The series of end of the season classics continues this weekend with three races on Belgian soil: the Flemish Championship (1.1, 17/09) on Friday, the Primus Classic (1.Pro, 18/09) on Saturday and the Gooikse Pijl (1.1, 19/09) on Sunday. Only one of those three races took place in 2020 and it was Danny Van Poppel who offered Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert the victory in a bunch sprint in the Gooikse Pijl.
This Sunday, the riders under the sportive direction of Hilaire Van der Schueren and Aike Visbeek will try to defend Danny van Poppel‘s title, winner of the previous Gooikse Pijl. After the start in Halle, the peloton rides straight to the finish in Gooik, where eight laps of 21.8 kilometer await them. Former winner Danny van Poppel will be accompanied by Dutch trainee Stijn Daemen, Tom Devriendt, Ludwig De Winter, Wesley Kreder, Boy van Poppel and Loïc Vliegen.
« For the Flemish Championship it is clear that we have to focus our efforts on a fast rider, so the team will work to defend the chances of Riccardo Minali and Baptiste Planckaert. On Saturday, I’m expecting a hard race because the two laps on the roads of the World Championships in Overijse make the race harder than it was before. There will probably be a big selection, skimming the peloton to a group of twenty to thirty riders, hopefully with Aimé De Gendt, Taco van der Hoorn and Danny Van Poppel. Taco is a former winner here and Aimé was on the podium in Overijse a couple of weeks ago. Danny has two opportunities to show his good form this weekend. Defending his title in Gooik is a nice challenge for the team! »
Gooikse Pijl:
Stijn Daemen
Tom Devriendt
Ludwig De Winter
Wesley Kreder
Boy van Poppel
Danny van Poppel
Loïc Vliegen
Sportive Direction:
Hilaire Van der Schueren
Aike Visbeek
