The six-day race takes place between 16-21 May.
This year’s Quatre Jours de Dunkerque gives the sprinters around four opportunities to add to their palmares, but in between it schedules two stages that will be decisive for the general classification. The first of these is a 15.9km individual time trial held over an undulating terrain in Saint-Quentin, followed just twenty-four hours later by the traditional stage to Cassel, where the now famous hilly circuit will be covered several times, bringing in the way of the riders a total of 16 climbs.
Belgian Champion Tim Merlier, who so far has scored five wins in his maiden season with Soudal Quick-Step – including stages at the UAE Tour and Paris-Nice – will pin on a number for the French race, which will mark Kasper Asgreen’s return after the crash that put an end to his Paris-Roubaix ambitions. Joining them next week are Jannik Steimle, Bert Van Lerberghe, Stan Van Tricht, Ethan Vernon and Lars Craps, the 21-year-old Belgian who will join us from the Soudal Quick-Step Devo Team.
“Dunkerque can be a very open race. You have cobbles, an uphill finish, the Cassel stage and a time trial. It will definitely not be an easy edition. Most of the riders come back after a rest period, which followed an intense cobbles campaign. For the sprints we have Tim, who will rely on Bert and Ethan, while for the harder finishes we can try to do something with Kasper and Stan, maybe even Jannik. Lars Craps will come from the Devo Team and it’s always nice to have youngsters with us; it’s an opportunity for us to know them better, while they gain valuable experience by racing alongside the World Tour guys”, said sports director Tom Steels.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
