David Tanner and Dries Devenyns will lead IAM at Brabantse Pijl.

“Along with the Amstel Gold Race, La Flèche Brabançonne has been my favorite race ever since I turned pro,” David Tanner readily admits.  “The course just appeals to me.  I love these short, stiff climbs for the puncheurs.  As soon as we have to be climbing for more than ten minutes, I am at a disadvantage.”

The 31-year old Australian has been making his preparation for this race with great care. 

“Our manager Rik Verbrugghe decided to change my program a little bit this season.  In order to perform as well as possible at the Flèche Brabançonne and Amstel Gold Race, I decided to conduct some altitude training in March in the Sierra Nevada before returning to the rhythm of competition at the Tour of the Basque Country.”

“In 2015, the most recent time I’ve race here, I made one mistake when I was out in a breakaway with Ben Hermans (BMC), who ended up being the solo winner.  I was right there with him with less than two kilometers to go, and that’s the story of my life.  I have never been missing much to secure a prestigious win.  That is a trend I would like to reverse.”

Dries Devenyns took part in the sprint out of the small group of favorites that arrived on the heels of the winner in 2015, and ended his day in a strong 10th place.  Devenyns, who has been hampered by illness during the Tour of Flanders, nevertheless hopes to be able to be in a position to play for the win again.

Everything from cobbled sections, to narrow roads and no fewer than 26 climbs are scheduled to complicate the 205.3 kilometer race where Peter Sagan, Philippe Gilbert as well as Sylvan Chavanel have all established themselves in punchy fashion.