After their dominant showing in Sunday's Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, Omega Pharma-Quick Step will try to continue their run of success on home soil when they line up for tomorrow's Le Samyn. In the absence of the team's marquee sprinters, Andrew Fenn will get his chance to shine if the race comes down to a bunch sprint.
After a failure in Saturday's Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Omega Pharma-Quick Step put things right in Sunday's Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne where the team dominated the action before taking the win with Tom Boonen. Tomorrow the team will try to continue that success when the Belgian season continues in Wallonia with Le Samyn but this time they will be without their biggest stars.
Le Samyn takes place on a lumpy course in Wallonia where the riders will first cover a 110km stretch that contains 5 small climbs. The race end with5 laps of a circuit that has another two ascents but it typically ends with a sprint on the uphill finishing straight. Last year Alexey Tsatevich (Katusha) launched a surprise attack inside the final kilometre to take the win.
In case of a bunch sprint, Omega Pharma-Quick Step will look to Andrew Fenn to come away with the goods as the British sprinter gets a rare chance to chase some personal success. He will lead a strong team that also includes new signing Thomas De Gendt, track specialist Iljo Keisse, and classics powerhouse Guillaume Van Keirsbulck.
"There is a big lap, followed by a local circuit with cobblestones that will condition the race," Sport Director Rik Van Slycke said. "This race is never easy, it is always up and down. We are here with a good team. We have Thomas De Gendt who is really motivated, Guillaume Van Keirsbulck who did this race in the past and is doing very well, Andrew Fenn who can be our card in case of a sprint finish.
"We also have experienced guys like Iljo Keisse, Martin Velits, and Julien Vermote who can also help our new guys like Julian Alaphilippe and Petr Vakoc to gain some experience in this kind of typical Belgian parcours. Tomorrow the weather should be good, which will help us, and we hope for a good race for our team."
Starting at 14.30 CET you can follow the race on CyclingQuotes.com/live.
Omega Pharma-Quick Step for Le Samyn:
Andrew Fenn, Iljo Keisse, Thomas De Gendt, Guillaume Van Keirsbulck, Martin Velits, Julien Vermote, Julian Alaphilippe, and Petr Vakoc
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