Following the victories in Ghent-Wevelgem and Suheldepri by Biniam Girmay and Alexander Christov this spring, Intermarche Wanty-Gobert was followed by Quinten Hermans' second place finish in Liège-Bastogne-Liège to round out the Spring Classic The campaign ended on a high note.

Tom Devlint's fourth place in Paris-Roubaix was also an outstanding result for the Belgian team, which operates on a shoestring budget compared to Classics powerhouses such as Quick Step-Alfa Vinyl, Ineos Grenadiers, and Jumbo-Visma.

Hermans, a top cyclocross racer but not expected to contend in La Doyenne, finished second in Liège ahead of Wout van Aert and ahead of winner Remco Evenepoel of QuickStep-AlphaVinyl. He led the chase group by 43 seconds.

After the race, Hellmans said that he did not know what position he was fighting for in the flat finish along the Meuse River.

In the post-race press conference he said, "I didn't know what position I was running for. It was chaos until Lemko disappeared. I could see Alexandre Vlasov pulling away and I didn't know if I could catch him."

"I crossed the finish, but I wasn't actually thinking about the standings. I was only thinking about bringing it into a sprint race. I knew Vlasov was still in front of me. I knew Lemko was in front of me and I thought maybe he was sprinting for third place. In the second part of Roche-aux-Focons I was completely empty. I was just suffering and I didn't know what was going to happen from here."

Hermans had a dash-off with Van Aert in the final stages of the 257-km race. Most likely, Van Aert, the leader of Jumbo Visma, would have taken second place, but Hermans won.

"When I was with Wout, I knew I could keep up with him as long as he didn't put me in the wind, but I had no idea if I could beat him.

"I think he accelerated with 200 meters to go, but I had no wind at all until 100 meters to go. Then I pushed a little bit and I was kind of surprised to come in second. I don't want to say it was easy, but I was well-positioned and everything worked out.

Hermans, who kicked off his spring classics campaign at La Flèche Wallonne earlier this week, said he and his Ardennes teammates were inspired by the likes of Gilme, Christophe, and Devlint. He said, "Of course, after the Amstel Gold Race, we're a completely different team than we were at the Flanders Classics.

"The athletes who competed in the Amstel Gold Race did very well. But of course it motivates us and in the end it was good to see the athletes do so well in the Flanders Classic. If the plan we made before the season works, the atmosphere is more relaxed and motivating.

"I think the whole team has improved. We have a food coach and the atmosphere is fantastic."

"I know we have one of the smallest budgets on the world tour. But so far I think this is the best team to work with on this budget. Hats off to the team and everyone. We've accomplished these things and it's all because of the team behind us and we're very grateful for that."