SD Worx-Protime will toe the beginning line at this Sunday’s Tour of Flanders with defending champion Lotte Kopecky and runner-up final 12 months Demi Vollering, however Lidl-Trek’s line-up shouldn’t be underestimated.
The American outfit will area two potential winners Elisa Longo Borghini, who gained the race in 2015, and an on-form Shirin van Anrooij.
“I really feel excellent forward of Flanders tomorrow. To say I’m ‘tremendous assured’ can be slightly an excessive amount of, however I’m simply actually joyful that I can trip with such a powerful staff subsequent to me. We confirmed within the earlier races that we actually are a staff, and when using collectively, we are able to obtain nice issues, so I’m actually trying ahead to Flanders,” Longo Borghini mentioned.
“That is one thing that we, sadly, couldn’t do final 12 months, and I want folks might actually perceive what we went by final 12 months as a result of many didn’t. That is our potential.”
Lidl-Trek has been lively in the entire Spring Classics, and Elisa Balsamo has gained two of the one-days at Trofeo Alfredo Binda and Traditional Brugge-De Panne. In the meantime. Longo Borghini and Van Anrooij have performed a 1-2 punch, racing into breakaways and the highest 10s.
The Italian Champion was third at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, second at Strade Bianche and sixth within the breakaway dash at Dwars door Vlaanderen. Equally, Van Anrooij was fourth at Omloop, fifth at Strade and second at Dwars door Vlaanderen.
“Lastly, we’re racing in a means that reveals our full potential, and this might have been us final 12 months, too, however due to many accidents and illness, we couldn’t do what we knew we had been able to,” Longo Borghini mentioned.
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“So, now, we’re actually simply exhibiting how robust we’re, how robust we at all times have been, and the way eager we’re to make the race arduous and to get the most effective out of each race.”
Van Anrooij mentioned that whereas the Lidl-Trek staff is pleased with their Spring Classics marketing campaign, to date, they need to obtain extra. She believes that they will win Flanders in the event that they proceed to race with robust staff cohesion.
Lidl-Trek’s staff on the Tour of Flanders can even embody 2016 winner Lizzie Deignan, Lauretta Hanson, Elisa Balsamo and Lucinda Model.
“Elisa [Longo Borghini] and me have been in quite a lot of finals collectively now and I believe we will likely be there in Flanders once more. With Lizzie, Lucinda, Lauretta and Barzi [Elisa Balsamo], we have now proved previously we are able to obtain outcomes collectively, and so, I hope we are able to play the sport the way in which we need to at Tour of Flanders,” Van Anrooij mentioned.
