Simultaneously with their preparation for the season's opening Monument, Milan-Sanremo, Intermarché-Wanty is taking part in four classics on Belgian and French roads this week: two races featuring a significant number of cobbled sectors, namely Nokere Koerse (03/19) and the Grand Prix de Denain (03/20), followed by two classics for sprinters with Bredene-Koksijde Classic (03/21) and Cholet Agglo Classic (03/23).
Beginning in Deinze, Nokere Koerse features twenty-six cobbled sectors and a new finish in Nokere. The local circuit of three laps tackles the traditional cobbles of the Nokereberg, before reaching the finish line via another slightly uphill flank.
A contingent of nine riders will be divided across the two Belgian races, under the direction of Dimitri Claeys and Pieter Vanspeybrouck. Gerben Thijssen, the winner of the Bredene-Koksijde Classic in 2023, returns to an event in which he has performed well with top five results in the last three editions. The Belgian sprinter will skip Nokere Koerse to fully recover from a crash. Vito Braet, Dries De Pooter, Arne Marit, Gijs Van Hoecke and Roel van Sintmaartensdijk will participate in both classics, accompanied by three young talents from Wanty-NIPPO-ReUz: Zeno Moonen, Tobias Müller (Nokere Koerse), and the recent winner of the GP Vermarc Victor Hannes (Bredene-Koksijde).
