The young group of Kévin Van Melsen, who just won their fourth UCI victory and a selection for the U23 Giro in June, is preparing for two of the most prestigious races on the calendar of the Development team. On Sunday 7th of May, thirteen riders of Circus-ReUz-Technord will be divided to participate in Paris-Roubaix U23 and La Flèche Ardennaise.
The U23 version of the Hell of North is organized for the first time since 2019, with a parcours of 164 kilometer following nearly the same mythical routes as the pros. Between the start in Cateau Cambrésis and the finish on the velodrome in Roubaix, 22 cobble sections have to be covered, with among them the famous section in Mons-en-Pévèle within the final 50 kilometer and Carrefour de l’Arbre within the final 20 kilometer.
The recent winner of the Tour de Bretagne, Roel van Sintmaartensdijk, will receive the support of local rider Axel Huens, Belgian riders Tim Rex, Dylan Vandenstorme and Jelle Vermoote and young Italian rider Alessio Delle Vedove.
Directed by Dimitri Claeys, the six riders did the recon of the 100 final kilometer of the parcours on Thursday. In March, Huens and van Sintmaartensdijk had the opportunity to race on the cobbles in the north of France during the DP de Denain with World Team Intermarché-Circus-Wanty.
« Putting my hands in the air in front of so many people last Monday in the Tour de Bretagne was special. I enjoyed my first UCI victory a lot this week, but at the same time I rapidly turned my focus on Paris-Roubaix. We are preparing this race for a long time already, for example with the GP de Denain in which I discovered the cobbles in the north of France. Axel Huens and I were present in the final alongside our teammates of Intermarché-Circus-Wanty and did useful work for them. This experience at high level gave us a lot of confidence and prepared us well for the challenge of this Sunday. »
« From Denain I also remember that we had no problems with the equipment. Our team has the privilege to race with the same set up as the World Team on Sunday. Our Cube Litening C:68X Aero will for example be equipped with the tubeless Continental GP5000 AS 32 mm tires. Mikey van Kruiningen, head mechanic of the World Team, calculated our ideal tire pressure in function of our weight and his experience with the pro riders. During the recon nothing was left to chance. We even tested our spare bikes during the second half of the recon. Even on the most brutal sections we can have confidence in our equipment, its a true advantage for us. »
« Our training this Thursday was also essential to see the sectors and the approach towards them. The positioning before the sections will be as important as racing on the cobbles. I expect chaos towards the first section after 32 kilometer. Afterwards, there's a transition phase during which it is possible to make up for something before starting the final 100 kilometer, during which the sections succeed each other really quickly. The numerous corners in-between the sections make it challenging and during the recon it was also quite windy. I loved to discover mythical places such as Carrefour de l'Arbre and to enter the velodrome like the heroes who sprint for the victory in the pro race. »
« Axel, Dylan Vandenstorme, Jelle Vermoote and me just finished seven days of racing in the Tour de Bretagne. We distinguished ourselves collectively with four riders in the top fifteen of GC and a stage win. Our first year U23 riders Alessio Delle Vedove and Tim Rex joined us for the recon, very motivated. Everything went very well, also the other training sessions our trainer Christophe Prémont planned for us this week. On the tactical level we can rely on the experience of sports director Dimitri Claeys, who follows my development for more than one year already. All elements in our preparation were united to enable Circus-ReUz-Technord to race for the victory on Sunday. I also feel a little mental advantage as winner of two editions of the Omloop van de Braakman, a cobble classic in The Netherlands. I hope the fans of Circus-ReUz-Technord will be present in big numbers alongside the roads to encourage us, because this gives us each time a massive boost! »
Selection:
Alessio Delle Vedove
Axel Huens
Tim Rex
Dylan Vandenstorme
Roel van Sintmaartensdijk
Jelle Vermoote
Sports Director:
Dimitri Claeys
OUR BIKE FOR ROUBAIX
Frame: CUBE Litening Aero C68:X®
Handlebars: CUBE Integrated ICR Cockpit System
Groupset: Shimano Ultegra Di2 avec CeramicSpeed OSPW
Crankset: Rotor ALDHU avec INspider powermeter & CeramicSpeed roulements
Pedals: Look Kéo Blade Carbon Ceramic
Wheels: NEWMEN Advanced SL R.42
Tires: Continental GP5000 AS 32mm
Saddle: Prologo
Bottle holders: Elite
