Young British pro Joe Blackmore struck (yet) again at the weekend, winning Liège-Bastogne-Liège under-23 in what is arguably the most prestigious win so far in a season brimming with victories.
This latest win comes amid reports in French outlet DirectVelo that Israel-PremierTech Academy rider Blackmore has signed an inevitable-looking contract with the full ProTeam, for two years – "It's normal, given what he has shown," said DS Rik Verbrugghe.
Blackmore attacked on the final climb of the Côte de Bolland with 5.5km to go to the finish in Blegny. He managed to make the gap stick, coming home five seconds ahead of second-placed rider Robin Orins (Lotto-Dstny Development), with Jørgen Nordhagen (Visma-Lease A Bike Development) a further four seconds behind in third place.
The victory makes Blackmore the most-winning U23 rider this season, male or female, and he ranks joint-top alongside five other riders including Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) and Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease A Bike), all with seven victories.
“I was able to chill at the back for the first half of the race, and the guys made it hard on the climbs, which was the plan," he said in a piece published on the Israel-PremierTech website.
"Once we hit the final climb together, I was ready to attack. I was pretty tired, but I waited until the top of the climb to make my move so I could see how tired the other guys were. I gave it my all.
"It came pretty close in the final kilometre with Orins coming back strong. But, I found some more energy from somewhere and was able to hold on.”
Assessing where the victory fits into his successful early season, Blackmore added: “For sure, I’m happy with every race I win but with the history of this race, I am really happy to win here. The last seven days have just been incredible. Next up is Gent-Wevelgem [U23] and I’ll give it everything again there.”
Blackmore is the current British gravel champion, having dropped the defending champ, Ineos Grenadiers WorldTour pro Connor Swift in the final at the Kings Cup in Suffolk last September.
This season, having joined Israel-PremierTech Academy on a one-year contract, Blackmore has barely stopped winning. He has been victorious overall in three short stage races – the Tour du Rwanda, Tour de Taiwan and Circuit des Ardennes – taking a handful of stages and podiums along the way; he stepped up to Israel-PremierTech's ProTeam to come fourth in the recent Brabantse Pijl, and then won again on Saturday.
