"But the cards didn't fall well this year. Until today" - Dries de Bondt victorious on Alpecin-Deceuninck domination at Antwerp Port Epic

Dries de Bondt had last won in the 2022 Giro d'Italia, he's been seeking another big win for over a year but it hasn't been the case for the Belgian, until this Sunday's Antwerp Port Epic where he led the field in to headline a podium filled with Alpecin-Deceuninck riders.

“I do indeed think that it is really a team effort. From the background I have always been greatly supported by the men of the team," De Bondt said in a post-race interviewed. "That has ensured that I only made it to the finish. Because the barrel was actually finished.” The Belgian talked about how the tailwind in the final kilometers saved him, however if he was to be caught certainly the team would launch further attacks, as cyclocross experts Timo Kielich and Quinten Hermans sprinted to second and third in the gravel-filled race.

De Bondt talked about how Florian Vermeersch looked the strongest on course, however in pan-flat terrain and having half of the riders in a group of six it was Alpecin's race to lose. De Bondt made his move in the closing kilometers of the race and struck out, taking his first triumph of 2023, after supporting Mathieu van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen throughout the cobbled classics.

“I feel like I've been riding around at a very good level for a whole year, but I've already had some setbacks. Had a few crashes this spring when I had really good legs or a race situation that just tilted the wrong way. I'm someone for whom the cards just have to fall right for once," he concludes. "I see it happen and then know what to do. But the cards didn't fall well this year. Until today."