Tim Merlier will pin on a number this week for his first stage race of the year.
Our team travels this week to Hungary, the host of the 2022 Grande Partenza, for the 47th edition of the Tour de Hongrie, a race where at the previous two participations we won a total of three stages. Starting in Gyula and concluding in Veszprem, 836 kilometers and five days later, the event will give plenty of opportunities to the sprinters, but it will be the climbers who will start as main contenders for the overall standings.
A local circuit in Pecs, built around a hard 5.1km climb featuring a steep section where the average gradient reaches 10%, features four times on the route of the penultimate day, when the big battle between the GC favourites is expected to unfold.
Tim Merlier, who has won two races since getting his season underway at the end of March, will be one of Soudal Quick-Step’s leaders for the Tour de Hongrie, where Junior Lecerf - fresh off his strong top ten at the Tour de Romandie - is set to target a good result in the general classification. Joining them between 13-17 May will be Alberto Dainese, former Belgian Champion Yves Lampaert, Martin Srvcek and Bert Van Lerberghe.
“We have a good squad for Hungary, and in the first couple of days we’ll try to go for a stage win with Tim, while in the second part of the race our goal will be to support Junior. He comes here after a good outing in Switzerland and is very motivated to be in the mix for a nice result at the end of the week”, explained sports director Wilfried Peeters.
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