One week after becoming the first British winner of Milano-Torino, Mark Cavendish will be again in action.
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl has always enjoyed racing in De Panne. When it was organised as a stage race called Driedaagse De Panne, the Wolfpack took the spoils on four occasions with three different riders. Then, after it morphed into a one-day event in 2018, three more victories followed, the most recent of these being recorded last year, when our team gave no chance to its opponents in the bunch sprint.
Victorious just a couple of days ago in Milano-Torino, where he became both the first Brit and the oldest rider to win the Italian Classic, Mark Cavendish will return to De Panne after two years, motivated and ready to pin on a number for his maiden outing of the season on Belgian soil. Michael Mørkøv, the man who launched him to victory last week, will join again the Manxman for the 207.9km World Tour race, part of a strong Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl team that will also include Mikkel Honoré, Iljo Keisse, Stijn Steels, Jannik Steimle and Bert Van Lerberghe.
“De Panne is flat, but by no means an easy race. We have several laps to tackle and we will go through De Moeren, always known for the crosswinds that can bring chaos in the peloton. It remains to be seen if it will happen also on Wednesday, but at the moment this scenario doesn’t look likely. We are sending to the start a solid and determined team capable of controlling the race, and if it comes down to a bunch sprint, Mark has several guys he can rely on to be up there and go for another good result”, said Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl sports director Tom Steels.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
Bert Van Lerberghe 