Vanmarcke, Uran and Woods to lead EF Education First in Ardennes Classics
Apr 14 2018 07:57 pm CET
EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale
Team EF Education First Drapac p/b Cannondale has unveiled its rider line-ups for the upcoming Amstel Gold Race and Fleche Wallonne.
For the Amstel Gold Race, the team will line-up with Sep Vanmarcke as well as riders like Rigoberto Uran and Mike Woods.
"Amstel is really hard, said sport director Tom Southam. "Those climbs and tiny roads are hard. They come at you all day. With these races, it’s not as obvious as the cobbled classics. These are like a slow burn. I feel a bit sad they’re under-appreciated.
"The level is really high. Small moments are really decisive in these races. It’s not glaringly obvious, it’s not breaking up all over the place — that kind of attracts me. You can’t expend effort at the wrong time. You want to wait for the last possible moment. These races can change really quickly. It’s easy to think they’re formulaic, but they aren’t. They’re grueling and hard. Any small mistake you make you’re going to have to pay for."
For the Fleche Wallonne, EF Education First will rely on Uran and Woods while American Alex Howes is expected to play a major role in the lead-up to the final.
"I imagine I’ll be playing the part of aggressor later in the race. Maybe the attack before the attacks kind of thing," he said. "Definitely for Fleche I’ll be the guy to lead into the base of the Mur. Which, as anyone who follows Fleche knows, your result is 80 percent position into the bottom of the Mur. The other 20 percent is VO2 max."
The complete EF Education First line-up for the Amstel Gold Race (April 15):
Matti Breschel (DEN)
Lawson Craddock (USA)
Alex Howes (USA)
Logan Owen (USA)
Rigoberto Uran (COL)
Sep Vanmarcke (BEL)
Mike Woods (CAN)
The complete EF Education First line-up for the Fleche Wallonne (April 18):
Lawson Craddock (USA)
Alex Howes (USA)
Kim Magnusson (SWE)
Daniel Martinez (COL)
Pierre Rolland (FRA)
Rigoberto Uran (COL)
Mike Woods (CAN)
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AMSTEL GOLD RACE
LA FLèCHE WALLONNE
