The Wolfpack will be in action on home soil next week.
We still have a couple of days left until we reach Paris, but we’re already thinking of our next race – the Tour de Wallonie. Scheduled between 20-24 July, it will consist of five stages, a mix of flat and hilly terrain, the latter favouring the puncheurs who are expected to fight for the overall classification at this 48th edition.
Winner of the Drôme Classic earlier this season, second-year pro Andrea Bagioli will make in Wallonie his first outing since the month of March, when a knee injury he picked up at Trofeo Laigueglia derailed his campaign. Czech ITT Champion Josef Cerny, Fabio Jakobsen, Belgian ITT Champion Yves Lampaert, Florian Sénéchal, Pieter Serry and Bert Van Lerberghe will also be on the squad for the Belgian race which our team has won twice.
“The riders lining up for Wallonie have all had a rest period followed by an altitude training camp in Livigno, so it’s always a bit unpredictable how their bodies will react after that, but we are confident they can do a good race. There will probably be one or two chances for a bunch sprint, where we will support Fabio, but the parcours is quite hard, with climbs that will make for an open and difficult to control race. We will try to race offensively and show our Wolfpack spirit in our quest to rack up some good results”, said Deceuninck – Quick-Step sports director Geert Van Bondt.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
Yves Lampaert 
Josef Černý