Our team kicked off the Northern Classics campaign today at the Koers Museum in Roeselare with the press conference prior to Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.
In a beautiful set-up created by Maes 0.0%, partner of the team and official alcohol-free beer of the Wolfpack, the riders and staff of the team talked about the Opening Weekend, which as usual will herald the start the classics season in Belgium.
The press conference was introduced by team CEO Patrick Lefevere and Jan Bosselaers, Maes Pils Marketing Director. Maes used this occasion to launch its campaign “Maes Bevoorrading”. To bring the mates of Maes and of the Wolfpack even more at the heart of the race and closer to the riders, Maes will give away tickets to win a VIP experience during the cycling classics and a seat in the VIP car of the team during one of the top races of the calendar.
“As of this year, beer brewer Maes is the official and proud sponsor of the Deceuninck – Quick-Step Cycling Team with Maes 0.0%”, Bosselaers said. “Maes prides itself with the fact that the bond between real mates makes them stronger as a group, a philosophy that perfectly matches that of The Wolfpack. Because nowhere is that sense of group unity as strong as with the Deceuninck – Quick-Step team. A perfect combo.”
The concept was enforced by Philippe Gilbert, a two-time winner of the World Tour event: “Omloop will be as usual an open race with a lot of riders capable of winning it. As team we can count on a strong collective and on our spirit. Our goal is to be there in the final with as many riders and play a role. But this race is one of the most unpredictable of the season.”
“This morning I did the recon together with the team. It’s always a bit of a surprise when you come back from altitude. I had time to recover but this kind of races on cobblestones are different from all the other races in the world. I know most of the hills from the Eneco Tour and other races I did here in the region. I’m feeling quite good and we will see how the legs will respond in a one-day race compared to a stage race as Tour Colombia”, reigning Liège–Bastogne–Liège champion Bob Jungels said.
Zdenek Stybar won the final stage of the Volta ao Algarve last Sunday and seems ready for the races this weekend: “The victory on Sunday was a nice moment but now it seems like a long time ago already. It is a new part of the season for us now and we start again at the opening weekend. I’m happy about my condition and we will see what we can do on Saturday and Sunday.”
Belgian Champion Yves Lampaert also expressed his thoughts: “I come back from Tour de la Provence and Volta ao Algarve, for me it was the perfect preparation for the upcoming period, I felt I was getting stronger every day, so the feeling is really good. The recon was important to do, there were some new parts in the parcours that I didn’t know so for me it was very good I got to see it now before the race. I am really excited to start on Saturday, it’s what I’ve been working for all winter. Coming here for the press conference it’s super nice to see how Maes 0.0% is so engaged in the team and the concept of The Wolfpack. Also the exhibition is beautiful, it brings a lot of good memories back from the crazy year we had last season! Hopefully we’ll get to do the same this year.”
After the press conference the team officially launched the photo exhibition of Sigfrid Eggers dedicated to the Wolfpack, that will last until Paris-Roubaix day. “This is a quite unique opportunity to get a full immersion in the team environment. The exhibition is great and as a Belgian rider I’m happy about this initiative. The Museum of Roeselare is the perfect location for this as the fans can combine a visit to the exhibition with a visit to the museum”, Tim Declercq said.
Photo credit: ©Luc Claessen/ Getty Images
Yves Lampaert 