Strong performance by grenke - Auto Eder at the Belgian stage race Guido Reybrouck Classic: On the second stage, Michiel Mouris claimed the stage win ahead of his teammate Gijs Schoonvelde. In the overall standings, Mouris and Schoonvelde finished second and third, with grenke - Auto Eder also taking the team classification.
This weekend, grenke - Auto Eder kicked off their season with the Guido Reybrouck Classic. The two-day stage race in the province of West Flanders featured an individual time trial (11.4 kilometers) and a road race (119 kilometers). The grenke - Auto Eder riders already showed in the opening time trial that their winter training had paid off: three riders finished in the top seven, with newcomer Michiel Mouris (Netherlands), the reigning junior European time trial champion, leading the team in fourth place.
In the following road race, the junior squad of the WorldTeam Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe showed their usual attacking spirit, with Mouris and later Gijs Schoonvelde (also from the Netherlands) successfully breaking away from the peloton. Both riders became part of a seven-man lead group that decided the race — with the perfect outcome: in the final sprint, Mouris took the win ahead of his teammate, giving grenke - Auto Eder a one-two finish. In the overall classification of the two-day stage race, Mouris and Schoonvelde finished second and third, and grenke - Auto Eder also claimed the team classification.
“That was pure team effort. The guys stuck to the plan on the cobbled sections and really gave it their all. In the finale, they stayed calm and made that one-two finish happen,” said Sports Director Pello Olaberria. “I could already tell during our last training camp in Spain that the team was in great shape. So it’s even nicer to see them kick off the season with such a good result. It gives the entire squad a big push as we head toward our next major target: Paris-Roubaix,” he added. The junior Paris-Roubaix takes place on April 13.
Photo: Flavio Moretti Photography