After a successful Tour de Luxembourg, Team Stölting Service Group will ride four one-day races this week. The first one is the GP du canton d'Argovie (1.HC) in Gippingen, Switzerland.

Held since 1964 as part of the Gippingen cycling days, the race consists of ten laps of a 18.87 km circuit starting and finishing in Leuggern. With a total of 2360 altitude metres the peloton will become smaller and smaller every lap, and the race often ends in the sprint of a small group.

Team Stölting Service Group fields Rasmus Guldhammer (DEN), Alex Kirsch (LUX), Thomas Koep (GER), Romain Lemarchand (FRA), Christian Mager (GER), Michael Reihs (DEN), Sven Reutter (GER), and Fabian Wegmann (GER). Alex Kirsch showed his good form by finishing third in last week's Tour de Luxembourg, but Rasmus Guldhammer, Christian Mager, or Fabian Wegmann could also get a result.

Sports Director Gregor Willwohl (GER) says: “It's a very hilly race with a world-class peloton. We have a couple of riders who can perform well here, but we haven't decided on who to ride for yet. That also depends on the form on the day, but in any case we will race aggressively.”

The 106th edition of the Danish classic Fyen Rundt - Tour of Fyen (1.2) is on the race schedule for Saturday. After 180 km around the island of Fyn, four laps of a 8.2 km finishing circuit with a 400-metre gravel section will decide the winner of the race.

The next day, the second edition of the GP Horsens Posten (1.2) is raced in Jutland. Last year the races were held in reverse order; this year the race in and around Horsens closes the Danish weekend. 160 km in the hilly area north of Horsens are followed by five laps of a finishing circuit with an uphill finish.

Six of Team Stölting Service Group's Danish riders will race Fyen Rundt: Michael Carbel, Rasmus Guldhammer, Alexander Kamp, Lasse Norman Hansen, Mads Pedersen, and Rasmus Quaade. For the GP Horsens Posten Rasmus Guldhammer will be replaced by Michael Reihs, otherwise the line-up stays the same. Last year, Alexander Kamp won the GP Horsens Posten and was runner-up at Fyen Rundt, and he is eager to repeat this success. However, the other riders are also capable of winning and want to perform in front of a home crowd.

Sports Director André Steensen is in charge of both races (DEN). He says: “Our Danish riders are always very motivated when racing at home. The Danish Continental teams are quite strong and competitive also in international races against professional teams, so we have a lot of respect for them. But I believe that we can race for the win on both days. All our riders are in good condition and will support each other on the roads in pursuit of victory.”

On Sunday, Team Stölting Service Group will also race the 100th edition of Rund um Köln (1.HC). The Rhine classic is the team's second race in Germany and also the UCI race closest to the Service Course and the main sponsor's headquarters in Gelsenkirchen, meaning that the riders will be very motivated to perform well.

After starting in Köln, most of the race route is on the right bank bank of the Rhine in the Bergisches Land. Six mountain sprints make for a hard race, including two ascents of the cobbled hill at Schloss Bensberg. Finally the peloton comes back to Köln for two finishing laps at the Rheinau harbour before the winner is decided after 205.8 km. Sometimes the race ends in a mass sprint, but often a small break makes it to the end.

Team Stölting Service Group fields a strong team in Köln. The Luxembourger Alex Kirsch finished third in his home tour last week and is joined by seven Germans including local hero Gerald Ciolek. Linus Gerdemann, Lennard Kämna, or Fabian Wegmann could also get a result, they will be supported by Thomas Koep, Sven Reutter, and Jonas Tenbrock.

Sports Director Jochen Hahn says: “There's a good spirit in the team after our recent success, especially Alex Kirsch is riding well. And it's always special to race in Germany and experience the enthusiasm of the spectators along the road. We will be one of the teams that can make the race, but we have several cards to play, enabling us to also react to the other teams' plans.”