The main 💃favourites speak ahead of t🍷he 249km cobbled Classic
Van Aert speaks at the team presentation(Image credit: Dion K🧜erckhoffsCVSprintCyclin🌺gAgency2022)
Cobbled Classics season rolls on with 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Gent-Wevelgem getting underway this morning as the peloton faces 249km of racing over the gravel Plugstreets, the North Sea winds, and cobbled🎉 climbs 🌼like the Kemmelberg en route to the finish this afternoon.
Star Classics riders such as Wout van Aert, Tom Pid꧑cock, Yves Lampaert, Greg Van Avermaet and Mads Pedersen all lined up in the centre of Ypres ready to fight for the win over five or six hours of racing later.
Cyclingnews is on the ground in Belgium with Patrick Fletcher and Barry Ryan to get all the big news and interviews at the race, as well as through the rest of this year's Classics in Belgium. You can also 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:follow Gent-Wevelgem live with us here.
Here's what the big names had to s𒀰ay at the start of t𓃲he race.
"There's not a lot🐈 of wind, but that's not necessary for something to happen in De Moeren. The 'hill zone' is also a lot heavier than a couple ꦡof years ago. We're a team that wants to make the race hard today.
"It's a fun race bec💞ause it's unpredictable. We are going to try to make the race hard – that is to our advantage.
"I was actually quite tired when I got up this morning. But this is always a tough we🐼ekend, as it is for most today." (Het Nieuwsblad)
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"I'm not 100 per cent but I feel good. Today the aim is just to have fun, enjoy the 🐼race and get stuck in really. Finish with a good feeling.
"I'm happy to be back racing in Belgium. Today the wind is a big part in this race. I don't know how strong it will be. It'll pr🐷obably pick up later. I've never raced here so I think I'll look to the experience of other guys in the team. For sure, the race will be fast and hard and it won't be a bunch sprint."
Pedersen on the cobbles at the E3 Saxo Bank Classiﷺc (Image ꦐcredit: ERIC LALMANDBELGA MAGAFP via Getty Images)
"On Friday I just wa🅷s not good enough. Shit happens. I di🅘dn't have my day. Simple.
"Definitely this race suits me better than E3. Hopefully it'll be a reduced sprint. That's what I'm hoping for and I think I can be th💎ere.
"Two years ago it was a compl✃etely different race with rain so I don't think you can compare it. The wind is stronger than it looks like right now." (Sporza)
"It's a hard race with wind and a lot of climbs. It won't 🌺be easy. I think it will be a small group that comes to the finish and then a sprint to win it.
"It's not easy to win like [Jumb𒊎o]. They have the best cards to play and it will be 🅺hard to beat them but it's not impossible.
"It's alwaﷺys the Classics riders and the sprinters. They have a chance because the final is qu💮ite flat but in the end it's still difficult."
🍸"I wasn't feeling good a🦂t E3. I had six days off the bike before and I felt I could not recover from the big efforts.
"Today more space betwee🐓n the ▨climbs so will suit me better. It's not that windy so I expect a big group to be sprinting."
Fabio Jakobsen (QuickStep-AlphaVinyl): Above all, we have to make sure that we don't fall behind. And especially not to ride behind Jumboಌ-Visma.
Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe): My tactics for today? Keep my food down!
Matteo Trentin (UAE Team Emirates): I don’t think I have the cond🦩ition to win today. I’m curious to see how my shape is today then I hope it will get better in the next days.
Tim Merlier (Alpecin-Fenix): This is an important goal, but no more than those other races. Our plan? My first plan is to survive the Kemmel 3 times. That should be a little easier because of the less win💛d.
Sep Vanmarcke (Israel-Premier Tech): An outsider? No, I am a participant. I can't battle with tho⛎se top riders yet but I hope to take another step fo🎉rward today.
Arnaud De Lie (Lotto Soudal): This is my first really great Flemish classic. I've never ridde🎐n such a long race. Wait and see how my legs will react.
Biniam Girmay speaks at the start of the race (Imag꧟e credit: Dion K🐈erckhoffsCVSprintCyclingAgency2022)
Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being﷽ hired full-time. Before joining the team, she had written for n🐬umerous major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly and Rouleur. She writes and edits at Cyclingnews as well as running newsletter, social media, and how to watch campaigns.
