Tim Merlier leads the Wolfpack this week at the five-day race.
Our next World Tour appointment will be the Renewi Tour, which starts from Diest and concludes in Leuven, home to Belgium’s oldest university, founded more than six centuries ago. In the absence of an individual time trial, the many hills punctuating the course will be decisive in the final outcome, with the stage to Geraardsbergen and the one finishing in Bilzen-Hoeselt expected to be decisive in the fight for the general classification.
The Renewi Tour will be Tim Merlier’s first outing with the team since his winning three stages at the Tour de France and cementing his status as the world’s best sprinter. The most successful rider of the team this season, Tim has four wins at the Renewi Tour and will look to add to this tally at the 21st edition, which gets underway on Wednesday.
Ayco Bastiaens, Pepijn Reinderink - who comes after a solid display at the Czech Tour last week - Martin Svrcek, Dylan van Baarle, a top five finisher at the race in 2018, Bert Van Lerberghe and Louis Vervaeke will also be in action at the World Tour race which takes in more than 900 kilometers this year.
The Renewi Tour is always one of the hardest races on the calendar, as it almost feels like riding five Classics in a row.
- Soudal Quick-Step sports director Iljo Keisse -
“The first two stages should offer opportunities for the sprinters, but after that it becomes much harder. Geraardsbergen is traditionally a very demanding stage, while the final day around Leuven, using roads from the World Championships, will also be extremely tough. It’s typical Belgian racing: nervous, hectic and always very competitive.”
“Tim Merlier is our leader and our biggest chance for a stage victory, so we have built a strong and experienced team around him. Bert Van Lerberghe and Ayco Bastiaens will be important for controlling the race and positioning Tim, while riders such as Dylan van Baarle give us plenty of strength and versatility for the harder stages. We have a really good all-round team for what will be a very demanding week. The goal is certainly to win a stage. If we achieve that, we can already be happy, and anything more is a bonus”, said sports director Iljo Keisse.
Photo credit: ©Dario Belingheri / Getty Images
