"It's an honor to get a prize like this one and from the hands of a cycling legend like Eddy Merckx," Kwiatkowski said. "I ride for a Belgian Team and I'm really connected to Belgium. I won the first race of my career at Driedaagse van West Vlaanderen two years ago, and I had good results in Liege-Bastogne-Liege and Flèche Wallone this year. I have a lot of friends here and I'm happy to have been selected as winner of the International Flandrien. It's a prize with a lot of history — before me a lot of great riders won this award. The trophy itself is really a piece of art and for sure I will find a good spot at my place for it."