Riders who between them have scored more than ten wins so far this season will be at the start of the two races.
A busy weekend is in store for the Wolfpack, who will be racing on several fronts, at the Tour de Suisse, but also in Belgium, where a pair of usually action-packed and thrilling races await the riders. Heistse Pijl and Elfstedenronde, the two events in question, will be for many their last appointment before the National Championships, scheduled next week, between 26-30 June.
Rémi Cavagna, Tim Declercq, Alvaro Hodeg, Iljo Keisse, Davide Martinelli, Zdenek Stybar and Petr Vakoč will be the seven Deceuninck – Quick-Step riders lining up at the start of Heistse Pijl (196.4 kilometers) – a race that our team has won on two occasions – and Wilfried Peeters is confident they can leave their mark on it.
“The course is flat and includes a final circuit with a small uphill section, and all these elements will make it a very fast race. We have a strong squad, capable of controlling things and delivering Alvaro in a good position in case it comes down to a bunch sprint. That should be the scenario of the race, but you can never know what will happen, so we are prepared for this and have several options in case the script will be different”, said Deceuninck – Quick-Step’s sports director.
Two days later, Fabio Jakobsen will replace Alvaro for Elfstedenronde, a 195km-long flat race starting and finishing in Bruges, peppered by several cobblestones stretches, and Klaas Lodewyck is confident he can be one of the main protagonists: “We are going there with a mix of experienced guys and young wolves and we will back Fabio, who has had a solid season so far. The weather forecast is good for Sunday, the motivation is there, as always, and we hope for a good result.”
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