Julian Alaphilippe and Fabio Jakobsen will be among the riders in action for the Wolfpack.
A busy weekend looms on the horizon for our team, who will be involved in three one-day races – Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen, Primus Classic and Gooikse Pijl – which the Wolfpack has won a total of six times at the previous participations. Of these, two will be perfectly suited to the sprinters, although the weather and strong winds could alter the dynamic, while the Primus Classic promises to be an affair between the puncheurs, who will take on a 197.7km course peppered with 18 climbs, the last of which will be crested 20 kilometers from the finish.
Only the eighth Dutchman in history to have won the points classification in a Grand Tour, Fabio Jakobsen will return to competition for the first time since concluding La Vuelta with three stage victories and the green jersey in the bag. The 25-year-old is set to lead the team at Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen, a race won by our team on four occasions, where he will be joined by Sam Bennett, Tim Declercq, Ian Garrison, Florian Sénéchal, Bert Van Lerberghe and stagiaire Stan Van Tricht, who recently won Gullegem Koerse.
Two days later, Jakobsen will have another chance of fighting for a good result at the 199km Gooikse Pijl, where former Omloop Het Nieuwsblad champion Zdenek Stybar will replace Honoré and Sénéchal, who will instead race Primus Classic.
The 23rd edition of that event will start from Brakel and finish in Wespelaar and is where World Champion Julian Alaphilippe – fresh off the Tour of Britain, which he concluded a solid third, while helping the Wolfpack win the team classification – is set to make his final outing in the rainbow jersey he conquered last year in Imola. Rounding out the Deceuninck – Quick-Step team for Saturday’s appointment will be Andrea Bagioli, Ballerini, Belgian ITT Champion Yves Lampaert and Stybar.
“For Koolskamp and Gooikse Pijl, we have a fair chance of fighting for a good result with Fabio, who had a great La Vuelta and will rely on an experienced lead-out train, but also on a very strong team capable of controlling the races. Saturday, Julian will show his beautiful rainbow jersey in the Primus Classic, a race that includes a local lap in Overijse, which will be a good test for the riders doing the World Championships. Overall, we head into the weekend with a lot of motivation and confidence that we will get some good results in the three races”, said Deceuninck – Quick-Step sports director Geert Van Bondt.
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