Next Tuesday's one-day race will mark the return of Laurens de Plus in the peloton.
The first of the two German races on the World Tour calendar, Eschborn-Frankfurt will run its 56th episode this year, one which will see 20 teams take on a 218.7km course and a total of 3500 meters of elevation. And that's because despite having been won from a bunch sprint numerous times in the past, Eschborn-Frankfurt has a challenging parcours containing several climbs, the most iconic being Mammolshain, which is traditionally used by some teams to put the hammer down in an attempt to dislodge the sprinters.
Quick-Step Floors – who has a firm grip on the World Tour team classification – will come with a young team at the start, one which includes also Laurens De Plus, who's been out of action since last year's Il Lombardia. The 22-year-old Belgian will pull on the Quick-Step Floors jersey for the 20th World Tour event of the season and is looking with excitement and optimism to his first outing of the season.
"I can't tell you how happy I am to finally come back, it's been a really long time. It will be the first time racing with the Wolfpack on the back of my Quick-Step Floors jersey and I can't wait to feel the adrenaline and atmosphere in the bunch. It will be my debut in Eschborn-Frankfurt and I know it won't be an easy comeback, but I am always up for a challenge", Laurens said. "The last few weeks have done me well, I've had a good period of training, most recently in the Vosges, and I am looking forward to do my best for the team and make something out of the next part of the season."
Tim Declercq, Fernando Gaviria, neo-pro Fabio Jakobsen – the youngest rider to win Scheldeprijs this century – Dwars door Vlaanderen champion Yves Lampaert, Davide Martinelli and Maximiliano Richeze will all be on the Quick-Step Floors roster for the German race, giving our team several cards to play in Tuesday's race.
Photo credit: ©Sigfrid Eggers
