Tony Gallopin heads Lotto Soudal's aspirations in San Sebastian
Jul 28 2017 07:42 pm CET
SUBSCRIBE TO RSS FEEDSLotto Soudal's Tony Gallopin has already won the Clasica San Sebastian in 2013 and he now returns in an attempt to recover the title.
The last editions of the Spanish classic have been won in an attack on the Murgil Tontorra climb. Lotto Soudal's squad is ready to shine but is aware of the tough competition that will fight for the win, like current champion Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo).
"The goal for Saturday will be to compete for victory in the Clásica San Sebastián. We start with a strong team that consists of, on the one hand, riders who have ridden the Tour de France, and on the other hand, guys who just finished a good Tour de Wallonie," said sports director Frederik Willems.
"Tony Gallopin will be the team leader. He has proven in the past that this is a race that suits him very well. He has always set a nice result in the three times he has participated. He won in 2013, was fifth in 2014 and finished in second place last year. He has shown to be in great shape during the past Tour de France where he was in the attack a couple of times in the second and third week."
The team also fields strong riders to help the Belgian take the victory. "Next to him, we also start with Tiesj Benoot and Tim Wellens," he said. "We will still have to see how good Tiesj will be after his first Grand Tour.
"Two seasons ago, Tim proved that he can ride a good second half of the season after the Tour de France, but the situation is slightly different now. He had to abandon the Tour due to illness, but he has indicated that his training rides went well. However, it has still to be seen how he will perform on Saturday."
Lotto Soudal's line-up for the Clasica San Sebastian: Lars Bak, Tiesj Benoot, Sean De Bie, Tony Gallopin, Rémy Mertz, Tosh Van der Sande, Jelle Vanendert and Tim Wellens.
