The five-day race takes place between 25-29 March.
One of the first Italian stage races of the season, Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali runs its 40th edition this spring, and for the fourth consecutive year, the team time trial will be absent. Instead, the course will be stacked with climbs that are sure to shape the overall standings after a relatively quiet opening day that the sprinters will target. A demanding uphill finish in Sogliano al Rubicone after an up-and-down stage, followed by three days tailored to the puncheurs and climbers, will bring plenty of spice to the fight for the general classification, which promises to be again a fierce one.
Soudal Quick-Step, who sits on a total of eight wins there in recent years, will take on this edition with a nice mix of World Tour and Devo Team riders: Pascal Eenkhoorn, Thomas Pesenti, neo-pro Andrea Raccagni, Federico Savino, Gauthier Servranckx, O Gran Camiño best young rider Viktor Soenens and Mauri Vansevenant.
“We have a good team, capable of fighting for good results despite being a young one. There will be some opportunities next week and the guys are motivated to show themselves. For the Devo riders, it’s going to be an important opportunity to gain experience and discover how it is to race with the pros. We’ll see if we can be a factor also in the fight for the general classification, but we’ll know more about this after the Sogliano al Rubicone stage”, said Soudal Quick-Step sports director Dries Devenyns.
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