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Stijn Devolder
Belgian road bicycle racer From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Stijn Devolder (born 29 August 1979) is a Belgian former professional road bicycle racer, who competed professionally for Vlaanderen–T Interim (2002–2003), Discovery Channel (2004–2007), Quick-Step (2008–2010), Vacansoleil–DCM (2011–2012), Trek–Segafredo (2013–2016), Vérandas Willems–Crelan (2017–2018) and Corendon–Circus (2019).
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Primarily a classics rider but also adept in individual time trials, Devolder took a total of eighteen victories during his professional career, including three wins in the Belgian National Road Race Championships (2007, 2010 and 2013), two wins in the Belgian National Time Trial Championships (2008 and 2010), and is one of seven riders (as of 2025) to win consecutive editions of the Tour of Flanders, winning in both 2008 and 2009.
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Career
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Junior and amateur career
Born in Kortrijk, West Flanders, Devolder won the junior Tour of Flanders in both 1996 and 1997, and the junior Belgian National Road Race Championships in 1997. He joined the under-23 development team run by Eddy Merckx in 1999, taking eight victories over three seasons – including consecutive successes at the Grand Prix de Waregem in 2000 and 2001.[1][2] Towards the end of the 2001 season, Devolder rode for the Mapei–Quick-Step team as a stagiaire,[3] forming part of a breakaway group during the GP Ouest-France.[4]
Professional career
Vlaanderen–T Interim (2002–2003)
Devolder turned professional for the 2002 season with the Vlaanderen–T Interim team.[3] In his first season with the team, Devolder finished second in the GP de Fayt-le-Franc and Zellik–Galmaarden one-day races.[5] The following year, Devolder finished third in the E3 Prijs Vlaanderen – one of the cobbled classics – having attacked as part of a three-rider move inside the final 30 kilometres (19 miles) of the race.[6]
U.S. Postal Service (2004–2007)
Devolder joined U.S. Postal Service for the 2004 season,[7] and in his second start with the team, finished third in the Tour du Haut Var from a group sprint of four riders.[8] He finished sixth in the Three Days of De Panne in the spring,[9] before taking his first professional victory at the Four Days of Dunkirk, taking a solo win on the fourth stage into Boulogne-sur-Mer.[10] The following year, he won the general classification at the Three Days of De Panne, overturning a four-second deficit to Alessandro Ballan on the final stage, a 13.7-kilometre (8.5-mile) individual time trial around De Panne.[11][12] He also contested a Grand Tour for the first time, riding for the now-renamed Discovery Channel team at the Vuelta a España.[13] Having been unable to defend his title at the Three Days of De Panne,[14] Devolder took his only victory of the 2006 season in an individual time trial stage at the Tour of Belgium – as part of a Discovery Channel 1–2–3 in Buggenhout.[15] He rode the Vuelta a España for the second year in a row, recording his best Grand Tour result with eleventh place overall, finishing just over a minute behind the top ten placings.[16]
In 2007, Devolder won the final individual time trial stage at the Three Days of De Panne, before he finished third overall at the Tour de Suisse, having advanced from seventh prior to the final stage, an individual time trial around Bern.[17] The following week, Devolder won his first senior national title as he won the Belgian National Road Race Championships in Ronse, following a 10-kilometre (6.2-mile) solo move.[18] He wore the jersey for the first time at the Tour of Austria where, after a fourth-place stage finish at the Kitzbüheler Horn on stage three,[19] Devolder took the race lead when he won the penultimate stage – a 25-kilometre (16-mile) individual time trial in Podersdorf am See – by almost a minute.[20] He ultimately won the race by more than a minute from the next closest competitor, Thomas Rohregger.[21] At the Vuelta a España, Devolder finished third on the fourth and eighth stages, moving into the race leader's jersey as a result; he ultimately ceded the lead after one day, losing five minutes to Denis Menchov on the summit finish at the Cerler ski station.[22] Devolder ultimately abandoned the race as he failed to start stage 19, having lost 27 minutes on the previous stage due to a crash.[23]
Quick-Step (2008–2010)
Devolder joined Quick-Step for the 2008 season, following the disbanding of the Discovery Channel team.[24] He took his first victories with the team at the Volta ao Algarve; he won the fourth stage individual time trial by twenty-two seconds to take the overall race lead, which he held to the finish the following day.[25][26] Moving into the cobbled classics, Devolder was expected to be a key helper for teammate Tom Boonen at the Tour of Flanders, but he attacked with 25 kilometres (16 miles) remaining and ultimately soloed to victory in Meerbeke.[27] He was designated the same role at Paris–Roubaix,[28] and he finished in seventh place as Boonen won the race.[29] Following a break from racing, Devolder won the general classification in his next start at the Tour of Belgium; he finished second to Greg Van Avermaet on stage three,[30] before winning the stage four individual time trial to take the race lead,[31] which he held to the end of the race along with the mountains classification.[32] He ran as high as fourth overall at the Tour de Suisse, before making his first start at the Tour de France,[33] where he led the Quick-Step team. Seventh overall after nine stages, Devolder cracked on stage ten and lost twelve minutes to the main general classification contenders, before abandoning on stage fifteen. Aside from a fourth-place finish at the Eneco Tour,[34] Devolder's best results over the remainder of the season came in individual time trials as he won his first Belgian National Time Trial Championships in Mouscron,[35] and he finished sixth in the time trial at the UCI Road World Championships in Italy.[36]
Having extended his contract with the team for a further two years,[37] Devolder recorded top-ten placings in the early part of the 2009 season at Dwars door Vlaanderen and E3 Prijs Vlaanderen – finishing fifth and sixth respectively – after attacking moves in both races.[38][39] He then repeated his victory at the Tour of Flanders; having bridged up to the lead group on the ascent of the Valkenberg with Boonen and Filippo Pozzato, Devolder attacked on the penultimate hill, the Muur van Geraardsbergen, and ultimately won the race in Meerbeke by approximately one minute.[40] He took no further victories over the remainder of the year, his best result being a fourth-place finish at the Belgian National Time Trial Championships in Saint-Ghislain, following a crash.[41]
Devolder won the Tour of Belgium for the second time in three years in 2010, becoming one of the joint-record holders for most wins at the time; having entered the final stage third overall and four seconds in arrears of race leader Dominique Cornu,[42] Devolder and Ben Hermans broke clear from the lead group on a hilly stage around Herstal – which included the Côte de La Redoute – with Hermans ultimately winning the stage and Devolder the general classification.[43] He then won the Belgian National Road Race Championships for the second time in June,[44] making a solo attack with 11 kilometres (6.8 miles) remaining before the finish in Leuven; he later added a second Belgian National Time Trial Championships win in August, finishing 40 seconds clear of his next closest competitor in Habay as he became the first male rider to win both national titles in the same year.[41]
Vacansoleil–DCM (2011–2012)
Devolder joined the Vacansoleil–DCM team for the 2011 season, signing a two-year contract.[45] Devolder's time at the team brought no podium finishes, with two top-ten overall placings – a seventh-place finish at the 2011 Chrono des Nations,[46] and an eighth-place finish at the 2012 Three Days of De Panne. With the team displeased at his performances, Devolder's contract was not extended beyond the end of 2012.[47]
RadioShack–Leopard (2013–2016)
Out of contract with Vacansoleil–DCM, Devolder joined RadioShack–Leopard on an initial two-year contract from the 2013 season onwards.[48] He rode in support of Fabian Cancellara in the classic cycle races, with Cancellara winning both the Tour of Flanders and Paris–Roubaix.[49] Devolder then won the Belgian National Road Race Championships for the third time in his career with a 25-kilometre (16-mile) solo attack, as he finished almost a minute clear of his rivals.[50] Following this success, Devolder signed a two-year contract extension until the end of the 2015 season, as the team evolved into Trek Factory Racing.[51]
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At the start of the 2014 season, Devolder finished fourth overall at the Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen, before he was seen to be an outsider for the Tour of Flanders, albeit riding in support of Cancellara.[52] Cancellara would go on to win the event, while Devolder crashed multiple times during the race, suffering minor injuries that would ultimately rule him out of the following weekend's Paris–Roubaix.[53][54] In 2015, Devolder finished second overall at the Three Days of De Panne; having made a front split of six riders on the opening stage – finishing third[55] – Devolder moved up to second following the withdrawal of Jens Debusschere and maintained the position to the end.[56][57] After a further one-year contract extension for 2016,[58] Devolder rode in a support role for the team and recorded no top-20 individual finishes, and was not offered a contract for the 2017 season.[59]
Final seasons (2017–2019)
Devolder signed an initial one-year contract with Vérandas Willems–Crelan for the 2017 season, dropping to UCI Professional Continental level.[60] His best result of the season came with a fourth-place result at the Rad am Ring, with his teammates Huub Duyn and Wout van Aert finishing first and second.[61] He prolonged his contract for a further year in 2018, supporting Van Aert in the classic cycle races.[62] He had been expecting to retire at the end of the year, but was offered a spot at Corendon–Circus for 2019,[63] to ride alongside Van Aert's main cyclo-cross rival Mathieu van der Poel.[64] He took no additional victories, and in November 2019, announced his retirement from the peloton.[3]
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Major results
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Perspective
Source: [65]
- 1996
- 1st Tour of Flanders Juniors
- National Junior Road Championships
- 2nd Road race
- 2nd Time trial
- 1997
- 1st
Road race, National Junior Road Championships - 1st Tour of Flanders Juniors
- 3rd Liège–La Gleize
- 1999
- Vuelta a Navarra
- 1st Stages 5 & 6
- 2nd Tour of Flanders U23
- 2000
- 1st
Overall Le Triptyque des Monts et Châteaux
- 1st Stage 2b (ITT)
- 1st Grand Prix de Waregem
- 2nd Time trial, National Under-23 Road Championships
- 4th Zesbergenprijs Harelbeke
- 2001
- 1st Zesbergenprijs Harelbeke
- 1st De Vlaamse Pijl
- 1st Grand Prix de Waregem
- 5th Time trial, National Under-23 Road Championships
- 7th GP Wielerrevue
- 2002
- 2nd GP de Fayt-le-Franc
- 2nd Zellik–Galmaarden
- 2003
- 3rd E3 Prijs Vlaanderen
- 6th GP Stad Vilvoorde
- 8th Grand Prix Pino Cerami
- 2004
- 1st Stage 4 Four Days of Dunkirk
- 3rd Tour du Haut Var
- 6th Overall Three Days of De Panne
- 2005
- 1st
Overall Three Days of De Panne - 2006
- 1st Stage 3a (ITT) Tour of Belgium
- 2nd Eindhoven Team Time Trial
- 4th Japan Cup
- 6th Halle–Ingooigem
- 8th Overall Three Days of De Panne
- 8th Overall Deutschland Tour
- 2007
- 1st Road race, National Road Championships
- 1st Overall Tour of Austria
- 1st Stage 7 (ITT)
- 1st Stage 4 (ITT) Three Days of De Panne
- 3rd Overall Tour de Suisse
- 9th Trofeo Pollença
- 2008
- 1st Time trial, National Road Championships
- 1st
Overall Tour of Belgium
- 1st
Mountains classification - 1st Stage 4 (ITT)
- 1st
- 1st Overall Volta ao Algarve
- 1st Stage 4 (ITT)
- 1st Tour of Flanders
- 4th Overall Eneco Tour
- 6th Time trial, UCI Road World Championships
- 7th Overall Circuit Franco-Belge
- 7th Paris–Roubaix
- 9th E3 Prijs Vlaanderen
- 10th Trofeo Pollença
- 2009
- 1st Tour of Flanders
- 5th Dwars door Vlaanderen
- 6th E3 Prijs Vlaanderen
- 2010
- National Road Championships
- 1st Road race
- 1st Time trial
- 1st
- 1st Overall Tour of Belgium
- 4th Halle–Ingooigem
- 2011
- 7th Chrono des Nations
- 2012
- 8th Overall Three Days of De Panne
- 2013
- 1st Road race, National Road Championships
- 8th Brabantse Pijl
- 2014
- 4th Overall Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen
- 2015
- 2nd Overall Three Days of De Panne
- 2017
- 4th Rad am Ring
Grand Tour general classification results timeline
Classics results timeline
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References
External links
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