Jurgen Roelandts will be the designated captain for Lotto Belisol in tomorrow's final big classic, Paris-Tours. With Jens Debusschere being a dangerous joker, the team is hopeful they will perform well in the sprint classic.
The classics season will come to an end tomorrow with Paris-Tours and Lotto Belisol are hopeful that they will end that part of their season on a high. Jurgen Roelandts has been assigned the captaincy role and he will be supported by an in-form Jens Debusschere.
Last year Roelandts was expected to be one of the dominant riders in the race as he won the overall in the Tour de l'Eurometropole just one week before the race. However, he crashed hard a few days prior to the race and a broken collarbone forced him to forfeit his participation.
This year his teammate Jens Debusschere did what Roelandts did last year as he won both the first stage and the overall in the Tour de l'Eurometropole. Having also finished 5th in the tough uphill finish in Tuesday's Binche-Chimay-Binche, the Belgian is obviously in great form and will be Roelandts' key support rider in tomorrow's sprint classic.
"Sunday we play the card of Jürgen Roelandts," sports director Bart Leysen said. "Last week in the Eurométropole Tour, Jürgen rode for Jens Debusschere, with success. Jürgen and Jens are in an excellent condition, they proved that in the Eurométropole Tour and Binche-Chimay-Binche."
"Jens Debusschere is our leader of the second line and he can definitely ride such a final. It's especially important that we don't let ourselves get pushed aside in the bustle and can start the hills well in front because we can't afford to be surprised."
The duo will be joined by Lars Bak, Gaetan Bille, Stig Broeckx, Kenny Dehaes, Gert Dockx and Frederique Robert on the roster. Last year, Bille was the team's highest finisher in 21st.
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