Oliver Naesen (; born 16 September 1990) is a Belgian professional racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Considered a specialist of the one-day classics, he won the 2017 Belgian National Road Race Championships, as well as the Bretagne Classic in 2016 and 2018. He is the brother of fellow racing cyclist Lawrence Naesen.
Career
2014–2016 Naesen turned professional in August 2014 as a stagiaire with the team, before joining in 2015 and Swiss UCI WorldTeam in 2016.
He made his Grand Tour debut at the 2016 Tour de France, in which he was awarded the combativity award on the fourth stage. He made a spectacular crash in the last corner of the stage 18 mountain time trial, but finished his maiden Tour in 83rd position overall.
Weeks after the Tour de France, he won the Bretagne Classic; his first victory in a UCI World Tour race. In September, he finished second in the general classification of the 2016 Eneco Tour after a strong performance in the final stage to Geraardsbergen. His results earned him a selection for the World Championship road race in Qatar, in which he finished 23rd.
AG2R La Mondiale (2017–present) Following the discontinuation of the IAM Cycling team, Naesen signed a two-year contract with French team . In the spring of 2017, he confirmed his status as a classics talent with top-10 finishes in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne, E3 Harelbeke and Gent–Wevelgem. In the Tour of Flanders, he was in a three-man chase group behind Philippe Gilbert, when Peter Sagan, leading the group, crashed on Oude Kwaremont and brought down Naesen and Greg Van Avermaet. Naesen and Sagan broke their bike frames, preventing them from defending their podium positions, and Naesen ultimately finished 23rd. In Summer, he won the 2017 Belgian National Road Race Championships in Antwerp, before competing in his second Tour de France.
In 2018, he finished 11th at the Tour of Flanders and 12th in Paris–Roubaix. In August, he won the Bretagne Classic Ouest–France for the second time in three years.
Major results
2013 10th Grote Prijs Stad Geel 2014 3rd Memorial Van Coningsloo 4th Ronde van Limburg 6th Binche–Chimay–Binche 6th Omloop Het Nieuwsblad U23 8th Gooikse Pijl 9th Handzame Classic 10th Druivenkoers Overijse 10th Internationale Wielertrofee Jong Maar Moedig 10th Flèche Ardennaise 2015 (1 pro win) 1st Polynormande 1st Gooikse Pijl 2nd Schaal Sels 3rd Grote Prijs Stad Zottegem 3rd Omloop van het Waasland 5th Druivenkoers Overijse 6th Overall Tour de Luxembourg 1st Young rider classification 7th Overall Tour of Belgium 10th Le Samyn 10th Tour de Vendée 2016 (1) 1st Bretagne Classic 1st GP Lucien Van Impe 2nd Overall Eneco Tour 2nd Tour de l'Eurométropole 10th Binche–Chimay–Binche Combativity award Stage 4 Tour de France 2017 (1) 1st Road race, National Road Championships 3rd Overall Four Days of Dunkirk 3rd E3 Harelbeke 5th Overall BinckBank Tour 6th Paris–Tours 6th Dwars door Vlaanderen 6th Tour de l'Eurométropole 7th Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 8th Overall Tour of Belgium 8th Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne 10th London–Surrey Classic 10th Binche–Chimay–Binche 2018 (1) 1st Bretagne Classic 3rd Eschborn–Frankfurt 3rd Binche–Chimay–Binche 3rd Tour de l'Eurométropole 4th E3 Harelbeke 4th Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal 4th Paris–Tours 6th Gent–Wevelgem 9th Grand Prix d'Isbergues 2019 (1) 2nd Overall BinckBank Tour 1st Stage 7 2nd Milan–San Remo 2nd Binche–Chimay–Binche 3rd Gent–Wevelgem 3rd Paris–Tours 7th Tour of Flanders 8th E3 Binckbank Classic 8th London–Surrey Classic 10th Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 10th EuroEyes Cyclassics 2020 7th Tour of Flanders 7th Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 10th Overall Tour de Wallonie 2021 4th E3 Saxo Bank Classic 7th Tro-Bro Léon 2022 2nd Overall Four Days of Dunkirk 3rd Famenne Ardenne Classic 4th Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 7th Bretagne Classic 8th Primus Classic 2023 9th Famenne Ardenne Classic 2024 4th Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 7th Tour of Flanders 7th Binche–Chimay–Binche 8th Overall Four Days of Dunkirk
Grand Tour general classification results timeline Grand Tour 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 Giro d'ItaliaHas not contested during his career Tour de France 83 63 66 68 61 70 DNF 76 Vuelta a EspañaHas not contested during his career
Classics results timeline Monument20142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 Milan–San Remo — — — — 622 14 21 — 74 106 Tour of Flanders — 35 22 23 1177 33 41 407 Paris–Roubaix — 57 13 31 12 13NH 52 54 66 24 Liège–Bastogne–LiègeHas not contested during his career Giro di Lombardia Classic20142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad — 31 137 27107 194 194 Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne — 25 778 11 43 23 16 20 79 16 E3 Harelbeke — — —348NH4 21 47 25 Gent–Wevelgem — 32 DNF 2263 14 16 59 18 11 Dwars door Vlaanderen — 40 DNF6 DNF 19NH 19 DNF 84 63 Amstel Gold Race — 92 35 13 93 28 — — — 108 Eschborn–Frankfurt — — — DNF3 16 — — — DNF Bretagne Classic — —1 DNF1 17 — —7 DNF Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec — — 68 17 14 20Not held — — Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal — — 15 164 36 — — Paris–Tours 32 27 25643 — — 55 117
Major championships timeline Event 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 World Championships — 23 73 — 33 DNF — National Championships 10 301 43 22 48 9
+ Legend — Did not compete DNF Did not finish NH Not held
References
External links