Belkin will line up most of their fast guys in the Tour de Wallonie which starts on Saturday. Paul Martens who would have been the obvious captain on the hilly course, has forfeited his participation due to the birth of his child and instead Theo Bos is expected to shine in the sprints.

The Belkin Pro Cycling TEAM will hunt for stage wins from July 26 to 30 in Belgium’s Tour de Wallonie. Sports Directors Jan Boven and Michiel Elijzen have seven riders at their disposal who are eager to race again.

“It’s going to be a heavy race when you look at the course,” said Boven. “One day’s final is comparable to Liège-Bastogne-Liège’s course. We have men with a strong kick for that day. Other days offer chances for sprints. We want to seize those opportunities.”

Paul Martens rode well in last year’s Tour de Wallonie, but won’t be at the start this time.

“The course is suitable to Paul, but his wife was expecting a child during the period around the race,” Boven explained. 

“Together with Paul we decided on another program. Otherwise, we might have had to throw things around last minute. Eventually, Paul’s wife gave birth to their son Leon last week!”

The Tour de Wallonie marks the start of a new part of the season. “For everyone, it’s the first race after the nationals,” says Boven. “We’ll start fresh. The Tour de Wallonie also serves as a build up to the to next races.”

Nick van der Lijke hopes to show himself in the Tour de Wallonie. The first-year pro feels better and more at ease in the highest level.

“Hopefully, I can already get in the mix in Wallonie,” he said. “I’ve trained in the Black Forest and feel good. I had a rather slow start to this year. I wasn’t a good as hoped uphill and I didn’t reach my true level. I made some steps ahead and feel that I’m doing better now. Hopefully, I can take a good result before the end of the season.”
 

TEAM line-up:

Theo Bos, Graeme Brown, Jos van Emden, Rick Flens, Jonathan Hivert, Barry Markus and Nick van der Lijke