Lotto Soudal have announced their line-ups for the Clasica San Sebastian and the RideLondon Clasic.

Almost a week after the Tour de France a one-day WorldTour race is scheduled: the Clásica San Sebastián. On Saturday it will be the 36th edition of this Basque race. The Klasikoa is 220.2 kilometres long and contains six hills, twice the duo Jaizkibel and Arkale. The Murgil Tontorra, with top eight kilometres from the finish, is likely to be decisive.

Sports director Frederik Willems said:

“Tim Wellens and Tony Gallopin are our leaders. Jelle Vanendert and Tiesj Benoot are also able to set a good result on that course. Tiesj didn’t ride Tour de Wallonie because he was ill, but he could train sufficiently to get ready for Saturday. Sean De Bie, Pim Ligthart, Tosh Van der Sande and Louis Vervaeke need to support the others. We really have a strong team.

“We don’t intend to join an early breakaway. No doubt Movistar will control the escape. Other teams to keep an eye on are BMC, with Gilbert and Van Avermaet, and Orica that has last year’s winner lined up: Adam Yates. Alejandro Valverde already rode Giro and Tour, but with all his experience I still expect him to be good at San Sebastián. For Adam Yates the Klasikoa was his first big victory ever. He’s still young so we have to wait and see if he is not too tired after the Tour, where he was a GC contender.

“The last climb will be the crucial one. The other climbs will already split the bunch, but the final selection will occur on the last climb. It’s a climb of 2.5 kilometres with an average gradient of 9%. The first five hundred metres gradually go uphill and then there’s a peak of 20%. In total there is a 20% gradient for 500 to 600 metres. Apart from the fact that the climb is steep, it’s also a very narrow one. The most important part of the race will be turning up the climb. The others have to make sure that Tim and Tony are well positioned. All eight should be able to remain in the first group until the bottom of the climb. I expect we can play along for the podium in San Sebastián.”

Line-up:

Tiesj Benoot, Sean De Bie, Tony Gallopin, Pim Ligthart, Tosh Van der Sande, Jelle Vanendert, Louis Vervaeke and Tim Wellens.

A day after the Clásica San Sebastián, the RideLondon Classic is scheduled. It’s only the fifth edition of this race. This Europe Tour race of 202.3 kilometres starts and finishes in the centre of London. In the meantime the riders get to cover a few laps in Surrey on a hilly course. Before the riders get back to the British capital Box Hill awaits. This climb is known from the Olympics 2012. The finish line lies on The Mall, right across Buckingham Palace.

Sports director Marc Wauters said:

“There are two riders in our selection who have completed the Tour: Lars Bak and Jürgen Roelandts. They should be in a good shape. Maybe they have to get back in the rhythm in the beginning of the race, but on the climbs their Tour shape should make the difference. Unfortunately Jens Debusschere had to pull out of the Tour after a crash. He has just restarted training and told us the condition is still fine.

“We aren’t aiming for a bunch sprint, but we plan to race aggressively. The course is perfect for that. Jelle Wallays is doing really well. Last week he won GP Cerami. Kris Boeckmans is making progress every week, like we saw at Tour de Wallonie. He has a chance when it comes down to a sprint at the finish. Frederik Frison was also climbing well at Tour de Wallonie, so he can show something on Sunday as well. We will certainly choose to attack and if the race does end with a bunch sprint we will see which rider sprints: Kris, Jens or Jürgen.

“The British riders will definitely be motivated to perform well in their own country. We can also expect guys who rode the Tour to be good. It will definitely be a nice race. It’s a very good organisation. There are always thousands of spectators and there is a great atmosphere. And winning in the centre of London is of course incredible.”

Line-up: 

Lars Bak, Kris Boeckmans, Jens Debusschere, Frederik Frison, Jürgen Roelandts and Jelle Wallays.