"Follow and trust my sprint" – William Junior Lecerf stuns Cian Uijtdebroeks to take Czech Tour lead

On a brutal mountain finish at Dlouhé stráně, it was Soudal - Quick-Step’s William Junior Lecerf who timed his effort to perfection, outsprinting Cian Uijtdebroeks and Alessandro Fancellu, and seizing both the stage win and the overall lead on stage 2 of the 2025 Czech Tour.

The 13km uphill finale, tacked onto an otherwise flat 150km parcours, was expected to reshape the general classification — and it delivered. Team Visma | Lease a Bike's Uijtdebroeks did the lion’s share of the damage on the final climb, shelling most of the field and stringing out the GC contenders. But it was Lecerf who played his cards with ruthless efficiency. “It feels amazing!” Lecerf said at the finish in comments released via a post on his team's official website. “I work hard and I’m happy I got rewarded for this. I want to thank the team for controlling the stage. Once the climb started, the tactic was to just follow and trust my sprint.”

The approach worked to perfection. Uijtdebroeks was aggressive, launching multiple moves, but Lecerf remained glued to the wheel. “It helped that I knew the finish from a couple of years ago,” he explained. “I timed my acceleration well there; once I got a gap, I didn’t hesitate and just kept going.”

It marked another strong showing for Soudal - Quick-Step in the Czech Tour, with the team now two for two in terms of stage wins. “It’s been a great race for us so far,” said Lecerf. “On Saturday, we’ll try to help Luke Lamperti again, while on Sunday, we’ll just do our best again for a good result in the GC.”

Whether he can hold off Uijtdebroeks, Fancellu and co on the final day remains to be seen — but for now, William Junior Lecerf is the rider with the momentum, and a leader’s jersey to prove it.