Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team has announced the selection that will participate in Paris - Tours, a 235km one-day race on Sunday, Oct. 13th. The race is known as a sprinters classic, but there can still be opportunities for other finishes depending on the actions of the race within the parcours.
“This is a race where normally the riders who are motivated are able to do well," Sport Director Rik Van Slycke said. "In our team we have two leaders: Niki Terpstra and Sylvain Chavanel, who need no further explanation as to their skills. Terpstra was also third last year. But behind those two riders we have young guys like Pieter Serry and Guillaume Van Keirsbulck. They are different athletes with different skills, who can both try to get a result in different race scenarios. Van Keirsbulck can be there for the sprint and Serry can make a move before the finish. It is an opportunity for them and also the rest of the team who has to support them. We are looking forward to this race to do something good."
This will be an important race for Chavanel as the lone Frenchman of the team.
“In this race I never had a lot of luck," Chavanel said."But to me this race is important because in 2000 it was the race that gave me visibility when I was young. I took a solo breakaway for 220km alone, with 33 minutes of a maximum gap, and I was caught 15km from the finish. The big cycling public discovered me that day, so it remains an important race for me. Last year I went into the breakaway and did a good race, but was not present in the final. This year I would like to be there in a key moment of the race. It is also my last race with the team and I would like to close my experience with this great team with a good performance. We had great years together and that is why I would like to leave with a great race. This week I trained well, even on the parcours of the race, so I am pretty confident in being a protragonist and being there in the final on Sunday."