Crosswinds promise to make for an exciting full-gas day in the saddle.
Wednesday schedules the last World Tour one-day race of the season, Driedaagse Brugge-De Panne, which our team has won two years ago in its new incarnation. The flat 202.6km-long parcours includes several cobblestone sectors, but the main danger of the day will come from the vicious crosswinds, which aren’t something uncommon in the region and could end up having a decisive impact on the outcome of the 44th edition.
Best placed rider of the team at the end of last Sunday’s Ronde van Vlaanderen, where he took fifth place, Yves Lampaert will be at the start of Driedaagse De Brugge-De Panne together with four other men who raced the final Monument of the year: Danish Champion Kasper Asgreen, Tim Declercq, Dries Devenyns and Florian Sénéchal. The quintet will be joined by Bert Van Lerberghe and neo-pro Mauri Vansevenant, who left an indelible impression a few weeks ago at his first Flèche Wallonne outing.
“We are very motivated for this race and are really looking forward to it. We know that the wind coming from the south will be the main problem, and with the peloton going on many open sections means we will get echelons. Our squad for this last World Tour one-day race of the year is a strong one, capable of being prominent, as all the guys are able to cope with the conditions. We don’t have a leader, but you don’t need leaders when racing in the crosswinds, you need a team”, explained Deceuninck – Quick-Step sports director Tom Steels.
