proper good old fashioned man against man race. Can't wait!Cyclingsbestfan28-03-2025