Held on a 12.3km circuit the 100th edition of Kampionschap van Vlaanderen Koolskamp offers intense racing for a total of 192.4 kilometers on a predominantly flat course. Tinkoff-Saxo lines up three fast men in Kolar, Mørkøv and Trusov.

Prior to the start Friday, Tinkoff-Saxo Head Sports Director Steven de Jongh, underlines that it takes persistent stamina to conquer a top result in the Belgian autumn race.

“It’s held on a circuit and it’s always flat-out from the start. I can’t underline enough how important it is to be motivated. With constant breakaway attempts, any rider that wish to do a top result here has to keep pushing and in the end it is the shape and the quality of the rider that determines the outcome, as the constant accelerations make for a very demanding race”, says Steven de Jongh, who won the race himself in 2009.

Tinkoff-Saxo lines up Michael Mørkøv, Nikolay Trusov, Michael Kolar, Evgeny Petrov, Bruno Pires, Matteo Tosatto, Edward Beltran and stagiaire Michael Gogl.

“It might come down to a sprint in a breakaway and if the breakaway is caught, we will see a very diminished main bunch reaching the final sprint. We have three fast guys in Michael Mørkøv, Nikolay Trusov and Michael Kolar and the rest of the squad will support them for as long as possible. Edward Beltran is still not in shape after his injury in Colorado but we need him in the opening part of the race”, explains Steven de Jongh before concluding:

“We might get some windy, rainy conditions, which will make the race even more nervous. Mørkøv, Kolar and Trusov have to keep their heads cool and spend their energy wisely but at the same time, we need to make sure that one of them is a part of the breakaway in case it makes it to the finish line”.