Yves Lampaert returns to competition at the race he led a Quick-Step Floors 1-2-3 last year.
Held around Gullegem, in West Flanders, on a 9.5km-long circuit, Gullegem Koerse (171 kilometers) will mark Quick-Step Floors' final race of May, a month during which our team has racked up nine victories. The Belgian event – created back in 1946 – will be a fast and hectic one, and looking at the past editions, it can go either to a sprinter, or to a rider capable of an audacious attack from a small group.
Reigning champion Yves Lampaert returns at the start, where he will be joined by Tim "El Tractor" Declercq – third at the previous edition, where Quick-Step Floors monopolized the podium, Pieter Serry and three neo-pros: Kasper Asgreen, Handzame Classic and Volta a Catalunya stage winner Alvaro Hodeg and Ecuadorian Champion Jhonatan Narvaez.
Sports director Rik van Slycke made a preview of the race, which he expects to be again an action-packed one: "Gullegem is a typical Kermesse, a fast race with a nice parcours running down through Gullegem but mostly with straight long lines. There are several good sprinters there, so it won't be an easy day at the office if it will end up in a bunch gallop. The fact that we have only six riders at the start can make it even more difficult to control."
"We won the race a few times by having riders in a breakaway. We often see breakaways in Gullegem going all the way, splitting into a smaller group in the final. If it is windy on Tuesday, it might be a factor too. It is difficult to predict the outcome but we will try to be there when it matters. Several of our riders come out of a small race break and will be keen on getting back into action. We look forward to it with the same motivation and determination as always."
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele/ Getty Images
