Lotto Belisol also confirms early season openers for Roelandts, Gallopin and Monfort
Lotto Belisol’s Grand Tour and Ardennes Classic riders Jurgen Van den Broeck and Jelle Vanendert have finalised the first part of their 2014 season programmes, with both of the Belgians opting for an early start in the Tour de San Luis in January.
Van den Broeck, who has twice finished fourth in the Tour de France, and Vanendert, who won a stage and wore the mountains jersey in the 2011 Tour and has also finished second in the Amstel Gold Race plus fourth in Flèche Wallonne, will get things underway in the Argentinean event on January 20th.
Van den Broeck has good memories of the race, having placed fifth overall last year.
He will also ride Tirreno Adriatico for the first time.
The team has also finalised the details for several other riders; Jürgen Roelandts will start in the Santos Tour Down Under, then compete in the Tour of Qatar, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne and Tirreno Adriatico.
As for André Greipel, the team has confirmed again that he will compete in the Santos Tour Down Under, a race where he has notched up numerous stages in recent years. After what he hopes will be another successful season debut there, he will travel to the Tour of Qatar and could also do the Tour of Oman.
He will, as stated before, miss Milan Sanremo. The new tougher course is likely a big reason for that, with Mark Cavendish also avoiding the race.
As for Tony Gallopin, the rider will likely begin with the GP La Marseillaise and will then ride the Etoile de Bessèges en route to his first big target, Paris-Nice. Maxime Monfort also wants to shine there, but will build his own preparation by competing in Spanish events such as the Ruta del Sol.