Garmin-Transitions team director Matty White feels he has sent a squad to Belgium that could win either Omloop Het Neiuwsblad or Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne.
With a solid block of racing at the Tour of Qatar, White likes the chances of Tyler Farrar and Martijn Maaskant. However the extreme temperature change from the heat of Qatar to the cold of Belgium could be a factor.
“Tyler Farrar and Martijn Maaskant are the key guys for us this weekend. Martijn definitely for Saturday unless it’s a bunch sprint, which would obviously be for Tyler, but it’s going to be 12 degrees and a lot of wind, so a big group will not likely arrive at the finish together.”
Farrar had a breakthrough season last year with three wins at the Eneco Tour of Benelux, a stage win at Tirreno-Adriatico and the win he was searching for, a stage at a grand tour – the Vuelta a España. This year he has shown early season form at the Tour of Qatar with four top-ten stage finishes.
Twenty-seven year old Dutch rider Martin Maaskant showed immediate promise when he turned pro in 2008 with a fourth place in Paris-Roubaix. In 2009 he continued to be a solid rider recording fourth in the Tour of Flanders.
With Farrar to cover the field sprint and Maaskant for the break away, White is optimistic for not only the weekend, but the remaining classics.
“I’m happy in general how things are going, despite the bad luck of crashes and illness. I’ve never seen it to this degree ever before on a team, it’s incredible! But the key guys we are expecting results from going into March are still in one piece.”
Omloop Het Neiuwsblad
Tyler Farrar
Murillo Fischer
Robbie Hunter
Michel Kreder
Martijn Maaskant
David Millar
Johan van Summeren
Matt Wilson
Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne
Tyler Farrar
Murillo Fischer
Robbie Hunter
Michel Kreder
Martijn Maaskant
Ricardo van der Velde
Johan van Summeren
Matt Wilson