The Flemish Spring & Spectacular Woods

 

Total Energies: Can it be a Sagan day?

Happily, the Flemish Spring begins tomorrow. I highly regard this as the real start of the professional cycling season. Saturday kicks off with the first Belgian Classic race of the year, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and the sprinter's race Kurrne-Brussel-Kuurne (Sunday).

Men's parcours

Men's Startlist

AG2R's twin force: a day for Naesen or Van Averamaet?

"I won it two times and for sure it's nicer to win. Because a win in Omloop helps clear your head even more."

-Greg Van Avermaet 

Dynamic duo: Boivin and Vanmarcke

"I'm confident that we're bringing a really good team to these races. We all know that the level here is super high and it's going to be hard racing both days. We have a lot of experience in our team and we have multiple riders able to fight for a good result. With the guys we are lining up with this weekend, I expect us to be in the game both Saturday and Sunday. We are really looking forward to these races!"

-Dirk Demol. Israel Premier Tech DS

"I think we're still the underdogs, but even last year, we could start believing. I think we showed what we could do in Roubaix last year, and we can bring some more confidence into the spring campaign this year.

We'll see how it goes. The legs will talk. We have Sep as our outright leader. I think I showed I have the engine to be there with him in some of the finals. You know how it is in the classics, the more guys you have, the better it is, especially when you have Quick-Step, and they always have numbers, I think I will have the chance to be in some finals with Sep hopefully."

-Guillaume Boivn

The course is well suited for Canadian Alison Jackson

Women's parcours

Women's Startlist

Meanwhile at the Galician coast...

"I'm very happy and relieved. It's really important to get a win early in the season, both for myself and the team. I've had a lot of close finishes over the last few months but not many wins. So it's nice to finally get another one under my belt. I went to the Ruta del Sol last week hoping to get a result because I was in good shape. Then I got sick and spent the last week worrying about my form, hoping to have the legs I had before I got sick. I think I did."

-Rusty Woods

"This final was made for Mike. It's fantastic to have these feelings now. We started the season with a lot of seconds and thirds and there is a big difference. It's a super day for us.

Tomorrow we have another big stage with a hard last 50 kilometers. We will do our best. We also have the option of Jakob Fuglsang who is still in top five on the GC. We need to see how we are going."

-Oscar Guerrero. DS