Davide Ballerini, Mark Cavendish and Yves Lampaert will be some of our riders in action at both one-day races.
Dwars door het Hageland and Elfstedenronde are scheduled this weekend, and our squad will be at the start of both. The first of these appointments is set to take place Saturday afternoon, when a mix of cobbles, hills, and dirt roads will await the riders before the uphill finish to the Diest Citadel, which has produced so many exciting battles in the past years.
One day later, the course will be completely flat, making it perfect for the sprinters. They will be expected to fight for victory in Brugge, the former start location of Ronde van Vlaanderen, whose impressive architecture makes it one of the best-preserved medieval towns in Europe.
Omloop het Nieuwsblad champion Davide Ballerini, Mark Cavendish – who so far this season has scored four victories – Yves Lampaert, Pieter Serry, Zdenek Stybar and Bert Van Lerberghe will be the Deceuninck – Quick-Step riders at the start of the 18th Dwars door het Hageland. On Sunday, Serry will sit out, while Remco Evenepoel and Danish lead-out master Michael Mørkøv will join the team for the 193.1km Elfstedenronde.
“The first race is a hard one with a very tough finish which has become a favourite of riders and fans alike, but we have a chance to get a good result, as our team comprises several guys who like this type of terrain. For the second event, we should see a bunch sprint where we will support Mark, who’ll be able to count on a strong train that will feature also Michael. The wind can make it a really hard race, and if it does, we will be ready for it”, said Deceuninck – Quick-Step sports director Tom Steels.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
