Deceuninck-Quick-Step duo Yves Lampaert and Tim Declercq appeared in court in Belgium this week to testify against actor and TV presenter Melvin Klooster who allegedly assaulted Quick-Step pro Iljo Keisse in a nightclub brawl in 2017. Lampaert and Declercq were summoned along with former teammate Guillaume Van Keirsbulck by Klooster's legal team to examine "ambiguities" in their witness statements.
The Dutch TV presenter is accused of punching Keisse in the head and knocking him to the ground into broken glass. The prosecution service is asking for a two-year prison sentence if convicted, however Klooster denies he punched the veteran pro cyclist.
Het Nieuwsblad reports Lampaert, Declercq and Keisse all testified it was Klooster who attacked their teammate. "He attacked him from behind. I saw that," Lampaert apparently told the court. "And no, I hadn't drunk so much that I couldn't remember it exactly. Once a year we got permission from the team to go out together. Around 5am I started to gather everyone to go to the team's hotel in Brussels. We would return by taxi."
Declercq recalled what happened next. "When we came out, we were faced with a brawl. Two men were kicking and hitting a guy who was on the ground. I was shocked by so much violence. We thought Fernando Gaviria was on the ground, so we intervened by standing around the victim. Then it turned out it was someone else. Iljo Keisse helped the man up."
The Belgian newspaper reports the Quick-Step riders had a run in with Klooster earlier in the evening after he saw his girlfriend talking to Colombian sprinter Fernando Gaviria. Lampaert claimed this upset Klooster, "it all went very quickly, but I saw him waving his arm and then saw Iljo's knees give way. He hit his temple."
A verdict is expected in June with Keisse seeking €90,000 in compensation for a hand injury which forced him to miss the 2017 Gent Six Day.