The Quick-Step Floors team comprised of Kasper Asgreen, Philippe Gilbert, Alvaro Hodeg, Yves Lampaert and Enric Mas produced a perfect performance on the 37.2km-long Hammer Chase, the final race of the Hammer Limburg, where the team – who also relied on Davide Martinelli and Jhonatan Narvaez throughout the weekend – reigned supreme.

Quick-Step Floors had solid displays on both the Hammer Sprint and Hammer Climb, where they were repaid with two podiums (third and second, respectively), and the team were the first squad from the Finalist Group to start the team time trial.

In a discipline where they have enjoyed much success, winning three World Championships, the quintet rode smoothly on Sunday afternoon, powering around the course, trading pulls at the front and ensuring the gap over the next squad didn’t go at any point under the 50-second mark.

With two kilometres to go, it became clear Quick-Step Floors would take the overall glory at the second edition of Hammer Limburg and as soon as they passed under the flamme rouge, their riders started celebrating and congratulating each other on the overall win, before eventually stopping the clock in 40:17, more than half a minute clear of Mitchelton-Scott and LottoNL-Jumbo, who rounded out the podium.

Photo: Luc Claessen/Getty Images

“Winning the Hammer Limburg feels nice, because this is a spectacular concept, with three really intense days,” Philippe Gilbert said as he prepared to go on the podium with his teammates to collect the trophy. “Today’s plan was to start safely and bring all five riders across the line on the same time, so we began by setting a steady pace before speeding up.”

“We did a great job on the previous days, being at the front every time and covering all the moves, and we knew that today we were in pole position to take the honors, so getting the job done at the end of the day makes us happy and gives us confidence for the next races.”

The Hammer Series will conclude in Hong Kong, on October 14th, where the season-long general classification will be decided.

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