A Deceuninck – Quick-Step rider has won the award each year since 2012.
For the third year in a row, Tim Declercq was named Best Domestique of the peloton in the Kristallen Fiets survey, receiving the award from teammate and friend Yves Lampaert and joining Iljo Keisse as the only two riders to have won the prestigious trophy on three occasions.
Last season, his fourth with Deceuninck – Quick-Step, Tim impressed again with the amazing workload he put in on countless occasions, shining in both one-day races and the Tour de France. At the latter, the 31-year-old played a vital role in the team’s hat-trick of stage wins and Sam Bennett’s resounding victory in the points jersey classification, spending a total of over 1000 kilometers at the head of the bunch.
“It is a great honour for me to be awarded the Kristallen Fiets trophy again, especially in such an unusual year. It was a season of two halves, with the interruptions meaning that the conditions of races changed but I just tried to focus and keep doing what I do for the guys around me. The year had started well for me, with the team doing well in Valencia and Algarve, but then after Paris-Nice the season stopped. I was lucky that I could still train outdoors in the lockdown and I tried to look after my condition and stay strong as best as I could.”
“Then in August, when racing started again, it was all about preparing for the Tour de France. What we did as a team there, with Julian in yellow for several days and Sam winning the green jersey competition, was really special. His victory in Paris and how we rode as a team was something I will never forget”, said the always-smiling Belgian, who concluded the season by taking a solid second at Driedaagse Brugge-De Panne, behind Yves Lampaert, for his first ever World Tour podium.
Tim, who made it nine years in a row that a Deceuninck – Quick-Step rider has won the Kristallen Fiets Best Domestique Prize, continued: “I would like to thank the whole team for their support throughout the year. A lot of people comment on how much work I do on the front, but it takes a special team to convert that into something meaningful. I am lucky that I am in a squad that try every day to do something special and it is nice to have my part in that recognised but it is only possible to because of the guys around me, not only the riders, but also Patrick, the team management and all of the staff that make this team so special.”
Photo credit: ©Luc Claessen / Getty Images
