Double celebration for Visma | Lease a Bike at Eneco Tour, but Campenaerts has important reason to get home fast

For Campenaerts, it was his first victory in a general classification. “I have to say I’m very proud of it,” he said in the flash interview. “I came to Visma | Lease a Bike with the goal of being a 100 percent team rider, and I still am. But I never expected that one of the best teams in the world would give 100 percent for me—that’s an incredible honor. It gives me a lot of confidence.”

The fact that he received help from riders he normally has to help himself meant a lot to him. “I was confident we could pull it off today. A few days ago, Edoardo told me, ‘My legs aren’t feeling their best.’ But even today, he rode incredibly fast—he was on the attack right from kilometre zero.” Christophe Laporte also said, “No, no, we’re doing everything for the general classification. This crazy sprint is for Merlier. I’m here to help you.” That’s special.”

Visma | Lease a Bike and Campenaerts will certainly be celebrating for a while yet. But the Belgian time trialist has other priorities. “We’ll have a nice moment by the team bus, but the other riders will be heading home now. And I’m also going back to Belgium as soon as possible.” His girlfriend is heavily pregnant and about to give birth.

For Nooijen, it was the crowning achievement of an outstanding season, which included a third-place finish in Dwars door Vlaanderen, a second-place finish in the time trial at the Tour de France, and the national road title. Thanks to her victories in the prologue and the subsequent time trial, the sprinter’s overall victory was never really in jeopardy during the more challenging stages.

"I'm really happy that I was able to secure this victory," she said after the final stage. She, too, could count on a rock-solid team. “We controlled the race and were at the front the entire time. We had everything under control and did a great job. SD Worx-Protime gave it their all—they made it tough—but we were very strong as a team.”

And now, just like for Campenaerts, Nooijen and the team will have a brief celebration. “We’re going to celebrate on the bus first, then we’ll all head home. But it’s definitely nice to celebrate together. This victory means a lot not only to me, but also to the team. I’m glad we were able to share this victory together.”