2018 Dwars Door Vlaanderen (WorldTour), Belgium
A travers la Flandre - Across Flanders
73rd edition: Wednesday, March 28, 2018
Dwars door Vlaanderen podium history | 2017 edition | 2019 edition | Course map & profile | Photos | Start list | Organizer's race preview
Roeselare - Waregem, 180.1 km
Yves Lampaert takes the win. Sirotti photo
Weather at the finish city of Waregem at 1:40 PM, local time. Rain, 7C (45F) with the wind from the SE at 10 km/hr (6 mph).
The race: Here's the report from winner Yves Lampaert's Quick-Step team.
Yves Lampaert sailed to a memorable win in a rain-soaked edition of Dwars door Vlaanderen (180.1 kilometers) after accelerating with 800 meters to go from a select group which attacked inside the last 25 kilometers, when three more hills and a cobblestone sectors were still left on the menu. For Lampaert, who came at the start as the defending champion, this was his first win of the season, one that helped Quick-Step Floors increase the gap at the top of the World Tour classification. Thus, the 26-year-old became the first rider to take back-to-back victories at the prestigious Belgian Classic.
The 73rd edition of the classic, which was raced in atrocious conditions, was enlivened only 80 kilometers from the finish, when several riders pinged off the front, forcing the others to react. Quick-Step Floors took the matters into their own hands, with the experienced and hard-working Iljo Keisse moving to the front of the bunch and splitting it into four groups. The wintry conditions, the crashes and the suffering led to more and more abandons, so by the time the riders hit the Taaienberg, one of the race's main climbs, only 30 riders were still left at the front.
After Yves Lampaert and Niki Terpstra attacked on the iconic hill last week at E3 Harelbeke, this time it was Zdenek Stybar who rode away on the brutal cobbles, forcing another important selection before being reeled in by a group which included two Quick-Step Floors teammates. Later, when Tiesj Benoot (Lotto-Soudal) and Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) went, Yves Lampaert was one of the riders to chase down that move and make the junction, thus hitting the reshuffle button yet again.
A group of 12 men, three of whom were Lampaert, Stybar and Terpstra, entered in the last 25 kilometers of the race, when Sep Vanmarche (EF Education) intensified the pace and went into the offensive, being joined by four other riders. The always-attentive Lampaert was there and didn't spare any effort as he put in some amazing pulls, helping the quintet open a 50-second advantage on the chasers. So confident was the 26-year-old that he led the others over the top of the Nokereberg and covered every single move of his opponents, before the classic cat-and-mouse game ensued under the flamme rouge arch.
When Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) attacked, Yves responded in the blink of an eye and then, sensing a lull in the group, he sprinted and went into time trial mode, quickly putting a significant distance between him and the other four. When the finish line in Waregem came into sight, Lampaert's gap was so big that he sat up and celebrated his first victory of the season, one which took Quick-Step Floors' 2018 season tally to 20 wins.
Czech Champion Zdenek Stybar, who countered an attack of Benoot in the closing kilometers, took sixth, while Niki Terpstra – the E3 Harelbeke victor – came across the line in ninth place, adding to the team's impressive points haul in the World Tour rankings after 12 races.
"We knew the weather could influence the race, so we had two plans. Go for a sprint with Elia or make it really hard for the others in case he wasn't there in the final part of the race. When Viviani got caught behind, together with Niki and Styby we decided to ride hard and see what happens, especially as the rain and cold took their toll on the riders and many were on their limit", said Yves Lampaert, after retaining his crown and becoming the first ever rider to win Dwars door Vlaanderen in consecutive years.
"When the hostilities began and Vanmarcke attacked, Niki told me to go, so I jumped and joined the front group. We worked together there and rode full gas, making sure we had a nice advantage for the final. Then, when Pedersen attacked, I responded and seeing I had got a gap, I sprinted to increase my margin and gave everything I had in the tank, knowing many of my rivals were faster. I am super happy to get another win in this race, with such a high-level field and so close to my home. To resume our winning run in Belgium feels great and gives us an extra boost of confidence ahead of Sunday's De Ronde", concluded Lampaert, the tenth different Quick-Step Floors rider to have won a race this season.
Complete Results:
180.1 kilometers raced at an average speed of 43.282 km/hr
| 1 | Lampaert, Yves | Quick-Step Floors | 4hr 9min 40sec |
| 2 | Teunissen, Mike | Team Sunweb | @ 2sec |
| 3 | Vanmarcke, Sep | EF Education First-Drapac | s.t. |
| 4 | Hagen, Edvald Boasson | Dimension Data | s.t. |
| 5 | Pedersen, Mads | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 6 | Štybar, Zdeněk | Quick-Step Floors | + 00' 29'' |
| 7 | Benoot, Tiesj | Lotto-Soudal | + 00' 30'' |
| 8 | Van Avermaet, Greg | BMC | + 00' 59'' |
| 9 | Terpstra, Niki | Quick-Step Floors | s.t. |
| 10 | Stuyven, Jasper | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 11 | Valverde, Alejandro | Movistar | s.t. |
| 12 | Moscon, Gianni | Sky | s.t. |
| 13 | Roosen, Timo | LottoNL-Jumbo | s.t. |
| 14 | Nielsen, Magnus | Astana | + 02' 42'' |
| 15 | Degenkolb, John | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 16 | Laporte, Christophe | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 17 | Poppel, Danny van | LottoNL-Jumbo | s.t. |
| 18 | De Buyst, Jasper | Lotto-Soudal | s.t. |
| 19 | Drücker, Jempy | BMC | s.t. |
| 20 | Noppe, Christophe | Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | s.t. |
| 21 | Pfingsten, Christoph | Bora-hansgrohe | s.t. |
| 22 | Rowe, Luke | Sky | s.t. |
| 23 | Haussler, Heinrich | Bahrain-Merida | s.t. |
| 24 | Theuns, Edward | Team Sunweb | s.t. |
| 25 | Schär, Michael | BMC | s.t. |
| 26 | Allegaert, Piet | Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | s.t. |
| 27 | Roelandts, Jürgen | BMC | s.t. |
| 28 | Van Lerberghe, Bert | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 29 | Houle, Hugo | Astana | s.t. |
| 30 | Jansen, Amund | LottoNL-Jumbo | s.t. |
| 31 | Durbridge, Luke | Mitchelton-Scott | s.t. |
| 32 | Bystrøm, Sven Erik | UAE-Team Emirates | s.t. |
| 33 | Rickaert, Jonas | Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | s.t. |
| 34 | Modolo, Sacha | EF Education First-Drapac | s.t. |
| 35 | Martin, Tony | Katusha-Alpecin | s.t. |
| 36 | Richeze, Maximiliano | Quick-Step Floors | s.t. |
| 37 | Scully, Tom | EF Education First-Drapac | s.t. |
| 38 | Andersen, Søren | Team Sunweb | + 04' 01'' |
| 39 | Jules, Justin | WB-Aqua Protect-Veranclassic | + 06' 47'' |
| 40 | Curvers, Roy | Team Sunweb | s.t. |
| 41 | Sütterlin, Jasha | Movistar | s.t. |
| 42 | Mullen, Ryan | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 43 | Keisse, Iljo | Quick-Step Floors | s.t. |
| 44 | De Vreese, Laurens | Astana | s.t. |
| 45 | Vanbilsen, Kenneth | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 46 | Farazijn, Maxime | Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | s.t. |
| 47 | Vermote, Julien | Dimension Data | s.t. |
| 48 | Denz, Nico | Ag2r La Mondiale | s.t. |
| 49 | Politt, Nils | Katusha-Alpecin | s.t. |
| 50 | Jensen, August | Israel Cycling Academy | s.t. |
| 51 | Backaert, Frederik | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | s.t. |
| 52 | Spengler, Lukas | WB-Aqua Protect-Veranclassic | s.t. |
| 53 | Wynants, Maarten | LottoNL-Jumbo | s.t. |
| 54 | Carretero, Héctor | Movistar | s.t. |
| 55 | Ackermann, Pascal | Bora-hansgrohe | s.t. |
| 56 | Ventoso, Francisco | BMC | s.t. |
| 57 | Dougall, Nic | Dimension Data | s.t. |
| 58 | Rast, Grégory | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 59 | Dibben, Jonathan | Sky | s.t. |
| 60 | Quintana, Nairo | Movistar | s.t. |
| 61 | Wiśniowski, Łukasz | Sky | s.t. |
| 62 | Van Keirsbulck, Guill.. | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | s.t. |
| 63 | Kuznetsov, Vyatcheslav | Katusha-Alpecin | s.t. |
| 64 | Bauer, Jack | Mitchelton-Scott | s.t. |
| 65 | Mezgec, Luka | Mitchelton-Scott | s.t. |
| 66 | Vandenbergh, Stijn | Ag2r La Mondiale | s.t. |
| 67 | Božič, Borut | Bahrain-Merida | s.t. |
| 68 | Gruzdev, Dmitriy | Astana | s.t. |
| 69 | Vantomme, Maxime | WB-Aqua Protect-Veranclassic | s.t. |
| 70 | Docker, Mitchell | EF Education First-Drapac | s.t. |
| 71 | Smith, Dion | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | s.t. |
| 72 | Chavanel, Sylvain | Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 73 | Bardet, Romain | Ag2r La Mondiale | s.t. |
| 74 | Petit, Adrien | Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 75 | Küng, Stefan | BMC | s.t. |
| 76 | Kristoff, Alexander | UAE-Team Emirates | s.t. |
| 77 | Van Hoecke, Gijs | LottoNL-Jumbo | s.t. |
| 78 | Koren, Kristjan | Bahrain-Merida | s.t. |
| 79 | Stannard, Ian | Sky | s.t. |
| 80 | Swift, Ben | UAE-Team Emirates | s.t. |
| 81 | Groenewegen, Dylan | LottoNL-Jumbo | s.t. |
| 82 | Wallays, Jelle | Lotto-Soudal | s.t. |
| 83 | Aert, Wout van | Veranda's Willems-Crelan | s.t. |
| 84 | Edmondson, Alex | Mitchelton-Scott | s.t. |
| 85 | De Gendt, Aimé | Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | s.t. |
| 86 | Soupe, Geoffrey | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 87 | Bak, Lars | Lotto-Soudal | + 11' 49'' |
| 88 | Boivin, Guillaume | Israel Cycling Academy | s.t. |
| 89 | Cardis, Romain | Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 90 | Menten, Milan | Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | s.t. |
| 91 | Pedersen, Casper | Aqua Blue Sport | s.t. |
| 92 | Naesen, Lawrence | Lotto-Soudal | + 11' 51'' |
| 93 | Pichot, Alexandre | Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 94 | Van Asbroeck, Tom | EF Education First-Drapac | s.t. |
| 95 | Lemoine, Cyril | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 96 | Gibbons, Ryan | Dimension Data | s.t. |
| 97 | Barbero, Carlos | Movistar | s.t. |
| 98 | Steels, Stijn | Veranda's Willems-Crelan | s.t. |
| 99 | Marcato, Marco | UAE-Team Emirates | s.t. |
| 100 | Reijnen, Kiel | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 101 | Hayman, Mathew | Mitchelton-Scott | + 11' 54'' |
| 102 | Hodeg, Alvaro | Quick-Step Floors | s.t. |
| 103 | Chétout, Loïc | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 104 | Winden, Dennis van | Israel Cycling Academy | s.t. |
| 105 | Hepburn, Michael | Mitchelton-Scott | s.t. |
| 106 | Bagdonas, Gediminas | Ag2r La Mondiale | s.t. |
| 107 | Arcas, Jorge | Movistar | s.t. |
| 108 | Kreder, Wesley | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | s.t. |
| 109 | Offredo, Yoann | Wanty-Groupe Gobert | s.t. |
| 110 | Selig, Rüdiger | Bora-hansgrohe | s.t. |
| 111 | Kort, Koen de | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 112 | Halvorsen, Kristoffer | Sky | s.t. |
| 113 | Perry, Benjamin | Israel Cycling Academy | s.t. |
| 114 | Waeytens, Zico | Veranda's Willems-Crelan | s.t. |
| 115 | Arndt, Nikias | Team Sunweb | + 12' 01'' |
| 116 | Hofstede, Lennard | Team Sunweb | s.t. |
2018 Dwars door Vlaanderen map
2018 Dwars door Vlaanderen profile
Pictures by Fotoreporter Sirotti:
Team BMC is presented before the race start
Sylvain Chavanel
Elia Viviani looks ready for the elements.
John Degenkolb
Yves Lampaert makes it two DDV's in a row.
Zdenek Stybar finishes 6th, 29 seconds after Lampaert.
The sprint for eighth place, won by Greg Van Avermaet
Sep Vanmarcke after a hard day of racing in belgium
Winner Yves Lampaert
The podium, from left: Mike Teunissen (2nd), Yves Lampaert, & Sep Vanmarcke (3rd)
Start list with back numbers, March 27, 2018:
| QUICK-STEP FLOORS | |
| 1 | LAMPAERT Yves |
| 2 | VIVIANI Elia |
| 3 | HODEG Álvaro |
| 4 | KEISSE Iljo |
| 5 | RICHEZE Ariel |
| 6 | STYBAR Zdenek |
| 7 | TERPSTRA Niki |
| BMC | |
| 11 | VAN AVERMAET Greg |
| 12 | DRUCKER Jean Pierre |
| 13 | KÜNG Stefan |
| 14 | ROELANDTS Jurgen |
| 15 | BETTIOL Alberto |
| 16 | SCHÄR Michael |
| 17 | VENTOSO Francisco |
| AG2R LA MONDIALE | |
| 21 | NAESEN Oliver |
| 22 | BARDET Romain |
| 23 | BAGDONAS Gediminas |
| 24 | DENZ Nico |
| 25 | BARBIER Rudy |
| 26 | GALLOPIN Tony |
| 27 | VANDENBERGH Stijn |
| LOTTO-SOUDAL | |
| 31 | BENOOT Tiesj |
| 32 | BAK Lars Ytting |
| 33 | DE BUYST Jasper |
| 34 | DEBUSSCHERE Jens |
| 35 | MAES Nikolas |
| 36 | WALLAYS Jelle |
| 37 | NAESEN Lawrence |
| TREK-SEGAFREDO | |
| 41 | DEGENKOLB John |
| 42 | STUYVEN Jasper |
| 43 | REIJNEN Kiel |
| 44 | PEDERSEN Mads |
| 45 | RAST Grégory |
| 46 | DE KORT Koen |
| 47 | MULLEN Ryan |
| MOVISTAR | |
| 51 | VALVERDE Alejandro |
| 52 | QUINTANA Nairo |
| 53 | BARBERO Carlos |
| 54 | ARCAS Jorge |
| 55 | CARRETERO Hector |
| 56 | OLIVEIRA Nelson |
| 57 | SÜTTERLIN Jasha |
| EF EDUCATION FIRST-DRAPAC | |
| 61 | VANMARCKE Sep |
| 62 | PHINNEY Taylor |
| 63 | LANGEVELD Sebastian |
| 64 | DOCKER Mitchell |
| 65 | MODOLO Sacha |
| 66 | VAN ASBROECK Tom |
| 67 | SCULLY Thomas |
| ASTANA | |
| 71 | LUTSENKO Alexey |
| 72 | VALGREN ANDERSEN Michael |
| 73 | DE VREESE Laurens |
| 74 | KORSAETH Truls Engen |
| 75 | GRUZDEV Dmitriy |
| 76 | HOULE Hugo |
| 77 | CORT NIELSEN Magnus |
| TEAM SUNWEB | |
| 81 | THEUNS Edward |
| 82 | KRAGH ANDERSEN Søren |
| 83 | ARNDT Nikias |
| 84 | BAUHAUS Phil |
| 85 | CURVERS Roy |
| 86 | HOFSTEDE Lennard |
| 87 | TEUNISSEN Mike |
| SKY | |
| 91 | MOSCON Gianni |
| 92 | HALVORSEN Kristoffer |
| 93 | LAWLESS Christopher |
| 94 | DIBBEN Jonathan |
| 95 | ROWE Luke |
| 96 | STANNARD Ian |
| 97 | WISNIOWSKI Lukasz |
| UAE-TEAM EMIRATES | |
| 101 | KRISTOFF Alexander |
| 102 | BYSTROM Sven Erik |
| 103 | CONSONNI Simone |
| 104 | GANNA Filippo |
| 105 | MARCATO Marco |
| 106 | SWIFT Ben |
| 107 | TROIA Oliviero |
| BAHRAIN-MERIDA | |
| 111 | BONIFAZIO Niccolo |
| 112 | BOZIC Borut |
| 113 | HAUSSLER Heinrich |
| 114 | KOREN Kristjan |
| 115 | PER David |
| 116 | PIBERNIK Luka |
| 117 | GARCIA Ivan |
| KATUSHA-ALPECIN | |
| 121 | MARTIN Tony |
| 122 | GONCALVES Jose |
| 123 | HALLER Marco |
| 124 | ZABEL Rick |
| 125 | KUZNETSOV Vyacheslav |
| 126 | PLANCKAERT Baptiste |
| 127 | POLITT Nils |
| DIMENSION DATA | |
| 131 | BOASSON HAGEN Edvald |
| 132 | DOUGALL Nick |
| 134 | GIBBONS Ryan |
| 135 | THOMSON Jay Robert |
| 136 | SLAGTER Tom Jelte |
| 137 | VERMOTE Julien |
| LOTTO NL-JUMBO | |
| 141 | GROENEWEGEN Dylan |
| 142 | WYNANTS Maarten |
| 143 | JANSEN Amund Grøndahl |
| 144 | LEEZER Tom |
| 145 | ROOSEN Timo |
| 146 | VAN POPPEL Danny |
| 147 | VAN HOECKE Gijs |
| BORA-HANSGROHE | |
| 151 | KOLAR Michal |
| 152 | ACKERMANN Pascal |
| 153 | BODNAR Maciej |
| 154 | PFINGSTEN Christoph |
| 155 | SCHWARZMANN Michael |
| 156 | SAGAN Juraj |
| 157 | SELIG Rüdiger |
| MITCHELTON-SCOTT | |
| 161 | HAYMAN Mathew |
| 162 | BAUER Jack |
| 163 | DURBRIDGE Luke |
| 164 | HEPBURN Michael |
| 165 | BEWLEY Sam |
| 166 | MEZGEC Luka |
| 167 | EDMONDSON Alexander |
| VERANDA'S WILLEMS-CRELAN | |
| 171 | VAN AERT Wout |
| 172 | DEVOLDER Stijn |
| 173 | DE BIE Sean |
| 174 | STEELS Stijn |
| 175 | KRUOPIS Aidis |
| 176 | DUYN Huub |
| 177 | WAEYTENS Zico |
| WANTY–GROUPE GOBERT | |
| 181 | VAN KEIRSBULCK Guillaume |
| 182 | BACKAERT Frederik |
| 183 | DEVRIENDT Tom |
| 184 | OFFREDO Yoann |
| 185 | SMITH Dion |
| 186 | KREDER Wesley |
| 187 | VANSPEYBROUCK Pieter |
| DIRECT ENERGIE | |
| 191 | CHAVANEL Sylvain |
| 192 | CARDIS Romain |
| 193 | GAUDIN Damien |
| 194 | GENE Yohann |
| 195 | PETIT Adrien |
| 196 | PICHOT Alexandre |
| 197 | SELLIER Simon |
| COFIDIS | |
| 201 | LAPORTE Christophe |
| 202 | SOUPE Geoffrey |
| 203 | CHETOUT Loïc |
| 204 | LEMOINE Cyril |
| 205 | VAN LERBERGHE Bert |
| 206 | VAN STAEYEN Michael |
| 207 | VANBILSEN Kenneth |
| AQUA BLUE SPORT | |
| 211 | BLYTHE Adam |
| 212 | ARCHBOLD Shane |
| 213 | DUNNE Conor |
| 214 | FENN Andrew |
| 215 | PEDERSEN Casper Phillip |
| 216 | KONING Peter |
| 217 | BRAMMEIER Matthew |
| SPORT VLAANDEREN-BALOISE | |
| 221 | ALLEGAERT Piet |
| 222 | DE GENDT Aimé |
| 223 | FARAZIJN Maxime |
| 224 | MENTEN Milan |
| 225 | NOPPE Christophe |
| 226 | RICKAERT Jonas |
| 227 | VERWILST Aaron |
| WB-AQUA PROTECT-VERANCLASSIC | |
| 231 | KIRSCH Alex |
| 232 | DEHAES Kenny |
| 233 | STASSEN Julien |
| 234 | JULES Justin |
| 235 | DUQUENNOY Jimmy |
| 236 | SPENGLER Lukas |
| 237 | VANTOMME Maxime |
| ISRAEL CYCLING ACADEMY | |
| 241 | PERRY Benjamin |
| 242 | BOIVIN Guillaume |
| 243 | YECHEZKEL Aviv |
| 244 | JENSEN August |
| 245 | VAN WINDEN Dennis |
| 246 | SAGIV Guy |
| 247 | SCHREURS Hamish |
In the showroom of Unilin - Quick-Step Floors, a unique location in the West-Flemish town of Wielsbeke, located only a few miles from the finish line in Waregem, the Organisation Dwars Door Vlaanderen presented their brand new route for the 2018 race to the press, partners and sponsors.
In a well filled press room, Sporza commentator and moderator for the day, Karl Vannieuwkerke, welcomed all gasts. After a nicely made intro movie, Frans De Cock, General Manager of Quick-Step - Unilin, and Dwars Door Vlaanderen president Carlo Lambrecht were the first to be called upon stage.
President Carlo Lambrecht: "Showed last year that we can handle the WorldTour level"
The frontman of Dwars Door Vlaanderen gave some more insight to the new highlights of next season's race. "In 2017 Dwars Door Vlaanderen wore the WorldTour label for the first time", says Carlo Lambrecht. "It was a big challenge, but the day went fine: perfect weather circumstances, great list of participants, an exciting race and a beautiful winner in the end. Our baptism of fire was successful. We showed that we can handle the WorldTour level."
"Our next challenge was to realize a dream that we were talking about internaly for quite some time now: to get our race on the Wednesday before the Ronde van Vlaanderen. Thanks to Wouter Vandenhaute and Belgian Cycling President Tom van Damme we were able to accomplish this dream."
"This new date involved that we couldn't become an exact copy of "Flanders Finest" only four days before the Ronde. Thanks to our loyal sponsors and the hard work of an entire team, we managed to map out a beautiful new race course."
Two time Kluisberg and three times Knokteberg in 73rd Dwars Door Vlaanderen
The new route was proudly presented by Cycling Director Guy Delesie. The start of the 73rd Dwars Door Vlaanderen will be given once again in Roeselare. Afterwards the peloton passes through Tielt and Wielsbeke direction Waregem. After a passage at the finish line, the riders go via Avelgem towards the hills of the Flemish Ardennes. Money time starts with a double combo of Kluisberg and Knokteberg (côte de Trieu). Afterwards next climbs have to be tamed: Kortekeer, the cobbles of the Mariaborrestraat, Steenbeekdries, Taaienberg and Kruisberg.
With 34km to go, the riders pass by a third time on the Knokteberg. Afterwards they head to familiar grounds. With Varentstraat, Vossenhol, Holstraat, Nokereberg and the coblles of Herlegemstraat, the finale of this race remains the same as last year.
"Mapping out this 73rd edition wasn't without any trouble", says Guy Delesie. "Because of road works, we had to modify the route several times. The fact that the total distance is only 181km, was a conscious choice, being only four days before the Ronde."
Patrick Lefevre: "Many riders will join in to try and win it all"
"I think this is a really nice route. Maybe 181km is rather short for a spring classic, but this might break open the race earlier and then we'll get more spectacle for sure", says last year's winner, Yves Lampaert. "Ik think in the 2018 edition the breakaway will come earlier than the Oude Kwaremont."
An opinion that is shared by Flanders Classics-CEO Wouter Vandenhaute: "I'm convinced that the race will explode way earlier. Dwars Door Vlaanderen now has both a new date and is the first of all Flanders race that has dared to shorten the distance. In my opinion, every race should have their own identity, and I think that's something we managed to do here. A few of the hills we had to leave out of the Ronde, now got a prominent role again in a race of WorldTour level."
"I am in favor of shortening the race and limiting the number of climbs", says Quick-Step Floors-manager Patrick Lefevre. "The risk you take with such a number of spring classics in a short period, is that riders will not give it their all or maybe even consider it a training ride where they stop along the way. This will be not be the case now. But don't underestimate this new course. Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg may have been gone, but there are a few heavy newcomers to compensate."
"That's why I think many riders will join in and try to win it all on this track", continues Lefevre. "On one end there will be riders who think they can win the Ronde van Vlaanderen. They will want to show their good form. On the other end, there a riders who think the Ronde is aiming to high for them. They will try their best to win a WorldTour Classic in Waregem without a doubt.
EXTRA: Jens Debusschere: Knokteberg and Kluisberg are realy nice substitutes for Paterberg and Oude Kwaremont"
Also Jens Debusschere sounded enthusiastic when we called him to talk about the new track: "The finale ahs remained the same and since it's pretty flat, it could be in my advantage. Nevertheless, before the finale the quick sequence of hills and cobbled sections will be pretty tough. When I get passed the Trieu (Knokteberg) and Kluisberg without any big problems, I can hopefully compete till the end.