Sam Bennett and Zdenek Stybar will be in action at the Belgian stage race.
A nice mix of flat and hilly stages will make up the course of the 47th Tour de Wallonie, which is set to kick off this Sunday from Soignies, a small municipality located in the Hainaut province. Not only the demanding parcours – that tilts towards the puncheurs – will influence the final outcome, but also the bonifications awarded at the finish (10-6-4), especially if the fight for the overall win will be a tight one, as was the case at the past two editions.
Sam Bennett will lead the charge for Deceuninck – Quick-Step, as the Irish Champion will look to take advantage of the good form that brought him a stage win at the Vuelta a Burgos, two weeks ago. Bennett will have at his side a strong lead-out train, consisting of Iljo Keisse, Danish Champion Michael Mørkøv, Florian Sénéchal, Stijn Steels, Jannik Steimle, and Zdenek Stybar, who comes here after a pair of strong showings at Strade Bianche and Milano-Sanremo.
“The race has just four stages this year, but will serve as a good preparation for the next part of the season. The plan is to get a victory with Sam, he is capable of doing it and we have confidence in him. It won’t be an easy race, there’s a strong field at the start, but we are ready to fight daily and get the result we are coming here for”, said Deceuninck – Quick-Step sports director Wilfried Peeters, who will lead the team from behind the wheel.