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.
The Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen in Koolskamp is organized for the 105th time this Friday. Thirteen entirely flat laps between Koolskamp, Egem and Pittem are an excellent terrain for sprinters, even though the wind can play a major role in the open West-Flemish fields. 196 kilometer have to be covered in this ninth and penultimate race of the Belgian Cup. Baptiste Planckaert will be at the start for the ninth time in his career. In 2013 he finished close to the victory. Another asset in case of a bunch sprint is the Italian rider Riccardo Minali. Corné van Kessel will pin a number on for the last time before starting the cyclocross season and fellow cyclocross rider Quinten Hermans will also race in Koolskamp. The line up is completed by the Walloon trio Ludwig De Winter, Kévin Van Melsen 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! »
Kampioenschap Van Vlaanderen:
Ludwig De Winter
Quinten Hermans
Riccardo Minali
Baptiste Planckaert
Corné van Kessel
Kévin van Melsen
Loïc Vliegen
Sportive Direction:
Hilaire Van der Schueren
Aike Visbeek
