The stage and two jerseys – overall and points – for the young American.
Soudal Quick-Step got off to a perfect start at the 16th Czech Tour, as Luke Lamperti powered to victory on the opening day, which finished in Karlovy Vary – the famous spa city named after Holy Roman Emperor Charles lV. Just like last year, Luke took the honours on the first day, thanks to a superb work of his teammates and an astonishing sprint in the final 200 meters, that left everyone else fighting for the minor places on the podium.
As soon as the peloton left behind Prague, the country’s capital, Soudal Quick-Step took over the reins in the peloton, setting the tempo and keeping the six-man breakaway’s gap in check with the likes of Josef Cerny, James Knox and Pepijn Reinderink. Thanks to this effort, the last member of the leading group was brought back four kilometers from the finish, giving plenty of time to Yves Lampaert and Dries Van Gestel to bring Luke Lamperti in position.
The duo provided a masterful lead-out, including in the tricky corner they had to navigate inside the final kilometer of the stage, dropping Luke off with 200 meters to go. The 22-year-old from California then opened up the sprint and hit a blistering speed that quickly helped him put several bike lengths into the others and take a comfortable victory – his first of the season – which came with the extra bonus of a day in the yellow jersey.
“It’s nice to get the win after all the work the team did today and I’m happy I could get my first victory of the year here, in a race where I have some nice memories. It was really warm all day, but we managed to overcome it with a lot of drinks and ice. In the sprint, the guys were just fantastic, and left me in a position from where I couldn’t miss. It feels good to be on the top step of the podium and on Saturday we’ll try to go for another sprint, but until then, we will do our best to support Junior”, said Luke, the first rider from outside of Europe to have won multiple stages at the Czech Tour.
Photo credit: ©Czech Tour
