Last year Sep Vanmarcke finished 2nd in Paris-Roubaix and this year he has been in the top 5 in all cobbled classics he has done. In the Ronde van Vlaanderen, Belkin will fully support their strong Belgian who can count on assistance from a returning Lars Boom.

Sep Vanmarcke displayed excellent form in recent weeks. He finished in the top five in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, E3-Harelbeke and Gent Wevelgem. On Sunday, the Belgian will lead the Belkin Pro Cycling TEAM in the Tour of Flanders. After all the great support he received from his team-mates in the latest races, Vanmarcke thinks he can go far in Flanders. 

“There can only be one winner, but of course I hope to be the one,” said Vanmarcke. “We’ll go for it as a team. The team has supported me very well the last few weeks and that is very important as otherwise you’ll lose a lot of energy during a race. 

“Every year, I got better and at this moment I feel stronger than ever. My good shape gives me a lot of confidence, even though I know that riders will look at me. That causes some pressure, but I thinks that’s better than when it’s the other way around. I just try to not get distracted by it.” 

Sports Director Nico Verhoeven has seen a strong team effort in the last few weeks, which gives him confidence for the Tour of Flanders. 

“Sep has shown that he’s good”, Verhoeven said. “When the team worked for him, he bagged good results and gained confidence from that. Sep knows that he can count on his teammates, who love to work for him because they know that there’s a big change their work will bring a result. We’ll start the race to win it.” 

Verhoeven is glad Lars Boom will be at the start in Bruges. The Dutchman was struggling with an elbow injury after a crash in Paris-Nice but is now back on track.

“Maybe Flanders comes a bit too early for Lars, but he can still play a vital role for Sep,” said Verhoeven. 

Boom agrees with Verhoeven.

“I’m going in the right direction,” he explaeined. “During Gent-Wevelgem I occasionally felt some pain, but during the race, it got better. Hopefully I can stay with Sep for a long time in Flanders and maybe next week in Paris-Roubaix, I can do something myself again.” 
 

Lars Boom, Jos van Emden, Tom Leezer, Bram Tankink, Maarten Tjallingii, Sep Vanmarcke, Robert Wagner and Maarten Wynants.