Team Stölting has announced the line-ups for the Tour des Fjords, Brussels Cycling Classic and GP de Fourmies.

The Tour des Fjords (2.1) in Western Norway will be the third Norwegian race of the season for Team Stölting Service Group. Held since 2013, the race offers a challenging parcours in beautiful landscape.

Stage 1 finishes in Bergen where the riders will do a one-lap preview of the 2017 World Championships course. Stage 2 from Stord to Odda includes the Grostøl climb with 20 km to go and will probably end in the sprint of a reduced group. The third stage is the longest of the race at 220 km, and the peloton will have to climb Røldalsfjellet and Kringletjørn in the middle of the stage. Even though there is 70 km still to race after the descent, this detour into the mountains could well decide the stage as well as the race overall. Stage 4 from Stavanger to Sandnes is quite flat, but on the final stage from Hinna Park to Stavanger the climb of Sørmarksbakken on the finishing circuit is a springboard for attacks.

Rasmus Guldhammer (DEN) leads the six-rider Team Stölting Service Group line-up. He will be joined by Danish champion Alexander Kamp, Alex Kirsch (LUX), Christian Mager (GER), Mads Pedersen (DEN), and Michael Reihs (DEN).

Sports Director André Steensen (DEN) says: “I think that we come to Norway with an exciting team. Michael has lots of experience in these races and has shown his good shape in the Schaal Sels. Rasmus and Christian are both well-suited to the race's climbs; if the long climbs are raced hard they're our best cards. Mads, Alexander and Alex are all very good on the short, explosive ascents that the race offers, and I'm looking forward to a hard race. Finally, we have to think of the weather, as cold and rain can make the stages even harder.”

On Saturday, Team Stölting Service Group will line up for the Brussels Cycling Classic (1.HC). Held for the first time in 1893 as Paris-Brussels, the prestigious classic has been raced entirely around the Belgian capital since 2013.

Over 198.1 km, the Brussels Cycling Classic heads through Vlaams-Brabant and Brabant Wallon, with a total of 13 ascents. Most of the climbs are situated in the second half of the course, the Alsemberg and Bruine Put are probably the best-known hills. There's just over 30 km from the crest of the final climb, the Menisberg, to the finish line at the Belgian national stadium in the Heisel district of Brussels where the victory is normally decided in a sprint.

Team Stölting Service Group sends a young squad to Belgium: Lennard Kämna (GER), Thomas Koep (GER), Rasmus Quaade (DEN), Sven Reutter (GER), and Jonas Tenbrock (GER) will profit from the experience of Romain Lemarchand (FRA), Lasse Norman Hansen (DEN), and Fabian Wegmann (GER).

“This race has a lot of tradition, and some of the world's best teams will be there,” says Sports Director Jochen Hahn (GER). “We want to do more than just tag along and will try to show ourselves at the front and maybe spring a surprise.”
 

The day after the Brussels Cycling Classic, Team Stölting Service Group races the GP de Fourmies - La Voix du Nord in Northern France. Held since 1928, the race is classified in the category just below the WorldTour.

The 205 km race starts and finishes in the town of Fourmies. A long loop of 150 km with six categorised climbs – the Côte du Boquet and Côte du Sacré-Cœur are climbed three times each – are followed by five laps of an 11 km circuit including the Côte de l'Ancienne Gendarmerie. The final three kilometres descend slightly to the finish in front of the Fourmies town hall.

Team Stölting Service Group lines up the same eight riders in Fourmies as in Brussels the day before: The five Germans Lennard Kämna, Thomas Koep, Sven Reutter, Jonas Tenbrock, and Fabian Wegmann are joined by Romain Lemarchand (FRA), Lasse Norman Hansen (DEN), and Rasmus Quaade (DEN).

Sports Director Jochen Hahn (GER) says: “It's September, so the weather may well play a role; the finishing circuit in particular could see echelons if there's strong wind. This race has participation from many strong teams, we will try to be active and make the race.”