With the Critérium du Dauphiné in the books and the Tour de Suisse underway, another 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Tour de France preparation race kicks off on Wednesday as several top sprinters take on the 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Baloise Belgium Tour.
Nine-time Tour stage winner 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and fellow Belgian sprinting star 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Tim Merlier (Soudal-QuickStep) headline the sprinting lineup at the five-day race as they look to put the finishing touches on their prepar🐓ation for the biggest race of the year in July.
The pair will both be eyeing the opening day of the Tour, a flat 185km stage in Lille, as a chance toꦦ grab the first victory of the race and with it a rare shot at a yellow ဣjersey for a sprinter.
Before that, they'll face off against the likes of Casper Van Uden (Picnic-PostNL), Juan Sebastián Molano (UAE Team Emirates-XRG🙈), Fernando Gaviria (Movistar), and Alberto Dainese (Tudor) in Belgium.
Speaking to ahead of Wednesday's open༒ing stage, 2023 Tour green jersey winner Philipsen sai😼d he'll be aiming for the maillot jaune in Lille.
"It is, of course, a great opportunity for the first yellow jersey. That is what we are going for, but the Tour lasts three weeks and I hope to be there from start to f🌠inish," Philipsen said.
He'll once again be able to rely on teammate 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Mathieu van der Poel in the Alpecin-Deceuninck lead-out train this July and said that꧂ the Dutchman looks to be in flying form following his impressive shꦑowing at the Critérium du Dauphiné.
"What he showed in the Critéꦿrium du Dauphiné is promising," he said. "His condition looks very good. I have not often seen him in such a condition for the Tour."
Merlier, meanwhile, will return to the Tour for the first time since 2021, when he won stage 3. Back then, he raced alongside 🦹Philipsen on the same team but was forced to abandon on stage 9 after dropping from the grup☂petto in the Alps.
This year, he'll form part of 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Remco Evenepoel's team as the Belgian seeks to battle for the yellow jersey, me𝓀aning he'll have fewer riders dedicated to the lead-out trai൩n than Philipsen.
He said, however, 𒅌that he expects Soudal-QuickStep to go all-in f🗹or the win on stage 1.
"༺The collaboration with Bert Van Lerberghe is somethi🌳ng that works very well between us," he said of his lead-out man. "But I expect the rest of the team to be there for us in the final.
"It will be a special Tour. The opening stage will be very important. The last time the first stage was for sprinters was a while ago. So, that will p✨robably not be the case again in the future."
First o𓆏f all, though, the pair will be doing battle in Belgium, with the opening two stages looking primed to host a mass sprint finish ahead of the stage 3 time trial and hillier tests during the closing two stages.
"In principle, I don't need an extra victory for my confidence for the Tour de France, but I would like it. I give thꦏe best of myself in every race," Merlier said, while Philipsen said that a win would be a "motivational boost" in a race which gives him a chance to gauge himself against his rivals.
"A stage win is always the goal here and a m🌌otivational boost for what is to come. It is always a🔯n important race with a view to what is yet to come," he said.
"It's a nice race to see where you are and what your condition is with a view to the Tour. It's always good for your confidence if you can win here and get a gooꦕd feeling."
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