Sep Vanmarcke wants to shine more on Spring classics this season. The LottoNL-Jumbo's rider is changing his schedule in order to win a classic. According to Velonews, he explained that he was unlucky in 2015 and he wants to change that this year.
"I hope it’ll be better for me in 2016. I was terrible last year, the luck was really against me. I was desperate to win a big classic. I won’t speak about which ones I’m after now, but I want to win", the Belgian rider told. He had punctures at key moments in both Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Paris-Roubaix.
Vanmarcke did some great performances on Spring classics last years. He finished second in both Gent-Wevelgem (2010) and Paris-Roubaix (2013), and in 2012 he won Omloop Het Hieuwsblad.
Team manager Richard Plugge is staying confident about his leader. "But remember, you are talking about a Omloop winner and one who placed second behind Fabian Cancellara in Paris-Roubaix. Last year, he was unlucky, but in 2014, he placed [in the] top 5 in all the spring classics."
"I’m skipping Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne because the weeks before I’d end up training too much because they are big races. I’d come out of the races in great condition, but still with six weeks to go until Paris-Roubaix.I just want to try and see if it works out. I don’t need much racing to be good. If I do a stage race, I’m ready", he added.
Vanmarcke will start his season at the Volta ao Algarve on February 17. He will be present at the start of Paris-Nice in March in order to improve his physical condition for the spring classics.
"Six wins was really bad and we need a better level this year,” Vanmarcke said. "Pressure? I don’t feel the pressure to keep the team off the bottom of the WorldTour. I think that the wins will come, we just have to put more effort behind our sprinters Dylan Groenewegen and Moreno Hofland, and have some luck."
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