French veteran Sylvain Chavanel (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) comes off of a 15th overall in the Tour of Oman and takes to the narrow, cobbled roads of Belgium on Saturday, as he takes on the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad as the Classics season gets underway.
The Frenchman has become an unofficial Belgian of sorts, after transferring to the Belgian team for the 2009 season. He experienced immediate success as a major player on Quick Step teams that dominated single-day races with Tom Boonen and Stijn Devolder, the latter now with Vacansoleil-DCM.
Now riding for the Omega Pharma-Quick Step squad, which already has high profile wins from Boonen, Levi Leipheimer, and Peter Velits, Chavanel will help lead a Spring Classics team that has quickly built some momentum of its own.
“The team is already fully ready,” Chavanel said at a team press conference. “We’re in a good position after all the victories we have achieved to date. Compared to last year, a few things changed in our team, and the team is much stronger.”
After a solid finish in Oman, Chavanel appears to be on pace for the spring season, in spite of some sickness that struck upon leaving the Middle East.
“I’m glad the season is now underway here,” he admitted. “After Oman I was sick, but luckily that’s all behind us, though I will be behind the others a bit in terms of conditioning.”
Chavanel and this team-mates got some reconnaissance of the Het Nieuwsblad course, the benefits of which he says cannot be undersold.
“I think it’s not bad to see the cobbles again, to go and see them up close,” he explained. “It is so you can get the real feel of the cobblestones. From the Molenberg, the last hill of the day, it’s still a long way to the finish.
“Checking out the cobblestone roads, I have learned that the course could be dangerously slippery.”
Because of some of the most talked about offseason transfers and team mergers, a variety of squads have a legitimate chance at taking out a single-day race. With its two riders capable of leading, Omega Pharma-Quick Step is certainly one of them, but Chavanel put the focus on some others.
“Greg Van Avermaet is one of the favourites from the BMC Racing team, which also has Philippe Gilbert. Also remember Juan Antonio Flecha and last year’s winner, Sebastian Langeveld,” Chavanel said.
Omega Pharma-Quick Step for Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
Tom Boonen, Sylvain Chavanel, Gerald Ciolek, Dries Devenyns, Gert Steegmans, Martin Velits, Matteo Trentin, Stijn Vandenbergh
Omega Pharma-Quick Step for Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne
Tom Boonen, Gert Steegmans, Martin Velits, Gerald Ciolek, Guillaume Van Keirsbulck, Nikolas Maes, Niki Terpstra, Stijn Vandenbergh