Teams announce rosters for classics Opening Weekend

It’s the first weekend in March, and it marks the opening weekend of the Spring Classics season in Europe.

Classics season kicks off with the UCI World Tour Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on Saturday and the UCI 1.HC Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne on Sunday. The beautiful weather that Europe has been experiencing this winter is expected to take a turn for the worst just in time for Opening Weekend. With the expected rain and wind, the 200km routes of both Saturday & Sunday are set to provide the stage for some epic classics racing.

Watch this post for updates as more teams announce their rosters.

EF Education First

Lineups:

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad: Sep Vanmarcke, Sebastian Langeveld, Tom Scully, Matti Breschel, Taylor Phinney, Alex Howes, Mitch Docker

After winning the opening stage of Tour du Haut Var this year, EF Education First’s Sep Vanmarcke goes into the Classics’ season with renewed self-belief.

“This win gives me a lot of confidence, you just think ‘Okay, I am in good shape.’ whereas other years you think ‘Am I good enough?’ and now I know I should be good enough,” Vanmarcke says.

A win like this means a lot to Vanmarcke, who over previous years has felt the pressure that naturally comes with being Belgian, leading the team at the biggest one-day races on the calendar and following in the footsteps of cycling’s greats. He admits that there have been times when this pressure has been too much for him, and  he’s struggled. His recent win has sparked a response that counter-balances that sense of stress.

“Every Belgian rider wants to be on this top level. But also I’ve started to feel it over the last few days when I’m training or in the supermarket, to feel people are awake again because the Classics are coming. People are super happy I won that stage and on my training days, they’ve been stopping their cars to shout ‘Congratulations’, ‘Good job’, ‘Keep going’ and ‘Good luck this weekend,’” Vanmarcke says, trying to convey just how much the momentum is beginning to build.

“If you are Belgian and you sit at breakfast and open the local newspapers you can read the pressure,” EF Education First sport director Andreas Klier noted.

“It’s not always easy to find an even balance, to be in the best ever shape now but then to keep that form up to Flanders, Roubaix it’s not easy,” Klier explains. “Sep has been training with the intention of building his form to peak around Flanders and Paris-Roubaix as opposed to previous years coming into this opening weekend in peak form and then trying to hold it all the way through.”

“The team asked me this year just to focus from E3 Harelbeke through to Paris-Roubaix,” notes Vanmarcke.

It’s a shift for Vanmarcke from previous years, and there’s also a bit of a shift in the team. Vanmarcke isn’t the only one coming in with a win. The team has garnered five victories in the first eight week of the year.

“All the riders just love racing at the moment,” Klier says. “There is the fun factor on top of the motivation. I saw a lot of smiling faces when I looked around at the training camp. I hope we’re also going to have smiling faces on Saturday or Sunday.”

Lotto Soudal

Lineups:

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad: Tiesj Benoot, Jasper De Buyst, Frederik Frison, Jens Keukeleire, Nikolas Maes, Brian van Goethem and Tim Wellens.

Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne: Tiesj Benoot, Jasper De Buyst, Stan Dewulf, Nikolas Maes, Rémy Mertz, Lawrence Naesen and Brian van Goethem.

Tim Wellens and Tiesj Benoot, the two Lotto Soudal leaders for Saturday, look ahead to opening weekend.

Tim Wellens: “I can look back on an excellent Ruta del Sol, topped off with two stage wins. My legs felt really good and that feeling won’t change much in one week time. Because of that, the confidence towards the Classics – for me starting with the Omloop – is great. Contrary to last year, I want to save some energy going into the finale. I will try to wait as long as possible to attack. Of course, choosing the right moment is always difficult in the Flemish races, as each climb can be decisive. Besides, I read that there is going to be a tailwind during the finale, which could play a role as well. Maybe it will cause the race to be more open.”

“The preparation is over now. The races which I am aiming for – the Omloop, Strade Bianche, Tirreno-Adriatico and the Walloon Classics – are right behind the corner. This is my second time participating in the Omloop and this year, I will be leading the team together with Tiesj Benoot. I consider Greg Van Avermaet – who may win for the third time – as the biggest favourite on Saturday. I also reckon that Michael Matthews will be amongst the possible winners, although his name has not been mentioned a lot so far. The Omloop marks his first race of the season, but he will certainly be in  good shape.”

Tiesj Benoot: “Wednesday evening, I arrived in Belgium after an altitude training in the Sierra Nevada with Jens Keukeleire. I feel very good and I look forward to the first Belgian races. Feeling great on training is always nice, but it is still something else to put that in practice. The tailwind will constitute a major difference compared to last year. This will be an advantage for the offensive riders, including myself. I think we have a really strong team in general. We can go for the victory in the Omloop with these seven riders.”

“The competition will be tough, because everyone is very eager to begin the spring season. There will be a lot of candidates for the victory. We all had a different preparation, so it is hard to evaluate the opponents. In December, we have done a recon of the course and we also tested the equipment. Soon, we will brush up on everything together and go through it profoundly. An additional recon wasn’t really necessary. I also know the surroundings very well. The Muur van Geraardsbergen is undoubtedly a crucial climb on the course. Also the Molenberg will be an important point in the race. I think the finale could start early this year. My other goals are every upcoming one-day race and Tirreno-Adriatico as well. If I can take a win in one of those race, my spring campaign would be successful.”

CCC Team

Lineups:

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad:  Michael Schär, Greg Van Avermaet, Gijs Van Hoecke, Nathan Van Hooydonck, Guillaume Van Keirsbulck, Fransisco Ventoso, Łukasz Wiśniowski

Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne:  Paweł Bernas, Josef Černy, Kamil Gradek, Gijs Van Hoecke, Nathan Van Hooydonck, Guillaume Van Keirsbulck, Fransisco Ventoso

Greg Van Avermaet will look to continue his strong start to the season with a good result at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.  Van Avermaet, who took the race honors in 2016 and 2017, will have an experienced team behind him.

Sports Director Valerio Piva said: “Of course, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad is an important race for CCC Team as it is the first Classic of the season. We know that Greg is in good shape and is motivated to start the Classics well but there are a lot of riders who can win on Saturday. We will do everything we can to put him in a good position and see how the race plays out.

“Greg will be supported more or less by the same riders who joined him at the Tour of Oman, with the exception of Fransisco Ventoso who replaces Kamil Gradek. We have the local experience from our Belgian riders; Gijs Van Hoecke, Nathan Van Hooydonck, and Guillaume Van Keirsbulck, all of whom train on these roads every day. Michael Schär, who is a valuable road caption, and Łukasz Wiśniowski, who was second at the 2018 edition, complete the squad. We left Oman very happy with the teamwork throughout the week so we are looking forward to seeing these riders race together on the cobbles for the first time this year.”

With a stage win in Valencia and a few near misses in Oman, Van Avermaet is confident ahead of the Classics opener.

“I am feeling really good ahead of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and am excited to start the Classics season. During the winter and early season races, this is what I am always thinking about so it is nice to have the first race here. I think my shape is exactly where it needs to be and I was really impressed by my teammates in Valencia and Oman which was a good sign for the Classics. Although this will be the first cobbled race for us, half of us train together every day in Belgium so we are comfortable as a team.

“The Classics season is long and it’s important to maintain good shape right through to April, which isn’t always easy, but it would be really special to get a good result for CCC Team at opening weekend, so this is definitely the goal.”

Van Avermaet will forgo Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, where the riders will have more of an open role, Piva explained.

“Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne is more of a sprinters’ Classic so we have made the decision that Greg won’t race and instead the other riders will have an opportunity to go for a result. Paweł Bernas, Kamil Gradek and Josef Černy will line up on Sunday to replace Greg, Michael, and Łukasz, so between the seven riders, we have good options for all race scenarios.

“As we have seen in recent years, it can be difficult to avoid a bunch sprint at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne so we will aim to race aggressively and be part of a small group that goes to the line.”

Team Dimension Data

Lineup: Michael Valgren, Edvald Boasson Hagen, Julien Vermote, Lars Bak, Giacomo Nizzolo, Jaco Venter, Rasmus Tiller

Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka will be lining up with the defending Omloop champion, Michael Valgren, on Saturday and he will have a strong team around him.

TDD riders to watch:

Michael Valgren – The defending champion of a Spring Classic will always be a marked man, but in the end, it is often the legs that decide who is the strongest on the tough Belgian roads.

Edvald Boasson Hagen – With an early win under his belt this season and qualities made for the Spring Classic’s, “Eddy the Boss” will be give us a double-edged Vikings sword going into Opening Weekend.

“It is great to be heading into opening weekend as the defending champion of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad,” said Michael Valgren. “Having the number 1 race bib will be special and it will bring back some good memories from last year, but now this weekend is also a new race. I know I have done the work and prepared well for this year’s classics season. It’s so difficult to win any of these classics but we are going to try and getting off to a good start this weekend will be great, for me and our team.”

Team Bahrain Merida

Lineup: Valerio Agnoli, Kristijan Koren, Sonny Colbrelli, Matej Mohorič, Dylan Teuns, Ivan Cortina, Grega Bole, Luka Pibernik

Bahrain Merida Pro Cycling Team is looking forward to compete again at the seasons’ first and fantastic classic style of racing. Tristan Hoffman, sports director of the Bahrain Merida Pro Cycling Team, noted that this race may be a good  rehearsal for the whole 2018 classic season, but also with big ambitions of our team.

“Omploop Het Nieuwsblad is a race with lots of climbs in Vlaanderen, a very fast start with alert of a bigger groups and we will concentrate on Sonny Colbrelli, Matej Mohorič and Dylan Teuns who will get protection and any time from Ivan Cortina, Grega Bole and Kristijan Koren and also be ready for breakaway jumps. It is always very important to start the climbs and cobbles in a good position and be ready for the last two and famous climbs which are the old parts of the old Tour of Vlaanderen, the Geraardsbergen and Bosberg climbs at the last 18 and 15 km to the finish line.  We all believe that we have all rights to expect good results from our riders, who are prepared very good, they are in good shape and healthy. Permanent and good positioning of the team is important and we will fight for it and watch out for Sonny and give all we can for his final solo. On both races, the big fights will be before the climbs and cobblestones.

“Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne is a similar race as Het Neuwsblad with Oude Kvaremont, the key point at 115 km as a crucial climb. There are lot of splits to be expected, but at the end there might be again a bigger group for the finish. Sonny Colbrelli will again be our leader with Ivan Cortina as our co-leader at this race as he has strong legs for such a sprint.

“Sonny Colbrelli, who is feeling great after a stage victory at Tour of Oman  is always the ideal choice for classic races like these are. He proved it in the last two seasons. Sonny feels really comfortable at Belgium Classics and it will be easier for him with a huge support of his Belgian fans.

“It is really nice to announce that Matej Mohorič will do all the cobblestones classics, so after the last years’ victory at the Binck Bank Tour, it is the first time for him to be back in Belgium and we are all excited to see him there and see him get hopefully very far at these races.

“We are coming to Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne with a stronger, very motivated and more experienced team.

“All of TBM lineup have been racing in Belgium last seasons and some before and we are looking forward to see them on the track again and we all hope that we are ready for the great opening weekend in Belgium.”

Dylan Teuns, will have his Belgian debut in TBM jersey on the Het Nieuwsblad race and Valerio Agnoli will replace him for the Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne race on Sunday.

Ag2R – La Mondiale

Lineup:

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad:

Stijn Vanderburgh, Julien Duval, Dorian Godon, Oliver Naesen, Sylvan Diller, Alexis Gougeard, Nico Denz

Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne:

Stijn Vanderburgh, Gediminas Bagondas, Dorian Godon, Oliver Naesen, Sylvan Diller, Clement Venturini, Nico Denz

Oliver Naesen will lead Ag2r-La Mondiale for Opening Weekend.

“All my winter preparation has gone well,” said Naesen. “And I am very satisfied with the form that I had during my first two races of the season (Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana and Tour of Oman).

“Since the beginning of the week, Silvan Dillier and Gediminas Bagdonas have been with me in Belgium. They came directly after Oman. This has allowed us to ride together and in particular to reconnoiter the important passages of E3 and Dwars door Vlaanderen.

“These days none of us get to spend much time at home, so I really appreciate their willingness to come here a few days early ahead of the opening of the classics season.

“Everyone is ready to go, and it will pay dividends. Personally, I would love to win a real classic. I am calm and focused now that this period is beginning.”

Stijn Vandenbergh has not missed an Omloop Het Nieuwsblad since 2008. The Belgian giant (1m99) will be starting the race for the twelfth time this year. “My best memory is from the 2013 edition where I took 2nd place,” he said.