Dries van Gestel has for many years already been showing his potential in the classics but only this weekend did he manage to grab his first win in a one-day race at the Profronde van Drenthe. The TotalEnergies had finished in the Top10 of Le Samyn and Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne already recently, and has now taken the biggest win of his career.
“The whole day went perfectly. As I was alone in the leading group, it was not necessarily up to me to ride. So I was able to keep enough energy to react to all the attacks and place a counter in the last kilometers," van Gestel said in a post-race interview.
He had made the split where Arkéa Samsic and Jumbo-Visma were working throughout the last hour of racing. Van Gestel himself made the move on the final ascent up to the VAM-berg with 14 kilometers to go which saw the group reduced to six riders which would end up fighting for the race victory. Later on, the battle was not favourable to him as Jumbo-Visma had two riders in the group and pre-race favourite Hugo Hofstetter was also present. The Dutch relied on a combination of timing and power to deliver the decisive attack with three kilometers to go and hold off the chasing group: "When I attacked, I saw that I had managed to create a gap. I looked behind me and saw that everyone was on fire. So I had to manage to keep my pace to hope to win. I had time to take advantage of the moment in the final stretch. I always felt like I could pull off a shot, but I always lacked that little something to tip the race in my favor."
"It makes me feel good to finally be able to win a race. I want to continue on this good dynamic to obtain the best result with the team and to help my leaders Peter [Saga] and Anthony [Turgis] as much as possible during the next deadlines." This week van Gestel is set to be leading the team at the GP de Denain and the Bredene Koksijde Classic, before turning his attention to the main classics block where he'll be an important piece within the TotalEnergies puzzle.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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VICTOIRE DE DRIES VAN GESTEL !!! #RondevDrenthe
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