Omega Pharma – Quick-Step Cycling Team has announced the 10 riders who will line up at the start of the 254.8km UCI World Road Championship on Sunday. The undulating, 18.2km Ponferrada circuit includes two ascents: One is 5.1km, with an average gradient of 3.5%, while the second climb is 1.1km at 6.6% average gradient. There is a max ramp of 11% along the parcours. There is also descent into a flat finale.
The OPQS riders who will participate include the following:
Belgium: Tom Boonen, Jan Bakelants
Poland: Michal Golas, Michal Kwiatkowski
Colombia: Rigoberto Uran
Slovakia: Martin Velits
Germany: Tony Martin
Czech Republic: Zdenek Stybar, Petr Vakoc
Netherlands: Wout Poels
“We’re proud to have 10 strong riders at the start on Sunday,” OPQS Sport and Development Manager Rolf Aldag said. “This kind of parcours suits several of our riders very well. We can be protagonists whether the race ends in a breakaway, or a bunch sprint. Almost every rider selected has at least one victory this season, and several have been on a parcours like this. The OPQS riders selected include veterans such as Tom Boonen — a former world champion — and also young guys like Petr Vakoc, who is racing in his first professional World Road Championship. We want to wish good luck to all our riders from seven different countries, which demonstrates the Belgian roots and international impact of OPQS.”