Fresh off an impressive Vuelta a España, Dutch Champion Fabio Jakobsen will be back in action this weekend.
One of the standout riders of the season’s final Grand Tour, where he nabbed two impressive stage victories, Fabio Jakobsen will resume competition just five days after taking to the podium in Madrid, where he celebrated what’s arguably the most prestigious win of his career so far. The 23-year-old will now ride Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen (186km) and Primus Classic (197km), on Friday and Saturday, knowing he has a shot at adding to his palmares at the two events that usually come down to a bunch gallop despite the challenging terrain.
Another La Vuelta stage victor, Rémi Cavagna, will be at the start of the 104th Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen, one of the oldest events on the calendar, together with neo-pro Mikkel Honoré, Fabio Sabatini, Pieter Serry, and stagiaires Samuel Gaze and Jannik Steimle, the latter having already scored his first win for the team at Textielprijs Vichte, on the day his two-year contract with the Wolfpack was announced.
“Koolskamp is a hard race, which could be spiced up by crosswinds, as we’ll go on some exposed roads, but we will try to do our best, as usual. We won it a few times and got to take home the beautiful yellow jersey with the Lion of Flanders, and it would be great to do it again. Our roster is a strong one, capable of leaving their mark on the race, so we are going there with a lot of confidence”, said sports director Rik van Slycke.
For the 22nd edition of the Primus Classic, Tim Declercq – who played a vital role in Deceuninck – Quick-Step’s five stage victories at La Vuelta – will replace Rémi on the seven-man squad lining up at the start in Brakel, from where the peloton will travel to Haacht, in the Flemish Brabant.
“For some riders it will be the last race before traveling to Yorkshire for the World Championships, and also for our team it will mark the last outing of the month and we are determined to get the most out of it and feature in the final, especially as we have several cards to play. We can expect some action on Saturday and we hope to be part of it and come out of the race with a nice result”, explained sports director Wilfried Peeters.
Photo credit: ©Justin Setterfield/ Getty Images
Pieter Serry