Our team will go to the start of the prestigious race with several options.
Sunday brings another important rendez-vous with the cobbles, in Gent-Wevelgem. On paper at least, the 253.1km course comprising nine climbs and four plugstreets favours the sprinters, although recent editions have shown that a massive acceleration the last time up the Kemmelberg – the steep hill that has become synonymous to the race – is enough to make an important selection and leave just a handful of riders in contention for the victory.
The last 34 kilometers are completely flat, giving the peloton a chance to bring back the late moves and keep things together for a mass gallop, but it will all depend on the weather, the wind – which has a habit of splitting the peloton – and the size of the front group after the Kemmelberg and its tricky descent.
Most successful sprinter of the season so far, with six wins to his name, Tim Merlier will be at the start of the 86th Gent-Wevelgem, together with a Soudal Quick-Step squad that will also include Kasper Asgreen, Josef Cerny, Gil Gelders, former Belgian Champion Yves Lampaert, Luke Lamperti, and Bert Van Lerberghe.
“We know this race, we enjoyed a lot of great moments here, and we hope that on Sunday we’ll be up there when it matters. If it comes down to a sprint, we have Tim who can rely on a strong team, but we have options also if the race becomes too hard for the fast men, in which case we’ll try to fight for a good result with the likes of Kasper and Yves. It won’t be easy, but we are confident”, said sports director Wilfried Peeters.
Photo credit: ©Wout Beel
