Etixx - Quick-Step has announced the selections that will participate in three upcoming Belgian one-day races: Nokere Koerse - Danilith Classic at 197.7km in total distance on March 18th, 198.6km Handzame Classic on March 20th, and 199km Ronde van Zeeland Seaports on March 21st.
"Five riders will participate in all three races, and two will change," Sport Director Rik Van Slycke said. "The Nokere Koerse finale is slighty uphill on cobblestones, and normally the race is controlled by the teams that have fast riders. Because of the nice weather they are predicting it will be difficult to really split up the peloton. At Handzame Classic the climbs of the parcours are far from the finish, which favors a bunch sprint. Finally there is Ronde van Zeeland Seaports, which began in 2012 and has so far been one that is also for the fast guys of the peloton. We go to these races in to try to win due to the quality and the skills of our riders, and the races will be also important to speed up the legs and set up the condition in function of the upcoming cobbled classics and Volta Ciclista a Catalunya. Niki Terpstra, for example, is the defending winner of Paris-Roubaix and this will be an important step for him in function of the upcoming races in Belgium."
Matteo Trentin will return to competition, starting with Nokere Koerse, in function of Spring Classics preparation. Trentin didn't participate in Paris-Nice due to thoracic back pain, which was a consequence of the crash he suffered in Tour of Oman. Trentin, together with team medical staff, made the decision to not participate in Paris-Nice and instead focus on 100 recovery followed by an important block of training before these important races prior to the Classics.
You can find the selection for Handzame Classic here and the selection for Ronde van Zeeland Seaports here.
The selection for Nokere Koerse is available by selecting the "more information" button.