Sam Bennett and Alvaro Hodeg will be in action for the team at the Belgian World Tour one-day race.
Our team has always enjoyed racing in the Driedaagse Brugge-De Panne. Back in the day when it used to be a stage race, the Wolfpack took the spoils on four occasions with three different riders. Then, after it morphed into a one-day event, two more victories followed, the most recent of these last October, when Yves Lampaert attacked and soloed to victory at the end of a day controlled by our team, who placed three more riders in the top 10.
For the 45th edition of the Oxyclean Classic Brugge-De Panne, how it’s now called, which takes place Wednesday on a 203.9km flat course, Deceuninck – Quick-Step will look to Sam Bennett – a winner of four races so far this season – and Alvaro Hodeg. The two fast men will be supported by a strong and experienced cast consisting of Iljo Keisse, Michael Mørkøv, Florian Sénéchal, Stijn Steels and Bert Van Lerberghe.
“De Panne is a beautiful race, but also a challenging one, especially if there’s wind, which is often the case in that region. We are going there with a good team, comprising riders who have displayed a strong condition in both Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico. Because of the narrow roads and the wind which can make it really hard and split the bunch, it will be important to stay close to the front and focused all the time. This being said, we’re really looking forward to this race”, explained Deceuninck – Quick-Step sports director Tom Steels.
Bert Van Lerberghe