Written by Trier of Team Trier
Despite having one of the coldest springs Europe has seen for years, things are about to heat up in Belgium. Tweedaagse van Antwerpen is on everybody's lip and the stakes have never been higher.
The first tour of the season has become a beloved and highly anticipated race for the cobble teams, and with previous winners like Sieuwerd Schimmel and Kyle Abston it is no surprise. This is THE tour where cobble riders become stars and stars become legends.
Easier said then done. First you have to stay on top of your game for four very difficult stages where Belgium throws the toughest terrain it has to offer at you, come unprepared and even the best rider will suffer.
We have the best riders signed up this year and mark my words they are NOT unprepared!
peddelen:
Even though all the favorite teams are having high expatiations for their own captains, no one can deny the threat that is Shingleton, two times winner and defending champion. Despite having one of the weakest cobble teams and focusing more on lead outs, peddelen has rewritten the recipe for conquering the cobblestones. I asked him if he made any changes this year?
“Never change a winning team. Only change is that Vonk will not ride Roubaix and has a slightly better DP compared to last season. The rest of the team will support Shing in TF in winning "The Rock". I expect to be in top nine at least, goal is to win and with a podium I will be satisfied. After a while.”
omega pharma lotto:
The stakes are high on Team omega pharma lotto, one of the strongest teams in the peloton, a very strong cobble team team to support him, home turf, not to mention the fact that Rivera has two third places in this tour. Despite being one of the strongest riders in the world, Rivera has not had a win in two seasons, he must be hungry. Will this be the season he once again becomes an unstoppable force?
His manager had this to say. “Rivera will not ride Pre-Roubaix to be in the best shape possible in this tour.
My goals in this seasons Tweedaagse are top three in all cobble stages and the General Classification victory. In order to reach those goals, I have hired Julio Mihal from Manisaspor. Now I have three very good team mates and one lead-out and a water carrier who will support Rivera.”
TACXkin: Last year's youth winner Echave is back, this year he is grown out of the little league and ready to take on the big boys for the general victory. He had an amazing | | last season with five wins, surely he has had a taste for finishing first, can he keep it up? Nobody can match his technique on the cobble section and with another youth winner Pijak by his side, Team TACXkin are not kidding around this year.
“Terrier is our captain for the Roubaix rides, Echave and Pajack are the ones to battle for leader jersey. The have both been to the Time trial centre of Antwerp to improve their timetrial skills.
We want the leader's jersey and aim for two stage wins to achieve that...”
Drapeau Noir: Three riders with an average of 54 and one with average of 52, most teams never experience having that amount of talent on their team, but on Drapeau Noir they are not afraid to show off. All the team stars are present at this year's start line, this has to be the toughest team, not only do the have the power but also the know how.
Former winner and grand old man on the cobblestones Uttenberger is still going strong, third place last season and now he is riding to help Pope – watch out.
“Winning the GC, after an injury last season (Uttenberger finishing third, 8" behind the winner). With three of the eight highest averages in the tour and a captain in top form, we have what it takes.
Pope will replace an aging Uttenberger as captain. The former winner of the tour will only act as a top teammate. Brouwer is a great addition to the team.”
Team Trier:
Despite having the power and talent, Fred Dobbelaere never managed to fulfill his potential in the Tweedaagse. Will this be the season he redeems himself? Belgium's home favorite is back and the stakes are high, topform is ready, the team is stronger then ever and he has the support of the strong new up and coming, still unmaxed, cobble rider Capels.
“Wonderful to be back in Belgium, this had always been our favorite tour. This year we have done EVERYTHING possible to help Dobbelaere archive a podium place, he wants this more then ever. This is the big test for Capels, even though he is there to help his captain, he is going to be exiting to follow.”
lastplace1414:
The all American dream team is back! Team lastplace1414 are hoping to take Simon to the podium once again.
This year Simon has lost a great lead out support Marquina (to Team Unibet), will this weaken his chances or are the strong cobble captain team still strong enough?
“Tweedaagse is a tour for specialists only. It is not three climbing stages, three sprinting stages, etc. It is all about the
| | cobbles. It's the best of the best in that race. My goal is to be on the podium with Simon again. There have been slight changes in the team since last time, including the departure of Miguel Marquina, who finished 2nd in last season's youth classificiation.
I expect one Brit, one Belgian, two Latvians, and three Spaniards to present the biggest challenge to Simon.”
Glamourade:
Using the same strategy which Team peddelen won the tour with two seasons in a row, Team Glamourade are going to repeat the success of last season. The experienced captain Viola is once again going for the podium with help from a very strong lead out train that all could be top sprinters on other teams.
“I have not made changes looking at last year, only that I will not be at Pre-Roubaix. For this reason, Mauricio Viola will have less raceshape than last year.
However, my strength is not only in the captain but, also in the lead outs of my team. Yes, Mauricio Viola is getting old, but recently he has arrived at level seven of experience.”
JJL24SS:
Former winner and two times youth winner Semarjaks is back after his absence last time, will he reclaim his former title this year, or have the last two bad season taking their effect on his abilities?
He surely started the season in great shape, question is if he peaked too soon?
"The goal is always to win, we have had a rider capable of winning every season that we have been eligible. Semerjaks has had his best successes in the tour, and we hoping for a top three.
Last year we lost eligibility for the tour, so I guess that is a pretty major change. There have been few changes from the team that entered two seasons ago, we have added new staff and switched around some equipment. Semerjaks has also hopefully matured and he is truly in his prime now."
Just like last season and the season before Nairobi City Cycling Club are going to come off the start ramp blazing, can anybody challenge them on the prologue?
Looks like Team Red Star is not going to just hand them the victory without a fight, two strong timetrial teams clashing together in the streets of Hoogstraten.
Who will come through the morning mist first? No doubt one of the strong time trial experts, but who?
And how will the favorites perform? The four kilometers prologue is too short a distance to make a huge gap, but with only seconds separating first and second place in the General Classification, every second counts.
Nobody can afford to have a day off!
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