Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl had a dramatic day out at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, winning their first Monument of the year through Remco Evenepoel but also losing world champion Julian Alaphilippe in a horror crash.
The Belgian squad have now released a behind-the-scenes look at their rollercoaster of a race, in the latest episode of The Wolfpack Insider.
Evenepoel attacked from 29km out to win his first Monument, a result which also saved Quick-Step's Classics season after they had a "different" time this year.
Alaphilippe, meanwhile, was involved in a huge crash with 60km to go, which left him with two broken ribs, a broken scapula and a hemo pneumothorax. It has been reported that he is now in a race to prove his fitness for the Tour de France in two months. His teammate Ilan van Wilder also fractured his jaw in the same incident.
The immediate confusion over the crash can be seen in the video, with Klaas Lodewyck, one of the team's directeur sportifs, saying "we have someone in the crash there", and exclaiming frustratedly "Julian, why were you in the back?"
The car containing Lodewyck and fellow DS Geert van Bondt is actually forced to leave mechanic Guido Scheeren behind at the crash sight, as he attends to Alaphilippe; they presume he has gone on ahead.
When the trio are back together, Scheeren reveals that Alaphilippe is in "a lot of pain", but it is unclear how badly hurt the world champion actually is.
The turnaround from this moment of potential disaster to elation with Evenepoel's attack and win is clear in the film; the Belgian's mother, Agna van Eeckhout, is shown emotional at the finish.
Tim Declercq, a Quick-Step rider who did not finish the race, is shown embracing members of Evenepoel's family and his team. He asks Evenepoel "do you know what you've done?" at the finish.
Quick-Step had underperformed at the Spring Classics up to Liège, a massive point of difference from their usual happy hunting ground. Their best finishes in the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix were 23rd and 10th respectively.
Therefore, to win the last Monument of the Spring was clearly huge for the team. Van Bondt and Lodewyck are shown to be incredibly emotional as news of Evenepoel's win comes through.
The young Belgian later describes the result as his "best day on my bike ever", and that the result was a reminder that "look, we [Quick-Step] are still here".
Watch the full video below.
