The Rabobank team is sending a number of on-form riders to the Belgian “Openingsweekend” of the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne this coming weekend. Lars Boom and Maarten Wijnants both put in strong rides at the Tours of Qatar and Oman, with Boom winning the Qatar prologue, and Sebastian Langeveld took two top fives in the Challenge Mallorca followed by 13th in last week’s Volta ao Algarve.
The Dutch team hopes to go better in the Het Nieuwsblad than last year, when it had to watch recently departed Juan Antonio Flecha take the win, and all of its riders finished anonymously in the main peloton. The eight-man team has been decided with Boom, Wijnants and Langeveld joined by four other riders that rode either Oman or Algarve, plus Laurens ten Dam who is currently riding the Ruta del Sol.
The team enjoyed better luck in last year’s epic Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne, with Rik Flens finishing second behind Bobbie Traksel (then Vacansoleil) in a three-man sprint. The race was shortened by 20km as a storm raced across the region and the peloton was scattered all over the road; Langeveld finished tenth of just 26 classified finishers.
The Rabobank team for Kuurne has not yet been decided; that Bram Tankink and Tom Leezer will replace two of the Het Nieuwsblad team, but which two is not yet known.
Rabobank team for Omloop Het Nieuwsblad:
Lars Boom, Laurens ten Dam, Jos van Emden, Rick Flens, Sebastian Langeveld, Coen Vermeltfoort, Maarten Tjallingii and Maarten Wijnants.
Team for Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne:
Six of the above, plus Bram Tankink and Tom Leezer.