André Greipel will make a later start to the season than usual and his first major stage race will be the Volta ao Algarve. With Jurgen Roelandts, Marcel Sieberg and Jens Debusschere at his side, he will be supported by a strong lead-out train while Tony Gallopin may target a stage win in the hillier terrain.
Lotto Soudal will be in the Volta ao Algarve/Tour of Algarve from February 18 to 22 with a roster able to fight for the victory in most stages.
The pre-entry list sent to the organization contains the names of German André Greipel and Frenchman Tony Gallopin, two men from the top 100 worldwide. The German was the cyclist with more victories in 2014 as he raised his arms 16 times. The German national champion ended the season in 88th in the world ranking.
Tony Gallopin won one stage of Tour de France in 2014, wore yellow in the same race, and conquererd several places of honor, including the sixth place in the Road World Championships. He ended the year in the 35th place in the world ranking. Another rider to take into account is Jens Debusschere, the Belgian champion.
Team Lotto Soudal is completed with Belgians Jurgen Roelandts, Sean de Bie and Stig Broeckx, with German Marcel Sieberg and Norwegian Vegard Breen.
The Lotto Soudal is one of 18 teams with confirmed presence in the 41st Volta ao Algarve/Tour of Algarve. The others are the WorldTour formations Astana, Ettix-QuickStep, Cannondale-Garmin, Katusha, Lotto NL-Jumbo and Sky, the continental professional teams Bora-Argon 18, Caja Rural-Seguros RGA, RusVelo and Wanty-Groupe Gobert, and continental teams Efapel, LA Alumínios-Antarte, Louletano-Ray Just Energy, Optum p / b Kelly Benefit Strategies, Rádio Popular-Boavista, Team Banco BIC and W52-Quinta da Lixa.
In addition to the Lotto Soudal, five other have already sent the enrolment form to the organization:
Astana: Michele Scarponi, Luis León Sánchez, Rein Taaramae Valerio Agnoli, Davide Malacarne, Maxat Ayazbayev, Arman Kamyshev and Bakhtiyar Kozhatayev.
Caja Rural-Seguros RGA: Ricardo Vilela, José Gonçalves, Ángel Madrazo, Heiner Parra, Hugh Carthy, Omar Fraile, and Fabricio Luis But Ferrari.
Wanty-Goupe Gobert: Bjorn Leukemans, Marco Marcato, Francis de Greef, Roy Jans, Jan Ghijselinck, Frederik Veuchelen, Kevin Van Melsen and James Vanlandschoot.
RusVelo: Ivan Balykin, Igor Boev, Petr Ignatenko, Artem nych, Roman Maikin, Artem Ovechkin, Kirill Pozdnyakov and Mamyr Stash.
Optum: Jesse Anthony, Scott Zwizanski, Thomas Zirbel, Eric Young, Ryan Anderson, Bradley Huff, William Routley and Phil Gaimon.
The Volta ao Algarve/Tour of Algarve will have five stages and a total of 768.2 kilometers:
Stage 1: Lagos - Albufeira, 168 km
Stage 2: Lagoa - Monchique, 192 km
Stage 3: Vila do Bispo - Cabo S. Vicente, 18.2 km (ITT)
Stage 4: Tavira - Malhão, 212 km
Stage 5: Almodôvar - Vilamoura, 178 km
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