Our team will be in action on home turf this week.
Named in honour of the former Belgian rider – World Champion in 1938, three-time Flèche Wallonne winner and a Paris-Roubaix victor – the Grote Prijs Marcel Kint is back after a one-year hiatus with its 78th edition. The race will run between Zwevegem and Kortrijk, over 196.3 kilometers that will feature four hills favouring the attackers before a flat local circuit set to be covered twice, where the sprinters will have a chance of fighting for victory, provided they are still in the peloton.
Shane Archbold, Tim “El Tractor” Declercq, Dries Devenyns, Tour de l’Ain stage winner Alvaro Hodeg, Belgian ITT Champion Yves Lampaert, Pieter Serry and Stijn Steels will be on Deceuninck – Quick-Step’s roster for Friday’s one-day race, which was won by our team in 2013, with Iljo Keisse.
“It’s a typical Flemish course, with a couple of hills from the Flemish Ardennes which will make things more interesting, together with the narrow roads the peloton will take on. We have a strong team, who can race offensively and rely on several riders for a good result. We expect an open race and we’re ready and motivated to do our best”, explained Deceuninck – Quick-Step sports director Tom Steels.