Visma celebrates its next super talent at Giro Next Gen: 'Going all out to defend leader's jersey'

Visma | Lease a Bike had reason to celebrate at the Giro Next Gen thanks to a brilliant Matisse Van Kerckhove. The young Belgian won stage five and also took over the pink leader's jersey. The win held extra meaning for him for one particular reason — but the switch has already flipped: he and his team will defend the lead with everything they have.

On the hilly circuit around Bacoli, Van Kerckhove cleverly slipped away from the peloton and joined the early breakaway. Lorenzo Finn closed the gap, but once again the Belgian showed his instinct with another shrewd attack. You might call it a move straight out of the old school. In the sprint, he saw off Nicolò Arrighetti, completing a remarkable double. And all of it in front of his family.

"I'm hugely happy with this win," Van Kerckhove said on his team's website. "It was an incredibly hot and tough day. As a team we rode alertly and raced actively in the finale. I had great legs and felt really strong. It's really special to win with my family there to see it. I'm going to do everything I can to defend the leader's jersey in the coming stages."

Van Kerckhove has shown himself to be one of the best young talents in the peloton in recent months. In May he won both the Flèche du Sud and the Alpes Isère Tour. But climbing like he'll have to do on Friday is new territory: after 3,450 metres of climbing, the finish sits atop the Monte Livata. The 19-year-old time triallist will therefore come under real pressure.

But first, it’s time to celebrate. “It’s a stage we’ve been talking about for weeks, and to actually win it is fantastic,” says team manager Robby Cobbaert jubilantly. “After the setbacks we’ve had this week, this feels really good. I’m incredibly proud of Matisse and the team, and we’re going to give it our all in the coming days to defend the jersey.”

In the sixth stage, Van Kerckhove will defend a 15-point lead over Matteo Vanhuffel (Picnic PostNL) and a 21-point lead over his main rivals, including U23 world champion Finn. Following Friday’s mountain stage, another grueling day lies ahead, after which the race will conclude with a time trial to L’Aquila.