The Belgian is looking forward to racing for our development squad next year
The newest member of the Soudal – Quick-Step Development Team is William Junior Lecerf. The 19-year-old got his cycling genes from his father and started in the sport at the age of seven. In those years, he had his eyes on mountain biking, after which he combined cyclo-cross and road – and that helped him develop his bike skills – but after making the transition to U23 he focused entirely on the road.
Lecerf, who hails from Kluisbergen, enjoyed a solid 2022 season, taking an impressive fourth place overall at an incredibly tough edition of the Girobio and a top 10 in the U23 version of Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Having put in several strong displays in the mountains, William Junior is excited to join the Devo Team next year: “I’m really happy, I always looked up to Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl as one of the best teams in the world. Now I will join their Development Team, which is a great step in my career. Everything will be organised in the best way possible there and I’m really looking forward to it.”
“Tour de l’Avenir was another race, after the Giro, where I did well”, Lecerf continued. “We won with the Belgian national team and I also had the white jersey for one day. This is the biggest race in the U23 category and I’m happy I could play a role there. A crash cost me a good general classification, but in the last stages I could climb with the best in the GC and I did some work for the team, so overall I had a good outing.”
“Next year I hope to become a bit stronger and to make another step. I would like to be up there more in the fight for victory. This season was already good, but of course I want to continue my development. I want to play a role in the big races and grow as a climber. My biggest dream would be to win a stage in a Grand Tour one day. I don’t know yet if I’m complete enough to play a role in the general classification, but I can recover well and that’s important in stage races or Grand Tours. I know I still have some work to do to become better in time trials, but we have top material from Specialized in the Devo Team so I’m looking forward to having the opportunity to experience that.”
Manager Bart Roosens is delighted to welcome William Junior in the team: “It’s been two years since I’ve been following Junior Lecerf. He is one of the best Belgian climbers and still has a lot of possibilities to grow as a rider. I’m certain he will show beautiful things again next year and we will support him in the best way possible and try to take another step together.”
Photo credit: ©DirectVelo / Freddy Guérin