Ahead of Opening Weekend, Ian Stannard chats us through the team’s planning and approach to the one-day race, Omloop Nieuwsblad.
Hi everyone. The team and I are really looking forward to some hard racing, kicking off Opening Weekend with Omloop Nieuwsblad.
If we go through the guys one by one – firstly, Kim Heiduk will be acting as team support. He’s showed us his talent in recent races, has good experience with this race and has played the role of road captain well. He will be really good for the guys this weekend, and knows these Belgian races well.
It’s been a while since Michal Kwiatkowski has raced in the Classics, but it’s always good to have him at a race as he’s so reliable. He did Super 8 and GP Wallonie last year, a really keen racer, and again, knows these races really well so will be a huge support.
Our plan for Magnus Sheffield is to get him moving early in the race, from the second time up the Haaghoek and Eikenberg with a front-foot racing ethos.
Artem Shmidt will also act as team support, having done a recon and tested our tyres and new wheels, which will be super important in this race, so we’re all good there.
As road captain, Ben Swift will be key to the race. He always provides great feedback to the team car and is a really good communicator for us between the car and the riders. He knows the race and all the important points super well.
We’ll be working for Ben Turner, going in for the win. We know he’s a good, fast finisher, and also does well out on his own and is able to follow the wheels a bit, so either way, he should be in a good position for us.
Sam Watson is just coming back from a bit of an injury so it’s a little bit unknown to where he’s at. But again, he’s a good, intelligent bike racer and will be up there for sure.
This weekend looks to be a bit windy, about 24km/h, and it’s increased throughout the week. That’ll be a big influence on the race and will definitely make it hard and stressful.
We love these races and that comes with the territory. We'll be ready to get stuck in and the lads are all excited to pin their numbers on for Saturday.
Thanks, Ian.