Some of the classics riders of Lotto Soudal did a recon of the Tour of Flanders and Omloop Het Nieuwsblad yesterday and Wednesday. Together they could already start preparing mentally for the Classics and they could regain the feeling on the cobbles.

On Wednesday Tiesj Benoot, Stig Broeckx, Jens Debusschere, André Greipel, Jürgen Roelandts and Jelle Wallays did a ride of 200 kilometres, on the course of the Tour of Flanders. Yesterday the riders headed towards Kaperij to do a recon of the finale of the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. On Saturday, February 27 that will be the seventh climb of the day. Then they continued their way up to Taaienberg and Eikenberg. This year there is a new climb on the course of the Omloop: Boembeke. It is located at about 30 kilometres from the finish, which isn’t at Sint-Pietersplein this year but on the Emile Clauslaan.

Herman Frison, sports director Lotto Soudal, explained:

“We are satisfied after these two recons. The weather was good both days; today it was cold but dry. Even the sun came out today. Because the weather was good, we could do the trainings as planned. Of course our riders know the Flemish hills, but still such a recon is important to get the right vibe on the cobbles. That has to happen before the first race in Flanders. This year the Omloop has a new finish, it’s good the riders saw that today, just like the roads up to the new climb.

“The riders normally race in warm countries these days, like Spain and Portugal, there is a big difference with the temperature in Belgium, so also therefore it’s useful to train here. If the weather is good we’ll do another training on the course a few days before the Omloop, but if we should have to cancel that recon it’s good that we had this.”