A couple of months after it was planned, the next edition of the GP Marcel Kint (1.1, 20/08) will finally take place. The sixth race of the Belgian Cup will search a successor for French sprinter Bryan Coquard. The sequel of the kermess race of Zwevegem progressed to the 1.1 level in 2018, involving the city of Kortrijk in the process. This year, the course is composed of two big loops with the Kluisberg, the Tiegemberg and the cobbles of the Beerbosstraat and the Varent and two local laps of 23 kilometer, totaling 196.3 kilometer between the start in Zwevegem and the city of the Golden Spurs. Difficulties are unexisting in the final, so a pure sprinter will probably again ride to the victory.
Baptiste Planckaert won the GP Marcel Kint two times. The rider born in Kortrijk and raised in Zwevegem was the best in 2011 and 2015. The local hero missed the podium in the previous edition in 2019. Last Tuesday, Planckaert played a crucial role in Danny van Poppel’s victory at the Egmont Cycling Race in Zottegem. The Dutch rider is again a strong asset in the line up of Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert this Friday. After a great debut in the colors of the team in the Tour of Poland, Eritrean rider Biniam Girmay Hailu will discover a Belgian semi classic for the first time. Further, Belgian riders Ludwig De Winter and Tom Devriendt and the Dutchmen Corné van Kessel and Boy van Poppel are part of the line up under the sportive direction of Hilaire Van der Schueren. Kortrijk is van Kessel’s last stop before joining Tormans Cyclo Cross Team at a pre-season training camp.
Danny's win last Tuesday gave us wings. It was fantastic that he managed to finish off our teamwork. If he's feeling good again this Friday, he will be a serious contender for the win, because based on the list of participants we can expect a bunch sprint. The wind could disturb the plans of the sprinters, but I'm also looking forward to a hard race. We've got a couple of fast riders in the selection who can finish off a difficult final. The team is in a good flow and personally I'm also feeling better and better. After my knee operation last winter, I was rapidly in a good condition again, but having no competition in July was welcome to expand my base. I'm feeling great again, so I want to treat my fans with a good performance on my training roads.
Selection:
Ludwig De Winter
Tom Devriendt
Biniam Girmay Hailu
Baptiste Planckaert
Corné van Kessel
Boy van Poppel
Danny van Poppel
Sportive direction:
Hilaire Van der Schueren
