Tomorrow will see Team Katusha's Kim Kirchen back in action after having to sit out the Brabantse Pijl and the Amstel Gold Race. The Luxemburger has had issues with a saddle sore since the E3 Prijs which was then followed by a respiratory problem.
Kirchen would normally be expected to be a factor in the Ardennes Classics, but now he will ride in a supporting role for the Russian team. He won La Flèche Wallonne in 2008 and will hope to contribute the chances of his teammates Serguei Ivanov and Alexandr Kolobnev. Both rode strongly in the Amstel Gold Race this past weekend and will be looking to build on their performances there.
“We have a strong Team for us to try and do well,” said Katusha sport director Serge Parsani. “We did a good Amstel Gold Race where the only thing missing for us was a little bit of good luck. Tomorrow we will try it again.”
New recruit Joaquim Rodriguez has had a good season thus far after winning the overall at the Volta a Catalunya, taking victory in the GP Miguel Indurain and coming away with a stage win at the Vuelta al Pais Vasco. The Spaniard finished second in Liège-Bastogne-Liège behind Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank) last year, and will hope to ben in a position to better that result this weekend.
Katusha for the 2010 Flèche Wallonne:
Serguei Ivanov
Alexandr Kolobnev
Joaquim Rodriguez
Kim Kirchen
Luca Mazzanti
Serguei Klimov
Stijn Vandenbergh
Eduard Vorganov