Giro d'Italia: US talent Luke Lamperti set for Grand Tour debut

Luke Lamperti is set to make his Grand Tour debut at the Giro d’Italia next month, with Soudal Quick-Step team boss Patrick Lefevere sending the neo-pro to Italy for the first three-week race of the season.

“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 with us. He’s also a rider who is also for the Classics in the future,” Lefevere told GCN in a recent interview.

Lamperti, 21, signed for the Belgian squad at the start of the year, inking a two-year deal to propel himself into the WorldTour. The American made a name for himself as a U23 rider on Trinity Racing with a breakout season in 2023. He won a stage at the Giro Next Gen, the Rutland-Melton CiCLE Classic in the UK, and became the US national criterium champion.

This year he picked up several impressive early season podium spots before cutting his cloth in the Spring Classics as part of the experienced Soudal squad. He scored a highly credible seventh in Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne but was mainly utilized as a support rider and lead-out rider for Tim Merlier.

Read more: Luke Lamperti chasing his first Soudal Quick-Step win after top-ten Classics debut

Lamperti will replicate that role at the Giro d’Italia, with a high number of stages designated towards the sprinters. Lefevere believes that the young rider might have his own chances on certain stages and that he’ll learn a huge deal from his lead-out duties.

“We all know that he’s a sprinter, and Tim Merlier is there but maybe some stages are too hard for Tim and he can do his own things,” Lefevere said.

"Then he’s also in the lead-out for Tim with Bert Van Lerberghe, and he will learn a lot. Sometimes the best sprinters start their stories in the lead-out.”

Lefevere’s elder statesmen flatlined in the Spring Classics, with Julian Alaphilippe, Yves Lampaert and Kasper Asgreen failing to deliver any major results in the cobbled races. At the same time, Lefevere has invested in young talent, including Lamperti, William Junior Lecerf, and Paul Magnier.

Lefevere signed Remco Evenepoel from the junior ranks several years ago and the Belgian has become one of the biggest talents in the world but Lefevere is willing to show patience with his latest crop of youngsters, well aware that development rates aren’t the same for every single rider.

“We have to give chances to the young kids. We don’t have to push them too much. If you speak about Paul Magnier, he’s 20, and William Junior Lecerf is 21. Not everyone is a super talent like Remco is, and sometimes they need some time. They’ll get it."

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