After a very successful Belgian opening weekend, Belkin are readu to continue their succes when the Paris-Nice opens the European WorldTour season on Sunday. Wilco Kelderman will target a top 10 on GC while Moreno Hofland will chase his second win in the sprint finishes.

The Belkin Pro Cycling Team will travel to France for Paris-Nice this week full of confidence. In the Race to the Sun, Sports Director Merijn Zeeman wants to continue the good run the team displayed in the opening classics weekend.

“The Omloop and Kuurne were a very pleasant confirmation for us,” said Zeeman. “First of all, it was good to see that the men are in a top condition. And besides that, last weekend was the first time this season that we really wanted to be at our best. We worked hard to make the riders into a real team and it was great to see that the men fought the battle together. I really enjoyed it.”

Paris-Nice is the first European WorldTour race of the year so Zeeman knows that many other teams have highlighted the race.

“But if we ride as a team, then I’m sure that our current form allows us to get in the mix for a good GC and stage victories.”

The Belkin Pro Cycling Team will start the race with those goals on March 9 in Mantes-la-Jolie.

“Paris-Nice is a versatile race,” explained Zeeman. “We’ll see nervous finals, dangerous downhills, strong winds and demanding climbs. For talents as Moreno Hofland and Wilco Kelderman, it will be a good learning experience. We’ll give them the opportunity to go for their chances, but we’re not going to put pressure on them. As a team we’re going to help Moreno and Wilco. They will have supportive roles; on the other hand they’ll get their chances.”

Wilco Kelderman sat in front of his television this weekend and enjoyed the performance of his team-mates in the Omloop and Kuurne. He’s eager to return to racing.

“It was really nice what they did. I hope to be good in Paris-Nice as well. I’m aiming for a top ten spot in the overall. We’ll have a strong team at the start and hopefully we can take a stage victory as well. Last weekend confirmed what we already knew: if you race like a team, it will bring you results.”

Belkin for Paris-Nice:

Jetse Bol, Lars Boom, Jos van Emden, Jonathan Hivert, Moreno Hofland, Wilco Kelderman, Lars Petter Nordhaug, and Maarten Wynants