{"id":1814829,"date":"2026-03-08T14:36:32","date_gmt":"2026-03-08T11:36:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1814829"},"modified":"2026-03-08T14:36:32","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T11:36:32","slug":"first-of-many-luke-lampertis-stomping-paris-nice-win-could-just-be-the-start","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1814829","title":{"rendered":"First of Many? Luke Lamperti\u2019s Stomping Paris-Nice Win Could Just Be the Start"},"content":{"rendered":"
He was once compared to Tom Boonen by veteran Soudal Quick-Step boss Patrick Lefevere, at least in terms of career direction, and now Luke Lamperti is starting to really deliver on his talent.<\/p>\n
On Sunday the 23 year old Californian registered the biggest win of his career when he seized the opening stage of Paris-Nice and, with it, the first yellow jersey.<\/p>\n
Lamperti uncorked a superb final sprint, kicking for home with just over 200 meters to go and holding off all of his sprint rivals. Former Tour de France green jersey Biniam Girmay (NSN Pro Cycling) looked the most dangerous of those but got himself trapped up against the barriers and was unable to fully launch his sprint.<\/p>\n
At a glance it looked like Lamperti might have drifted slightly right to impede Girmay but, as the overhead shot showed, the barriers were not actually in a straight line and protruded slightly into the roadway at precisely the point where Girmay had to back off.<\/p>\n
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Lamperti was fully legal in his sprint and the victory was his. It was a huge moment for him, his biggest success to date. It also represented the first win of the season for his EF Education-EasyPost team.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it is super special,\u201d he said. \u201cI think it is no secret that the team has been struggling, we had a rough start to the year, But you always know it will come. It is still early and to get a victory here is super nice.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe came here [psyched], the team rode full all day. We committed and it paid off. We have been knocking on the door but to actually get the job done is super special.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is also my first victory with the team, and a nice way to start.\u201d<\/p>\n
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New team, new momentum<\/h2>\nLuke Lamperti is in the colors of EF Education \u2013 EasyPost this year (Photo: Billy Ceusters\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Lamperti highlighted his talent back in 2021 when he won the US national criterium championship at just 18 years of age. He defended that title the following two seasons, while in 2024, his first season with Soudal Quick-Step, he had number of top 7 finishes in one day events as well as fourth overall in the Deutschland Tour.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think a lot about what kind of rider I am,\u201d Lamperti told Velo and others in January of that year.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like I am more of a sprinter, but I do enjoy the classics. I wouldn\u2019t say I have the pure big power of the sprinters, so maybe the classics might suit me more in the future. We\u2019ll find out more this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Last season was quieter but a fresh start with EF Education EasyPost is already showing real promise. Third on the opening stage of the Tour de la Provence was solid, and so too ninth in Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne and tenth in Omloop Nieuwsblad.<\/p>\n
Indeed the latter two results will further his feelings about what kind of rider he really is.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not a pure sprinter. I\u2019m more of a Classics rider,\u201d he said. \u201cBut the climbs today before the finish made it super hard and there were less sprinters.\u201d<\/p>\n
That helped his chances, and so too fine work by his teammates.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a bit hectic before the final corner and we had to go really long,\u201d he said, underlining that leadout man Marijn van den Berg launched very early.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe went from far but luckily he was super strong,\u201d he said. \u201cHe did maybe 350 meters himself to deliver me just for the last 200. So in the end I just had to do the final few meters on my own.<\/p>\n
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\u201cMarijn was great. It was an incredible lead-out. We are quite similar. To have his belief and full commitment was super nice.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt takes a lot of things to win in cycling. Everything has to go right, and I think it was the case today.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018To wear yellow will be super special\u2019<\/h2>\nLuke Lamperti takes stage 1 of Paris-Nice (Photo: Anne-Christine Poujoulat \/ AFP)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Until Sunday, EF Education-EasyPost and Picnic PostNL were the only two men\u2019s WorldTour teams without a win this year.<\/p>\n
Lamperti\u2019s success has reduced that list to just Picnic PostNL and, unsurprisingly, led to an elated social media post from team boss Jonathan Vaughters.<\/p>\n\n
Vaughters was glowing about Lamperti when he and the team announced his signing back in November.<\/p>\n
\u201cI could see him winning a race like Gent Wevelgem,\u201d Vaughters said then. \u201cIf you really want to dream: Milano-San Remo. Luke is good in highly technical, highly tactical races.\u201d<\/p>\n
That may be more a long-term possibility but, as he proved Sunday, he\u2019s already ready to win big.<\/p>\n
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Clocking up this success boosts confidence and should make the next big result easier to come by.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know I have been going well and to actually get a win and get the momentum rolling, especially as a sprinter, is really important,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me it is the biggest win I have had in my career. It will be great for the rest of the season and, before, the Classics.\u201d<\/p>\n
More immediately, he will have the chance to ride as race leader on Monday\u2019s stage two. That will be something to really savor.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo have the jersey tomorrow, to wear the yellow jersey, will be super special,\u201d he smiled. \u201cMy first WorldTour win, my first time wearing a WorldTour yellow jersey so a lot of firsts this week. It will be nothing but nice.\u201d<\/p>\n
The stage to Montargis is undulating with a trio of category 3 climbs, but has less altitude meters than Sunday\u2019s. It concludes with a flat run in to the finish.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWhen you have a jersey, you want to honour it. Tomorrow is also quite an okay stage for me on paper,\u201d Lamperti said. \u201cI want to hold the jersey and then we have a strong group for the TTT [on Tuesday], although it\u2019s difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n
A pattern of recent US successes<\/h2>\nEF Education \u2013 EasyPost\u2019s US rider Luke Lamperti celebrates his green jersey of best sprinter after the 1st stage of Paris-Nice (Photo: Anne-Christine Poujoulat \/ AFP)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
What will drive him on is his pride in doing well in such a big event. He can also draw encouragement from his countrymen, who have ridden strongly in Paris-Nice.<\/p>\n
\u201cMatteo [Jorgenson] has won the last few years and [Magnus] Sheffield has won a stage,\u201d he said. \u201cSo maybe it\u2019s good luck for the Americans here!<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a big race so to add a victory here is super nice for the palmares.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-2265432033.jpg”] Shane Stokes Published March 8, 2026 02:36PM He was once compared to Tom Boonen by veteran Soudal Quick-Step boss Patrick Lefevere, at least in terms of career direction, and now Luke Lamperti is starting to really deliver on his talent. On Sunday the 23 year old Californian registered the biggest win of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,71],"class_list":["post-1814829","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-velo-outsideonline-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1814829","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1814829"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1814829\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1814829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1814829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1814829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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