Two more of the WorldTour’s ‘super teams’ have named their squads for tomorrow’s La Fleche Wallonne.
Omega Pharma-QuickStep and RadioShack-Nissan-Trek have unveiled line-ups for the second of three ‘Ardennes Classics’, which starts in Charleroi tomorrow.
RSNT will send a heavyweight squad led by the Schleck brothers, Andy and Frank. Andy has twice finished in the top 10 at Fleche, coming second in 2009 and ninth in 2010. Older brother Frank was seventh last year.
The brothers will be supported by Chris Horner, second overall at last month’s Tirenno-Adriatico and seventh in the 2010 La Fleche Wallonne, and the vastly experienced Jens Voigt, a multiple Grand Tour stage winner.
Three Belgians feature in RSNT’s eight-man squad, including 25-year-old Ben Hermans, Jan Bakelants, and Maxime Monfort, who finished seventh overall in this year’s Paris-Nice.
Omega Pharma-Quickstep, who have been dominant in the cobbled Classics, boosting their wins tally to 30 this season, will field a low-key squad for tomorrow’s 196km race through the Ardennes.
Tom Boonen, the team’s leader for the Classics, and winner of this year’s Gent Wevelgem, E3 Harelbeke, Tour of Flanders, and Paris-Roubaix, has been ruled out of the Ardennes Classics with a foot injury.
Sylvain Chavenel, winner of the Three Days of De Panne, and a rider who produced strong performances at the Ronde and Roubaix, finished 37th at last Sunday’s Amstel Gold Race and will not ride tomorrow.
Niki Terpstra, winner of Dwars door Vlaanderen, and fifth at Paris-Roubaix, will also miss La Fleche Wallonne. He finished 20th at the Amstel Gold Race.
Instead, OPQS will field three Belgian riders: Kevin De Weert, Dries Devenyns, and Julien Vermote, two Polish riders (Michal Golas and Michal Kwiatkowski), the Italian rider, Marco Bandiera, former Slovak national champion, Martin Velits, and the Frenchman, Jerome Pineau, previously a top 10 finisher in two Ardennes Classics.
Yesterday, BMC Racing unveiled a squad that includes defending champion, Philippe Gilbert, and strongman, Greg Van Avermaet,while Team Sky’s line-up includes young British riders, Peter Kennaugh and Luke Rowe.
