Stan van Tricht takes first pro win after "difficult season": "I knew I’d be the fastest"

For a long time, it looked like the 2024 Coppa Bernocchi would go to Bart Lemmen (Visma | Lease a Bike), but in the end, Stan van Tricht came through like a jack-in-the-box. The Belgian riding for Alpecin-Deceuninck outsmarted the remaining breakaway riders in Legnano, capturing his very first pro victory. Van Tricht, who currently doesn’t have a contract for 2025, was thrilled with the win.

"I’ve been riding with good legs these past few weeks," said the 25-year-old Belgian in a flash interview. "I've had a difficult season, but today I managed to race the perfect race. I did that by joining the early breakaway." The Alpecin rider set out very early with four other breakaway riders, spending nearly the entire day at the front.

"I decided right from the start to race up front since several strong teams were looking to attack. Once I was in that strong lead group, I realized we had a good chance to go far." Yet, at one point, it didn't seem like Van Tricht would come out on top. Lemmen went solo with just over 30 kilometers to go but ultimately fell short by a kilometer.

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Van Tricht "knew he’d be the fastest" and immediately reacted to Powless

"In the final stretch, it was important to race smart and hopefully sprint for the win," Van Tricht continued. And that's exactly what happened: a group of seven riders contested the sprint to decide the winner of the 2024 Coppa Bernocchi. "I knew I'd be the fastest, but you always have to watch out for riders coming from behind. I decided to focus on Roger Adrià but then saw Neilson Powless launching his sprint. That's when I knew: I had to react right away." The Belgian surged to his very first pro victory in Italy.

He had come close to victory several times before. Last year, he finished second at Dwars door het Hageland, narrowly beaten in the sprint by Rasmus Tiller. In August, Arnaud De Lie overpowered him in the Tour of Leuven. With this win, Van Tricht hopes to have caught some attention, as he's still seeking a contract for the coming year.