Kasper Asgreen dedicates victory to the soon to be retired Dries Devenyns: "I saw how emotional he got with my win. This one is for him too"

Soudal - Quick-Step have finally secured their stage win at the 2023 Tour de France with Kasper Asgreen holding off the peloton to take a breakaway victory on stage 18.

"I had hoped to be in the early breakaway with seven or eight riders. But it remains the last week of the Tour de France. We've had a very tough few weeks. It sometimes happens that a small group can surprise the sprinter teams. So I've always seen it as a possibility," said Asgreen in his post-stage interview.

Alongside Pascal Eenkhoorn, Jonas Abrahamsen and Victor Campanaerts, the quarter fought with all their might to hold off the raging peloton. “It was actually a kind of team time trial. I couldn't have won without the other three guys up front," he says. " Jonas, Victor and Pascal all rode fantastically and I think all four of us deserved the win. We've all worked so hard for it. I'm happy that I finally took the win."

"To then take the win here is great. I want to dedicate this victory to everyone who has helped me over the past year," especially dedicating the win to his soon-to-be-retired teammate, Dries Devenyns. "I also want to dedicate the victory to Dries. It is his last Tour in his last season. I saw how emotional he got with my win. This one is for him too."