Soudal Quick-Step Pro Cycling Team
Soudal Quick-Step Devo’s 20-year-old finished fifth overall after another strong display on the last stage of the race, which concluded on the long climb to Lago Serrù.
Victorious in three stage races this season, including the prestigious Giro della Valle d’Aosta, the South American climber found himself several minutes down and well outside the top ten after being involved in a crash on the opening day, but enjoyed a fantastic surge in the rankings once the race hit the mountains.
In his element on the climbs, Henrique racked up a string of solid top ten finishes on the three summit consecutive finishes of the Tour de L’Avenir, including on the grueling last day, where his resilience and fighting spirit helped him move up two places in the standings just as one of the hardest editions in recent memory concluded.
Top five, Brazil’s best ever result at the French race which has launched so many careers over the years, confirmed again Bravo’s talent and fantastic potential, which he has showcased multiple times since joining our feeder squad.
To finish in the top five at my first participation it’s a good result, I’m happy I could do that for my team and my country.
“It wasn’t a great start for us, losing two riders and a couple of minutes in the first few days. Then Said came close to victory, only for the peloton to catch him close to the finish. Things turned around eventually, and we had some good days. Jasper went in the break and took a solid second, while I continued my upward trajectory and proved that I was one of the best climbers in the race. I’m happy with the performance of the whole team, we had a solid week, we kept fighting and showed a real Wolfpack mentality”, said after the final stage of the race Henrique, who was joined in the top ten by his teammate Jasper Schoofs.
Photo credit: ©Wout Beel