The Wolfpack is again in action on home turf.
This weekend brings two races that our team has won a combined total of nine times, Heistse Pijl and Brussels Cycling Classic. With the exception of a couple of small hills, the first of these appointments has a flat course, much to the delight of the sprinters, who are favorites to fight for victory in Heist-op-den-Berg, after 187.5 kilometers.
Things won’t be that straightforward in the Brussels Cycling Classic. One of the oldest races in the world, created just one year after Liège–Bastogne–Liège and formerly known as Paris-Brussels, has a much longer and more demanding route, featuring numerous climbs and even cobblestone sections; there, the peloton can shatter into several small groups, which can hold off the chasers on this hilly terrain amounting to almost 2000 vertical meters.
Heistse Pijl will see Alberto Dainese, Cériel Desal, Yves Lampaert, Casper Pedersen, Joeri Schaper, Matijs Van Strijthem, and Lars Vanden Heede pin on a number. Twenty-four hours later, Gil Gelders and Stan Van Tricht will join Dainese, Desal, Lampaert and Pedersen for the Brussels Cycling Classic. Jonathan Vervenne was also due to be at the start, but as he is not feeling well, he will be replaced by Schaper or Van Strijthem.
“Of the two races scheduled this weekend, Heistse Pijl has the biggest chance for a bunch sprint. In Brussels, things can complicate a lot in the hilly section, which will force the fast men’ teams to work hard in order to bring the attackers back. In both of them we go with a versatile group of riders, so we can adapt to the different scenarios”, said sports director Sep Vanmarcke.
Photo credit: ©Dario Belingheri / Getty Images
