Wanty-Groupe Gobert has 22 riders for 2016. The team of general manager Jean-François Bourlart has riders of no less than six nationalities, three more than in 2015. The average age dropped from almost 30 to 28 years.
Wanty-Groupe Gobert signed nine new riders including the numbers 3 and 7 of this year's Europe Tour Dimitri Claeys and Gaëtan Bille, Tour de l’Avenir stage winner and Liège-Bastogne-Liège U23-winner Guillaume Martin (FRA), Briton Mark McNally and sprinter Kenny Dehaes.
The complete line-up in 2016:
Simone Antonini - 24 (ITA)
Frederik Backaert - 25 (BEL)
Jérôme Baugnies - 28 (BEL)
Gaëtan Bille - 27 (BEL) - new
Dimitri Claeys - 28 (BEL) – new
Thomas Degand - 29 (BEL) –new
Kenny Dehaes - 31 (BEL) – new
Antoine Demoitié - 25 (BEL) – new
Tom Devriendt - 24 (BEL)
Boris Dron - 27 (BEL)
Enrico Gasparotto - 33 (ITA)
Roy Jans - 25 (BEL)
Marco Marcato - 31 (ITA)
Guillaume Martin - 22 (FRA) - new
Mark McNally - 26 (GBR) - new
Marco Minnaard - 26 (NED)
Danilo Napolitano - 34 (ITA)
Lander Seynaeve - 23 (BEL)
Robin Stenuit - 25 (BEL) – new
Bjorn Thurau - 27 (DLD) – new
Kévin Van Melsen - 28 (BEL)
Frederik Veuchelen - 37 (BEL)
The team said goodbye to eight riders: Bjorn Leukemans, Francis De Greef, James Vanlandschoot (retired), Tim De Troyer (Veranda’s Willems), Jan Ghyselinck (Veranda’s Willems), Fréderique Robert (Crelan-Vastgoedservice), Yannik Eijssen (Crelan-Vastgoedservice) and Mirko Selvaggi (Androni-Giocatolli).
Race planning February
Wanty-Groupe Gobert travels to Benidorm, Spain from 11 to 23 January for a training camp. On the 15th of January there will be a media day on the Spanish Costa.
The first races of the 2016 season are: GP la Marseillaise and Etoile de Bessèges. The following riders will ride in France: Frederik Backaert, Dimitri Claeys, Antoine Demoitié, Kévin Van Melsen and Frederik Veuchelen. Only Marseillaise: Gaëtan Bille, Jérôme Baugnies and Marco Marcato. Only Bessèges: Tom Devriendt and Boris Dron.
In the same period Wanty-Groupe Gobert takes part in the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana which has returned on the international calendar for the first time since 2015. The team for this Spanish stage race: Jérôme Baugnies, Gaëtan Bille, Thomas Degand, Enrico Gasparotto, Guillaume Martin, Marco Minnaard and Lander Seynaeve.
From 8 to 11 and from 17 to 22 February Wanty-Groupe Gobert takes part in the Tours of Qatar and Oman for the first time in the team's history.
The line-up for these races in the Gulf states is: Marco Marcato, Enrico Gasparotto (only Oman), Roy Jans, Danilo Napolitano (only Qatar), Simone Antonini, Björn Thurau, Robin Stenuit, Mark McNally and Kenny Dehaes.
Of course Wanty-Groupe Gobert will also be present in the Belgian opening weekend: Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. These line-ups will be announced in February.
Simone CARRO 24 years | today |
Serge JOOS 40 years | today |
Christophe PREMONT 35 years | today |
Jose Antonio GIMENEZ DIAS 47 years | today |
Shinpei FUKUDA 37 years | today |
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