Three line-ups of CCC Sprandi Polkowice will take part in the upcoming three races – the Polish season opener in Sobótka, a build-up event ahead of Amstel Gold Race in Limburg and the 100th edition of the legendary classic Ronde van Vlanderen.
"Despite the fact that we get to race in the most prestigious UCI World Tour races, competing in Sobótka is always very important for us. After a long off-season break we finally have a chance to meet our Polish fans and compete against other Polish teams. We want to start off the domestic season with a bang and we eye a victory" sporting director of CCC Sprandi Polkowice Piotr Wadecki explains.
A young roster, with three U23 riders (plus 23-year old Eryk Latoń) will tackle the 126-kilometer “Ślężański Mnich”. They will be led by more experienced Mateusz Taciak, Grzegorz Stępniak and Maciej Paterski, who is recovering after some recent health issues. The latter has won in Sobótka at the previous two editions.
Another part of the team will simultaneously compete on the Flemish, cobblestone roads, in one of the biggest and oldest cycling classics.
"This year’s Belgian one-day events have been a big challenge for us and a good opportunity to learn how to race in those specific conditions. We haven’t succeeded so far on the cobbles, but we are definitely not giving up and we will show up at the start with ambitious and aggressive mindset. Ronde van Vlaanderen is one of the monuments and one of the key races in the cycling calendar, and we want to make our presence known out there," Wadecki says.
CCC Sprandi Polkowice will be represented in Flanders with a similar roster to the one from the last Belgian cobblestone World Tour event, Gent-Wevelgem. The only substitution involves Grzegorz Stępniak, who has been replaced by youngster Patryk Stosz.
For CCC Sprandi Polkowice it will be a debut in this race.
For the fourth consecutive time the „orange squad” will take on Volta Limburg Classic. There are 30 short, but punchy climbs on the menu, which makes this race a good test ahead of the Amstel Gold Race.
Last year CCC Sprandi Polkowice riders put on great performance. They were present in most of the moves and Maciej Paterski finished 2nd. So far the team has never finished outside the top 10.
Davide Rebellin will make sure to continue that trend, as he will be the leader of the squad. Felix Grosschartner and Łukasz Owsian are also expected to be seen at the head of the group in the final kilometers.
Line-up of CCC Sprandi Polkowice for Volta Limburg Classic (2.04, 1.1):
Davide Rebellin, Jan Hirt, Felix Grosschartner, Łukasz Owsian, Marcin Mrożek, Nikolay Mihaylov, Adrian Honkisz, Leszek Pluciński
Line-up of CCC Sprandi Polkowice for „Ślężański Mnich” in Sobótka (3.04):
Grzegorz Stępniak, Mateusz Taciak, Maciej Paterski, Alan Banaszek, Kamil Małecki, Piotr Brożyna, Eryk Latoń.
Line-up of CCC Sprandi Polkowice for Ronde van Vlaanderen (3.04, 1.UWT):
Simone Ponzi, Tomasz Kiendyś, Jarosław Marycz, Bartłomiej Matysiak, Adrian Kurek, Michał Paluta, Patryk Stosz, Josef Cerny
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