Luke Lamperti Gears Up for Giro d’Italia Debut
At 21 years old, Luke Lamperti is one of the younger riders in the WorldTour peloton. The new Soudal Quick-Step racer has already racked up some impressive podiums and palmares in his short time in the sport, including a second in the points competition at the Tour of Oman this year. And now, he’ll have a chance to do what only a handful of American racers have done: Be on the start line of a Grand Tour race next weekend for the Giro d’Italia.
Soudal Quick-Step announced that Lamperti would be part of the squad selected for the Italian race. Other riders include team leaders Julian Alaphilippe and Tim Merlier, along with Josef Černý, Jan Hirt, Peter Serry, Bert Van Lerberghe, and fellow Under-23 racer Mauri Vansevenant.
Prior to joining Soudal Quick-Step, Lamperti raced for two seasons with Trinity Racing, a multi-discipline development team based in the UK. Trinity has fielded an impressive number of top results, and riders have gone on to join WorldTour level teams, including American mountain biker and recent World Cup winner Chris Blevins, as well as Lamperti.
This season, Lamperti has already proven himself to be a great leadout man for Merlier, so look for him on any stage that comes down to a bunch sprint.
Team boss Patrick Lefevere told GCN that Lamperti has much potential as a rider in the short and long term. “I’m very curious to see Luke Lamperti in the Giro d’Italia. It took a long time to find an American who fits in our team, and I think he’s the type of rider who can fit in with us. He’s also a rider for the Classics in the future,” said Lefevere. “Sometimes the best sprinters start their stories in the lead-out.”
Other Americans in the Giro include Magnus Sheffield (Ineos-Grenadiers), Larry Warbasse (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team), Will Barta (Movistar), and Kevin Vermaerke (team dsm-firmenich).
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