As Spring approaches the northern hemisphere, the cycling season warms up with the Classics: a collection of races in France, Belgium and the Netherlands that define the true start of the European professional cycling calendar. The UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team is proud to have received invites to some of the most prestigious of these historic events: Scheldeprijs, Paris-Roubaix, and La Flèche Wallonne.

With a strong start to the season in the books, including overall KOM Jersey victories at the Tour de Langkawi (Kiel Reijnen) and Criterium International (Marco Canola), the team is ready to do battle on the famed cobbled roads of northern Europe where cycling history has been made for the last century.

The UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team classics and semi-classics campaign has been in progress for several weeks, with Tanner Putt taking an impressive 7th place at the GP Le Samyn and 7th place in Albert Achterhes Pet Ronde van Drenthe with his teammate Alessandro Bazzana directly behind him in 8th. The high-profile classics season kicks off for the team with the Scheldeprijs on April 8th. Set in the cycling hotbed of Flanders, the 204.2-km sprinter-friendly course suits the UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team. The oldest race in Flanders, the 103rd edition of the Scheldeprijs will be a great opportunity for Tanner Putt and Ken Hanson to contest the sprint finish on the streets of Schoten.

Paris-Roubaix is one of five monuments in cycling – the most important one-day races in the world. On the 12th of April, The UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team will line up with eight strong riders to tackle the 253-km race. The team will build on experience gained at the 2014 edition, where UnitedHealthcare Blue Train rider and current US National Criterium Champion John Murphy famously raced his way into the breakaway of the day and emerged from the Arenberg Forest leading the race. The 2015 route covers 27 sections of Pavé: rough, cobbled farm roads that stretch out the peloton, pushing the riders and their equipment to the absolute limit. The race becomes a battle against the roads and elements, not just the other riders. Representing The UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team in the historic event will be Alessandro Bazzana, Robert Förster, Davide Frattini, Chris Jones, John Murphy, Danny Summerhill, Tanner Putt, and Federico Zurlo.

La Flèche Wallonne is the second of the Ardennes Classic, held on April 22nd. The beautiful Walloon region of Belgium is famed for its rolling wooded hills, but it is these same climbs that will challenge the riders over the course of the route from Charleroi to Huy. The 199.5-km race finishes atop the Mur de Huy, a wall-like climb that hits a gradient of 26% near the top. For the UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team, Alessandro Bazzana, Marco Canola, Lucas Euser, Davide Frattini, Chris Jones, Daniele Ratto, Kiel Reijnen, and Federico Zurlo will contest the steep climbs of the Ardennes.

General manager Mike Tamayo commented, “The UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team is a program dedicated to progress and forward momentum. We’ve shown that we’re capable of animating and impacting the racing at the highest level, and are honored to be included in these very important races.”