Belgium
29 August 1979
1.83m
77kg
2002
USPS (2004)
The 2005 season was quite an exciting one for Devolder, who continued to show his aggressive riding style throughout the entire calendar. He won a prestigious stage race in his home country of Belgium, finished in the top 25 at the Tour of Spain (his first Grand Tour), and battled it out to the end at one of the final ProTour events of the season.
Devolder began his second season with the team in Qatar and continued at events such as Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne (playing a key role in George Hincapie´s win) and Tirreno-Adriatico (fourth in stage two) as he prepared for the Classics. Devolder then followed up sixth overall at last year´s Three Days of the Panne with a victory, the second of his pro career. He began the winning effort with a second place finish on the opening stage and then was fifth in the final time trial stage (eight seconds back from winning teammate Viatcheslav Ekimov) to gain overall victory by 16 seconds.
Following the summer months, Devolder was back at it in the Tour of Benelux, leading the team with a fifth in the prologue and 10th in the final time trial seven days later. A few weeks later, Devolder began the Vuelta and gained strength as the race worn on. One of only four Discovery Channel riders to reach Madrid, Devolder´s top results were a 10th in stage 15 to Valgrande Pajares and an eye-opening seventh in the final time trial to wrap up his top 25 finish. Devolder concluded his season with another attacking performance at Paris-Tours, taking 13th. He came to the finishing Avenue de Grammont in a two-man breakaway but the duo was reeled in just before the line.
A newcomer to the team in 2004, Devolder had a few near misses before taking his first pro victory at the Four days of Dunkerque, winning the race´s most difficult stage in tough conditions. His 2004 season began impressively with a strong effort at the Tour du Haut Var, finishing third and winning the mountains competition and the combative rider prize for his efforts. He followed up with a sixth at the Three Days of the Panne, prior to winning the hardest stage at Dunkerque, winnning in solo fashion in Boulogne sur Mer in cold and wet conditions. Later in the season, he teamed with fellow Belgian Jurgen Van Den Broeck to place 12th, at the GP Eddy Merckx.
In 2003, as a member of the Vlaanderen-T Intermin team, Devolder won third at the E3, sixth at the GP Stad Vilvoorde and eighth in the prologue of the Driedaagse Van West-Vlaanderen. He had three second-place finishes in 2002: at the GP de Fayt-le-Franc, the Zellik-Galmaarden and in a stage of the Tour de l'Avenir. As a member of the ASLK-Fortis Boys team in 2000, Devolder won Le Triptique des Monts et Châteaux and the Ronde van Zuid-Oost Vlaanderen. Along with van den Broeck, Devolder was a one-time member of the successful Groeninge Spurters racing club, once coached by current team assistant sports manager Dirk Demol.
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10th, stage 15, Tour of Spain
10th, stage 7, Tour of Benelux
5th, prologue, Tour of Benelux
1st, GC, Three Days of the Panne
5th, stage 4, Three Days of the Panne
2nd, stage 1, Three Days of the Panne
4th, stage 2, Tirreno-Adriatico
44th, GC, Tour of Qatar
12th, stage 3, Tour of Qatar
1st, stage 4, Four Days of Dunkerque
3rd, Tour de Haut Var
6th overall, Three Days of the Panne
12th, stage 4, Three Days of the Panne
12th, GP Eddy Merckx |
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