Victor Campenaerts back at the top step at Tour of Leuven after he was "confident I had a chance"

Victor Campenaerts was crowned the winner of this year's Tour of Leuven, his first win in over an year, a very important one for both him and Lotto Soudal as the final third of the season has it's first set of one-day races.

“I am very happy with this win. I had indicated this course in advance, I really wanted to be good here. I think it's a fantastic course and I know it very well, I've lived in the area for a long time," Campenaerts said in a post-race interview. Lotto Soudal came with a strong team to the Belgian classic, with Arnaud de Lie in the helm, but several riders capable of attacking the race. Sure enough Campenaerts followed the crucial move of Zdenek Stybar inside the final 25 kilometers and had a chance to take the win.

“We were very motivated today. We were in control all day. I was confident I had a chance, but Styby was basically the faster man," he explained. However the final sprint saw the story unwrap in a different way, as Campenaerts sprinted to his first win since the 2021 Giro d'Italia. 

Even though Lotto Soudal is in urgent need of UCI points, to which today's win was extremely important, the Belgian still concluded stating that the team was not seeking them today, but instead focused on the win solely: “We are not racing for the points. Of course, if they come, they are a welcome bonus.”