This Sunday 7th of April, the young squad of Wanty-ReUz-Technord will line up for the U23 version of the prestigious Paris-Roubaix, which is the first of a series of major classics on the U23 calendar.
The classic will be ridden over 163 kilometres in the region Hauts-de-France, with start in Cateau-Cambrésis. The selection under direction of Adriaan Helmantel will have to conquer 25 cobble sections on their way to the finish on the velodrome in Roubaix, a couple of hours before the pros.
Like the pros from the Intermarché-Wanty, the riders of Wanty-ReUz-Technord did a course recon equipped in the same way as the World Tour riders.
The selection includes Huub Artz, future rider of the Intermarché-Wanty and podium finisher with the pros in the Tour of Oman and with the Continental Development Team in the Wim Hendriks Trofee and Dorpenomloop Rucphen.
Alessio Delle Vedove and Tim Rex participate in the U23 edition of the Hell of North for the second year in a row, having finished 24th and 34th respectively in an edition marked by hellish weather conditions last year.
Zeno Moonen, who started the season with 2nd place in Brussels-Opwijk, will discovering the classic, just like Aklilu Arefayne and Gilles Dockx, who recently participated in the Arden Challenge.
“With Paris-Roubaix, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Ghent-Wevelgem, our U23 have three major classic appointments on the calendar this month. While our climbers are racing in the Circuit des Ardennes this week, our selection for Paris-Roubaix carried out a recon of the last 100 kilometers of the course with nineteen cobblestones on Thursday. With Huub Artz we have an important asset in our midst. He has made it a big goal of his first participation in these prestigious U23 classics and has shown in Le Samyn and the GP de Denain in the jersey of our World Team that he is made for the cobblestone races. He can count on a strong team around him, for example Tim Rex and Alessio Delle Vedove, who performed excellently as first-year prospects last season. Success in the Hell of the North sometimes depends on a dose of luck. That is why we have left nothing to chance in our preparation. Our riders have the same equipment as the pros of Intermarché-Wanty, including the Continental GP5000 AS tires of 32 mm with Effetto Mariposa tubeless system, and our staff will be present in many of the sectors with spare wheels.”
Paris-Roubaix U23:
Aklilu Arefayne
Huub Artz
Alessio Delle Vedove
Gilles Dockx
Zeno Moonen
Tim Rex
Sports Director:
Adriaan Helmantel
