The Druivenkoers in Overijse (1.1, 26/08) is a yearly appointment on the classic calendar at the end of August. The parcours of the 61st edition changed again, but the start and finish in the Dreef street in Overijse remained the same. This finish welcomed de previous years especially punchers and classic riders. Thanks to Jérôme Baugnies and Xandro Meurisse, Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert was unbeatable between 2015 and 2018.
This season, the parcours follows some roads of next month’s World Championships is composed of two big loops which alternate each other. The smallest, rather flat lap of 23.3 kilometer, contains the Lanestraat at the only hill and is repeated five times. The Taymansstraat, Bekestraat, Veeweide, Smeysberg and Moskesstraat are part of the bigger circuit of 48.5 kilometer which has to be covered three times. This totals to twenty hills in a race of 192 kilometer. The Moskesstraat is the final difficulty 7 kilometer before the finish.
Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert will be able to have several irons in the fire with its experienced line up. Next to the Eritrean rider Biniam Girmay Hailu and the Italian rider Andrea Pasqualon, who will make their debut in the Druivenkoers, and Dutchman Taco van der Hoorn, four Belgian riders will be at the start. Aimé De Gendt, Ludwig De Winter, Baptiste Planckaert and Pieter Vanspeybrouck complete the line up under the sportive direction of Hilaire Van der Schueren. Taco Van der Hoorn finished 5th in his only participation in 2018 and is looking forward to a hard semi classic.
After a training week in Luxemburg filled with several long rides, I’m curious to know how my body will react this Thursday in Overijse. The succession of hills will cause a difficult race, which I like because demanding races suit me. I’m looking forward to this nice race, especially because I returned home from the Tour of Poland with a good feeling and a distinctive jersey. We are lining up with a strong team and I expect that we will battle for the victory. Taking into account the parcours and their fast legs, Biniam Girmay Hailu and Andrea Pasqualon will certainly be strong contenders!
Taco van der Hoorn Tweet
Selection:
De Gendt Aimé
Ludwig De Winter
Girmay Hailu Biniam
Pasqualon Andrea
Planckaert Baptiste
Taco Van der Hoorn
Vanspeybrouck Pieter
Sportive Direction:
Hilaire Van der Schueren