Intermarché-Wanty launches its classics campaign on Belgian soil with three races in four days: Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (1.WT) this Saturday, March 1st, followed by Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne (1.Pro) on Sunday, March 2nd, and the first Walloon race of the season with the Samyn Classic (1.1) on Tuesday, March 4th. A group of eleven riders will compete under the direction of Aike Visbeek, Dimitri Claeys, and Franky Van Haesebroucke.
Benefiting from solid preparation, with reconnaissance rides from November up to a final one this Thursday, February 27th, the World Team sets off from the Kuipke in Ghent around 11:15 AM this Saturday for the opening of the Belgian classics calendar. The peloton of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad must cover 197 kilometers to reach Ninove, with eight cobbled sectors and eleven climbs along their route, including a triple passage of the Haaghoek and Leberg, the Molenberg 40 kilometers from the finish, before the final on the Muur van Geraardsbergen and Bosberg in the last 15 kilometers.
A contender in the sprint for the podium in the last edition, Laurenz Rex eventually finished sixth, eight seconds behind winner Jan Tratnik. He returns this Saturday with the support of local rider Arne Marit, who achieved the first podium of the season in Australia, as well as Vito Braet, Adrien Petit, Jonas Rutsch, Luca Van Boven, and Roel van Sintmaartensdijk.
"Regularly throughout the winter, we trained in the Flemish Ardennes with our group for the classics. We did the recon of Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne and Ghent-Wevelgem in November, then in January we tested our new Hutchinson tires on the cobbles of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. The final recon before the Belgian opening weekend is traditionally an important event for the entire team, to refresh our memory of the course and the sensations on the cobbles. I am convinced that we are ready for these first appointments with the Flemish Ardennes. Collectively during the Tour of the Algarve, we were solid around Biniam Girmay. On a personal level, I have received a lot of confidence from my teammates in my new role as captain. This gives me a lot of satisfaction and motivates me to improve the details to perfect our sprint train. Now, I am eagerly looking forward to this opening weekend, with the goal of doing better than last year. I feel physically stronger, but I have also gained maturity. For example, my double crash at Paris-Roubaix taught me to manage external expectations and pressure. Since then, I have focused on my preparation and not on the chaotic factors that can occur in the classics, and which are beyond your control. The work done in recent weeks has been effective. I feel really good, so I know I am capable of great things."
"We have been eagerly awaiting this long Belgian opening weekend, which we have meticulously prepared. Despite the absences of Biniam Girmay, who became a father for the second time, and Hugo Page, who is ill, we still have a solid and broad selection, allowing us to field fresh riders in each of the three classics. We saw at the Tour of the Algarve that the condition is there. I'm particularly thinking of Laurenz Rex; I'm proud of his development as a leader. He is now physically stronger and more experienced than last season. With his current form, we can expect him to play a role in the finals of Nieuwsblad and Samyn Classic. At Kuurne on Sunday, our spearheads will be Vito Braet and Arne Marit, as fast riders, and we are looking forward to Taco van der Hoorn's return to the classics. He knows the course like no one else and is an important element of our group for the spring. We can expect open and attractive races, with a chance of a large bunch sprint at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, especially if the wind blows strongly in the finale and reduces the chances of the breakaways surviving."
