Two wins on the same day for The Wolfpack.
One hour after Soudal Quick-Step celebrated its 40th success of the season in Slovakia, Ethan Hayter added another win to this impressive tally, on the penultimate stage of the Tour de Luxembourg. It was a well-deserved victory for the Brit – just two days after he celebrated his 27th birthday – in what was his first outing in the ITT National Champion jersey that he won at the end of June.
Held around Niederanven, over a 26.3km course featuring a couple of testing uphill sections, the stage 4 time trial was a demanding one, especially in the second part, where the headwind only complicated matters. This didn’t seem to bother Hayter, who made the difference in the last twelve kilometers of the race after already setting the fastest time at the first checkpoint.
Ethan stopped the clock in 30:38 after blitzing the course at a spectacular 51.5km/h average speed and won comfortably, almost half a minute ahead of new GC leader Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates). For Hayter, who’s in his first season with Soudal Quick-Step, this was his third success of the year, following the ones he took at the Belgium Tour and the National Championships.
“I’m really happy, as it wasn’t the easiest time trials in my career. I pushed a hard tempo, and maybe it took a bit until I found my rhythm, but I then managed to sustain it and tried to give everything I had each time the road went up. I’m delighted not just with this win, but also with the fact Soudal Quick-Step kept believing in me, and I could repay them for this. I love time trials and I’m happy to show again what I’m capable of in this type of races”, a smiling Ethan said after the podium ceremony in Luxembourg.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
