It’s common to see Luke Lamperti at the front of the pack in a sprint, but his efforts are typically as a lead-out for a sprint specialist. Now in his sixth year in the pro peloton, the 23-year-old confirmed he would still avoid a reference as a ‘pure sprinter’ and instead just be satisfied with the distinction as a WorldTour winner.
After 3 hours, 45 minutes of racing on the 171.2km opening stage at Paris-Nice, the young US rider held off a charging peloton in the closing seconds to win his first race at the top level. It was also the first victory of the season for his new team EF Education-EasyPost.
“It’s my first win with the team and a nice way to start,” Lamperti told organisers and broadcasters after the finish. “To have the jersey and wear the yellow jersey will be super special. It’s my first WorldTour win, my first time wearing a WorldTour yellow Jersey, so a lot of firsts this week but it will be nothing but nice.
“It’s no secret that the team has been struggling, we had a rough start to the year, but we always knew it would come. It’s still early and to get victory here is super nice. The team rode full all day, we committed, and it paid off. We’ve been knocking on the door, but to get the job done is super special.”
“It was a long sprint,” Marijn said in a team statement. “I am really happy that Luke finished it. It was really hectic. We just tried to stay together because a lot of crashes can happen in those situations. We did that really well and then the positioning was done before the corner.
“I think I went a bit too early, but luckily I had legs to keep going.”
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