Team Giant-Alpecin have announced their line-ups for the first three cobbled classics in March.

On Wednesday, the 71st edition of Dwars door Vlaanderen takes place and it is the traditional opening of another half week of racing in Flanders that lead up to next week's Ronde van Vlaanderen. This year's parcours is 199.7km long and again has the typical Flemish cobbled hills such as the Paterberg and Oude Kwaremont.

It will be the first race for Chad Haga (USA) since the training accident and the team is delighted to see him racing again. 

"With the recent number of unfortunate injuries, we are heading to Belgium with six riders but we will still be ready to challenge and to make an impression as a team," explained coach Arthur van Dongen . 

"We will try to be in the breakaway and we must be attentive during the key moments of the race as the combination of the steep hills will make it exhausting. This is a very young line-up and it will be an important race in the development of the team." 

LINE-UP
Caleb Fairly (USA)
Chad Haga (USA)
Cheng Ji (CHN)
Carter Jones (USA)
Fredrik Ludvigsson (SWE)
Sam Oomen (NED)

E3 HARELBEKE (WT)

The one-day races continue with E3 Harelbeke this Friday. Team Giant-Alpecin's classics squad will be looking to test their legs again in this tough race which features no less than 15 hills and four cobblestone sections along its 206km route, including the well-known ascents of the Taaienberg, the Paterberg, and the Oude Kwaremont.

Coach Luke Roberts said ahead of the race: "At E3 Harelbeke we are facing one of the toughest races among the Flemish Classics. We have a few riders coming into good shape and I expect them to be competitive.

"The second half of the race contains a lot of cobbled climbs and narrow roads making it a difficult finale. With Zico part of the line-up, we also have some added local knowledge that can be to the team's advantage during this challenging race."

LINE-UP

Søren Kragh Andersen (DEN)
Roy Curvers (NED)
Bert De Backer (BEL)
Koen de Kort (NED)
Ramon Sinkeldam (NED)
Tom Stamsnijder (NED)
Albert Timmer (NED)
Zico Waeytens (BEL)

During the 241.3km Gent-Wevelgem, the riders are often tested by wind and rain, including 9 hills along the route such as the Casselberg, the Catsberg and the Baneberg. But the last of the hills is the Kemmelberg, 35km from the finish. Therefore, not many editions of the race, in fact, end in a bunch sprint with often the winner coming from a small group of escapees.

Coach Marc Reef said: "The objective is to go for a good result with the experienced group of riders we have. The wind can be a factor in the early part of the race so we will have to be vigilant. The Kemmelberg will be a key moment in the race so we need be in a good position before the hill begins.

"If the race comes back together for a bunch sprint we will go for Zico who is showing good form at the moment and we can aim for a top 10 result."

LINE-UP
Søren Kragh Andersen (DEN)
Roy Curvers (NED)
Bert De Backer (BEL)
Koen de Kort (NED)
Ramon Sinkeldam (NED)
Tom Stamsnijder (NED)
Albert Timmer (NED)
Zico Waeytens (BEL)