It took some time for Jens Debusschere (Lotto-Belisol) to reveal the true extent of his potential as he struggled to obtain any major results in first two years as a professional with the Lotto team. In the early part of the 2013 season he continued to struggle, but during the closing stages of the season, however, he finally showed that he is a great sprinter in the making and he ended the year on a high by winning the final race in Belgium, Nationale Sluitingprijs.

In all, Debusschere completed the season with four victories. His cycling year began in the Tour de San Luis, where he collected two top ten places. That turned out to be an omen for the rest of the year with several top ten results that followed. In the first stage of Paris-Nice he sprinted to place four, a day later he came eighth. Afterwards he was fifth in the final stage of the Tour de Picardie, third in the Omloop van het Houtland, fifth in Binche-Chimay-Binche and in the Eurométropole Tour he finished each day in the top ten including the win on day one.

Debusschere showed himself in the spring races. In the final of Ghent-Wevelgem he was part of a front group of thirteen riders. Because of a flat tyre the 24-year-old rider from West-Flanders was dropped. It was a pity for the Lotto-Belisol rider since the break with the eventual winner, Peter Sagan of Cannondale, stayed ahead. There was more bad luck for Debusschere in 2013. In June he crashed in the fifth stage of the Tour de Suisse and fractured his radius. Debusschere made his comeback in the Tour de Wallonie.

At the end of this season Jens Debusschere had his breakthrough thanks to getting his first victory as a professional in the Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen Koolskamp. Then he got a stage win in the Eurométropole Tour and the overall victory. Finally he won the Slutingsprijs Putte-Kapellen. All four wins came within a month.

“I look back on this season with some astonishment,” Debusschere said. “My goal was to win at least one race, it have become four. I had never expected to win so many races in such a short time. The first race I won was Koolskamp Koers on 20 September; I reeled in my last victory in Putte-Kapellen on 15 October. It gave me a special feeling when I won for the first time at the pros in Koolskamp. In the Eurométropole Tour the whole team was strong and that resulted in a stage win and overall victory. In the spring I mainly rode for our leader Jürgen Roelandts. But at the end of the year I could take my chance on several occasions.”

One of the low points of the season, evidently, was the crash in the Tour of Switzerland and the subsequent lay-off.

“Because of a crash in the fifth stage of the Tour de Suisse I was out for a few weeks because of a wrist fracture. That’s why I could fully concentrate on the end of the season. I started the second part of the season fresher and that turned out to be my advantage. I’m now a pro for three years at the Lotto team and feel that I keep getting stronger. I also get a lot of confidence from the team and that motivates me. There is also a smooth cooperation with the team directors who give me advice,” Debusschere explained.

“The forthcoming holiday is welcome. I let my bike aside and after a month I’ll start the winter trainings. I’m already looking forward to next season, because we can welcome some new riders like Tony Gallopin and Maxime Monfort. The team is getting stronger and that can only be good for us.”