The real season starts here for Belgian classics team
The Quick Step team has spent the day riding the course of Saturday’s Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, the opening race of the Belgian calendar, and declares itself ready. The “Openingsweekend” of Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne marks the end of the period of warm up races, like the Tours of Qatar and Oman, and the beginning of the season proper for the team’s classics stars.
The team put in a five-hour ride over the cobbles and climbs to be covered in Saturday’s race, getting caught in the rain towards the end.
“We had a good workout,” said team trainer Tom Steels, who won the race in 1996 when it was called the Omloop Het Volk. “The guys were motivated and in shape. The course has changed and in my opinion it’s a bit more challenging than previous editions.
“The last 60 kilometres that decide the race will be hard,” he added, “and the route is really nervous. It’s definitely going to be a good race.”
After the ride the teams for both races were decided; the team has won Het Nieuwsblad (in its Het Volk form) with Johan Museeuw in 2003 and Nick Nuyens in 2005, but Tom Boonen’s third place of 2007 is the best result of the current squad. The team has had more luck in Kuurne though, with Boonen taking two victories, in 2007 and 2009; Nuyens also won in 2006 and Steven De Jongh in 2008.
“We’ll be lining up at the starting line with two competitive formations,” explained Wilfried Peeters, who will be guiding the riders from the team car in both races. “The athletes with more experience like Boonen, [Sylvain] Chavanel, [Nikolas] Maes and [Gert] Steegmans will be riding in both races. Next to them they’ll have athletes suited to the different types of routes.
“On Saturday there will be riders more adapted to an intense course while on Sunday we’re lining up a group with faster riders for the sprints. At Kuurne one of our best young riders, Guillaume Van Keirsbulck will also be riding; it will be an important experience for him.”
Quick Step team for the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad:
Tom Boonen, Sylvain Chavanel, Kevin De Weert, Dries Devenyns, Nikolas Maes, Gert Steegmans, Niki Terpstra and Kevin Van Impe
Reserves: Gerald Ciolek and Andreas Stauff
Team for Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne:
Marco Bandiera, Tom Boonen, Sylvain Chavanel, Andreas Stauff, Gerald Ciolek, Nikolas Maes, Gert Steegmans and Guillaume Van Keirsbulck
Reserves: Kevin Van Impe and Niki Terpstra