Defending champion Yves Lampaert will be back for the 73rd edition of Dwars door Vlaanderen this Wednesday, which takes place between Roeselare and Waregem, over 181.1 kilometres. Lampaert took the biggest win of his career last year after attacking in the closing kilometres from a group which included Quick Step Floors teammate Philippe Gilbert, who dutifully covered every move before sprinting to second place.
The famous hellingen are again expected to decide the winner, with Kluisberg, Taaienberg, Kruisberg and Nokereberg, which features just ten kilometres from the finish, being just some of the hurdles the riders will have to overcome.
Neo-pro Alvaro Hodeg, a stage winner last week at the Volta a Catalunya, will make his first outing in a World Tour one-day race at Dwars door Vlaanderen, where Elia Viviani will conclude the first part of his season.
Also making the Quick Step Floors team for the race will be Iljo Keisse, Maximiliano Richeze, Zdenek Stybar and Niki Terpstra, the E3 Harelbeke winner and two-time victor in Waregem (2012 and 2014).
“It’s a completely different course compared to the one of the previous edition, however, it won’t be any easier, as it’s still a very tough profile,” said Quick-Step Floors sports director Tom Steels, a former winner of the race. “The final is quite the same but there are less cobbles and hills, which on paper will play in favour of a bigger group battling it out in a sprint. One of the things that can ruin it for the sprinters is bad weather conditions, which will make the race a lot more difficult to control for them”,
“Some riders and teams might have De Ronde in mind or be tired from the heavy program of this period, which could make for an atypical race, where even an early breakaway has a chance to go all the way, so we must be prepared for any scenario. We have Viviani in the team, Richeze and Hodeg are there as well, so if we have a chance to go for a sprint, we will try and take it. After finishing in the top three at the last seven races on Belgian turf, we are very motivated to keep the momentum going.”
