Yves Lampaert, Paul Magnier, Tim Merlier and Dries Van Gestel will all be in action on the cobbles.
The first Classics of the season are finally here! At the end of this week, the Soudal Quick-Step riders will take on Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, the two prestigious races our team has won a combined total of 13 times.
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, the first World Tour race of the season held in Europe, celebrates its 80th edition this year, and the Belgian Classic puts on the table another demanding parcours that will see the peloton take on two of Belgium’s most iconic climbs, Muur-Kapelmuur and Bosberg. The fact that both of these come in the last 20 kilometers, after the riders had already tackled the likes of Eikenberg, Wolvenberg and Molenberg, will make the fight for victory even more fiercely contested.
A two-time winner of Dwars door Vlaanderen and a podium finisher in Paris-Roubaix, Yves Lampaert will headline our squad for Saturday’s 197km-long appointment, where he’ll be joined by Mattia Cattaneo, Pascal Eenkhoorn, Gil Gelders, Paul Magnier, Casper Pedersen, and Dries Van Gestel. One day later, for Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne – whose 196.9km course comprises more than a dozen climbs, the last of which comes around 60 kilometers from the finish – European Champion Tim Merlier, Pepijn Reinderink, Martin Svrcek, Bert Van Lerberghe and Warre Vangheluwe will join Lampaert and Van Gestel on the start line.
“We have a good team for both these races and we are excited to kick off the cobbles season. It will be nice to see Mattia and Paul for the first time on the cobbles, they have qualities, but we don’t put any pressure on them. Yves and Casper bring a lot of experience to the roster, while the other guys can provide important support, so we are confident in our chances of fighting for a good result. On Sunday, we go with Tim as our leader, he has shown he is in a very good shape, and if the race comes down to a bunch sprint as was the case so many times in the past, he’ll have a strong squad to help him there”, said sports director Tom Steels.
