Daily Cycling News Digest – February 23, 2021

Here’s a slice of the Daily Cycling News for February 23, 2021

Movistar Women to Open 2021 Season at Omloop het Nieuwsblad

The women’s Movistar Team‘s fourth season will start on Saturday 27th February with the 16th Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (UCI ProSeries) in Belgium. The opening cobbled classic features a 126km route from Ghent to Ninove with plenty of hills and ‘pavé’, including the brutal final climbs of the Kapelmuur and the Bosberg, formerly used by the Ronde van Vlaanderen.

The race will mark the debut of Annemiek van Vleuten in Movistar colors. She’ll be part of a six-woman lineup also including Aude Biannic, Jelena Erić, Barbara Guarischi and two other additions to the Blue roster: Leah Thomas and Emma Norsgaard.

Naesen and Van Avermaet co-lead Ag2r in Belgian Classics

After an adjustment to his opening schedule, Oliver Naesen will co-lead the Ag2r Citroen La Mondiale team with Greg Van Avermaet in the Belgian Classics.

“I’m approaching the start of the classics season with, of course, a lot of motivation and desire,” said Naesen. “The team has grown a lot in this area and that’s important. This is the kind of race where it is never good to be isolated, and there’s no question that if you have a stronger “block” you can weigh in more on the race’s unfolding.

“I am happy to be able now to share this with Greg Van Avermaet who is a good friend.

“I do not have the same benchmarks as other years as to my form because due to the cancellation of the races in Spain, I had to change my program. So I raced with a different peloton. Nevertheless, the level was high and I felt in good shape. That is definitely a good sign.”

Van Avermaet won the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad in 2016 and 2017. He finished third in 2014 and 2019.

“We have made it clear that we have big ambitions and these two opening races are important. With Oliver and Greg, we have two great cards to play with a strong team around our leaders,” says Julien Jurdie, directeur sportif.

Deceuninck – Quick-Step to Le Samyn

While Le Samyn is not part of the World Tour calendar, but it always ends up being one of the most spectacular races of the season. The 205.4km-long course between Quaregnon and Dour has everything you could wish for from a one-day race: cobblestones, hills, and small and narrow roads – all ingredients for an exciting race.

Victorious here in 2019, when he sprinted from a small group to become the fourth different Deceuninck – Quick-Step in the space of ten years to win Le Samyn, Florian Sénéchal will return at the start, hoping to be again in contention. The Frenchman will be joined by Mark Cavendish – who is set to make his first appearance in 14 years at the race – Tim Declercq, Alvaro Hodeg, Stijn Steels, Jannik Steimle and Bert Van Lerberghe.

“GP Samyn is a very nice race in which the weather can play an important role. It’s very important to know where the race will be brought to life and where the most dangerous parts will be. We’ll start with a loop, then after 100 kilometers we will enter on the local parcours, where the cobbled sections can make a big selection.”

“It will be very difficult for the race to come down to a bunch sprint. We have a good team, with whom we can play an important role. Florian of course has his eyes on this race, which he won two years ago, but we also have other options with Jannik, Alvaro and Mark. Cav is very motivated and really looking forward to it. In the end, we’ll decide during the race which card we’ll play”, explained Deceuninck – Quick-Step sports director Rik Van Slycke.