European Champion Tim Merlier is back in action with the team for the first time since the Tour de France.
Best sprinter of the year, Tim Merlier is ready to pin on a number again and take on one of the season’s final World Tour stage races, the Renewi Tour. Having scored a total of 12 victories since the start of the season, including a pair of Tour de France stages, the 32-year-old Belgian will look to add to this impressive palmares at a race where he has won twice in the past.
Joining the European Champion on Soudal Quick-Step’s roster for the 20th edition of the Renewi Tour will be Ayco Bastiaens, former Belgian Champion Yves Lampaert, Paul Magnier – fresh off his third place in Hamburg – Dries Van Gestel, Bert Van Lerberghe and Warre Vangheluwe, who is back with the team for the first time since the Scheldeprijs crash that put an end to his Spring Classics campaign.
The first two stages of the race will bring as many opportunities for the sprinters, before the general classification men get to come into the spotlight for the famous stage to Geraardsbergen, which will see the peloton tackle more than a dozen climbs, including the mythical Taaienberg and Muur-Kapelmuur. Unlike other years, when it was scheduled on Sunday, this time the stage will be just an appetizer, as the last two days of the race will bring even more hills, ensuring the fight for the overall victory will go down to the wire.
“We have a good team, capable of going for more goals this week. Tim is our man for the bunch sprints, while Paul can be in action and fight for good results on some of the hilly stages. We’re also happy to have Warre back after all this time, it will be nice for him to race with the guys again. The squad is a strong and motivated one and that gives us confidence we can have a solid week”, said Soudal Quick-Step sports director Wilfried Peeters.
Photo credit: ©Dario Belingheri / Getty Images
