Ronan McLaughlin in familiar all-out mode
Ronan McLaughlin will be Ireland’s sole representative in Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne in Belgium tomorrow, Sunday.
His An Post-Sean Kelly Irish team mate Sam Bennett had been down to ride, but having been sidelined with flu the week before last he decided to ride the slightly less testing Beverbeek Classic today, Saturday.
Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne is a semi classic but features some of the best teams and classics riders in the world all honing their form for the fast approaching spring classics.
A UCI 1.1, the race is 193km in length. However, in the past, climbs like the Oude Kwaremont, Kruisberg, Kanarieberg and the Tiegemberg have often failed to split the field and it’s a race regarded as favouring the sprinters.
Having said that, with the early season in-from riders like Tom Boonen (Omega Pharma-Quickstep) chomping at the bit, the race will be a bruiser and even making it all the way in the peloton will be a challenge for many of the riders.
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An Post-Sean Kelly manager Kurt Bogaerts said his riders were looking forward to tomorrow’s race.
“The Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne is always a very unpredictable race,” he said.
“The guys, particularly Niko, are looking forward to it as it’s the first Belgian classic of the season. We have prepared well and aim to be competitive and aggressive throughout. Our objective is a top ten finish so we’ll see how it goes.”
The team’s best bet for a top ten would, on paper, appear to be its sprinter and former Belgian national champion Niko Eeckhout. However, with Mark McNally and Gediminas Bagdonas both tipped for a very big season this year, either could figure tomorrow.
McLaughlin will be looking for another strong performance to add to his early season showings, particularly his breakaway heroics in the Volta ao Algarve.
An Post team for Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne
- Gediminas Bagdonas (LTU)
- Niko Eeckhout (BEL)
- Mark Christian (GB)
- Mark McNally (GB)
- Ronan McLaughlin (IRL)
- Niels Wytinck (BEL)
- Stijn Ennekens (BEL)
- Pieter Ghyllebert (BEL)
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