This Sunday, Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux will participate in La Roue Tourangelle (1.1, 27/03), the fifth race of the French Cup. The parcours with several short hills of 1 kilometer or shorter often welcomed sprinters on the podium the past couple of years. The classic connects Château-Renault and Tours in 202 kilometer, with nineteen categorized climbs, among whom seven in the final race hour. Before joining the centre of Tours, the riders have to accomplish 8 flat kilometers after the final difficulty.
Belgian sprinter Gerben Thijssen (4th at the GP Monseré, 5th in Bredene-Koksijde) will be accompanied by his compatriots Tom Devriendt and Loïc Vliegen (3rd in Jaén), Hungarian rider Barnabás Peák (2nd in Drenthe) and neopros Julius Johansen and Hugo Page. Last named showed himself on home soil with a sixteenth place in the GP de Denain and a fifth place in the Classique Loire Atlantique. The selection of six riders will be guided by sports director Jean-Marc Rossignon.
« This Friday, I discovered my very first World Tour race in the E3 Classic Harelbeke. I felt good alongside Biniam Girmay, until a flat tire at the foot of the Kortekeer forced me to swap bikes for the second time. I was far behind the race lead, but I wanted to finish the race to familiarize with the whole parcours, because I want to come back for more! This Sunday is a new chance for me to contribute to the team goals, within a solid team with high ambition. Gerben Thijssen showed his speed the past couple of weeks, but we have also other fast and explosive elements in case of a dynamited final. I am in a very good condition, with my trainer Ioannis Tamouridis we prepared this period well and I benefit from a positive spiral since the GP de Denain. I know the region a little since I often visited my grand parents here. I can’t wait to see them on the course! »
