Team LottoNL-Jumbo, ready for a bunch kick, will start Wednesday’s Scheldeprijs with three fast men.

“The Scheldeprijs traditionally ends with a large group sprint,” said Sports Director Merijn Zeeman. “With Tom Van Asbroeck, Moreno Hofland and Barry Markus, we’ve selected three quick riders.”

Van Asbroeck and Hofland are returning to the peloton after an injury and illness.

“We’ll see who feels best during the race and after that, we’ll determine the best plan. We’ll do anything to help one of those three men get the best possible result.

“It is clear that we are not the top favourites, but all three of our sprinters are great talents and with a strong battle plan, a good result is possible.”

Barry Markus
Barry Markus is full of confidence. “I feel that I’m in a good shape, Dwars door Drenthe and Nokere Koerse went pretty well,” the modest Dutchman said, referring to his second and seventh place.

“It’s always a hard mission to start the sprint in Scheldeprijs in good position, but Moreno, Tom and myself all know how to position ourselves properly.”

‘Important’ preparation
The Scheldeprijs serves as “important” Paris-Roubaix preparation for Sep Vanmarcke and Team LottoNL-Jumbo’s other classics riders.

“They will ride in support on Wednesday,” added Zeeman. “That way they can gain important race kilometres in the run-up to Paris-Roubaix.”

Ken Vanmarcke
Zeeman will rely on Ken Vanmarcke during the 200 kilometres between Antwerp and Schoten. Sep’s older brother, who is studying to become a trainer and Sports Director, will be an intern at Team LottoNL-Jumbo for the rest of the year.

Team line-up:
Tom Van Asbroeck, Rick Flens, Moreno Hofland, Barry Markus, Maarten Tjallingii, Sep Vanmarcke, Robert Wagner & Maarten Wynants.

Sports Directors:
Ken Vanmarcke & Merijn Zeeman.