Soudal Quick-Step Dominates Okolo Slovenska with Rémi Cavagna’s Victory

Rémi Cavagna of Soudal Quick-Step emerged as the champion of Okolo Slovenska, adding to the team’s impressive dominance in the event in recent years. Cavagna’s victory marks the fifth time in the last six years that a rider from the team has secured the win in Slovakia. Previous winners include Julian Alaphilippe, Yves Lampaert, Jannik Steimle, and Josef Cerny.

Cavagna’s success was built on his strong time trial performance on the opening day and the collective strength of his team. His solo victory in Kosice gave him a comfortable margin that allowed him to defend his lead throughout the race. Supported by his Soudal Quick-Step teammates, Cavagna secured the overall victory in Puchov, where the 67th edition of the race concluded.

Reflecting on his win, Cavagna expressed his delight and gratitude towards his team: “Winning a race is never easy, so to pull it off here with the help of this incredible squad and take my first GC victory feels really special. Taking the opening stage gave us a lot of confidence, and from that moment on, we just kept going. We had a superb week in the country of our sponsor, Janom, and I am delighted with this overall triumph and with our clean sweep.”

In the final stage, Soudal Quick-Step continued to impress as Kasper Asgreen claimed victory with a well-timed move in the last kilometer. Asgreen seized the opportunity in the technical finale and crossed the finish line a few seconds ahead of his competitors. The podium in Puchov was completed by Bert Van Lerberghe and Tim Merlier. Merlier’s performance secured him the points classification.

Asgreen spoke about the team’s success in Slovakia, saying, “We had the numbers in the finale, and when I rounded the final corner, Bert told me to go. We talked about it beforehand, but it was up to Bert and Tim to make the decision, and once I got the green light, I pushed without looking back. It’s been an amazing week here in Slovakia, five out of five stages is something we couldn’t have even dreamed about, so we are very happy, and personally, I’m glad I got to do this beautiful race.”

Soudal Quick-Step’s dominance was further highlighted by winning the team classification in addition to the individual achievements of Cavagna and Asgreen.