Our squad, leader of the UCI World Team Ranking, will be at the start of the race for the first time since it was created, in 2011.
Following a successful outing in Norway last week, at the Hammer Stavanger, the team will continue its Scandinavian campaign at the Tour of Norway. The five riders who took a beautiful win and a top 10 overall at the inaugural Hammer Series event of the season – Remco Evenepoel, Alvaro Hodeg, Yves Lampaert, Davide Martinelli and Petr Vakoč – will be joined for the six-day event by powerhouse Tim Declercq, who comes from California, where he helped Deceuninck – Quick-Step notch up three victories.
The ninth edition of the race will cover almost 1100 kilometers, traverse some familiar roads and include a wide range of terrain, from flat to hilly. On paper, the first four days should favour the sprinters, although crosswinds could very well make their appearance and wreak havoc in the bunch before the final two stages, which will take in several nasty climbs stacked in a row, that are sure to turn the race into a highly selective one and deliver an important shake-up of the general classification.
“We come to the start after a very solid display at the Hammer Series and we hope to continue our good form at the beautiful Tour of Norway. The stages aren’t easy, but the boys are motivated and will have their chances. This roster is a mix of youth and experience which gives us many cards to play, from riding for a bunch sprint to going on the attack, and we are keen on getting the most out of every opportunity and putting up a strong fight”, sports director Tom Steels said ahead of the race taking place between 28 May-2 June.
Photo credit: ©Luc Claessen/ Getty Images
