Our 2 teams will tackle the Ronde
The Tour of Flanders is the final act in the Flemish classics campaign. Sébastien Hinault tells us what he expects from the ARKEA-B&B HOTELS team for this second monument of the season, which will also see the women’s team taking part.
World Team
“The Tour of Flanders is one of cycling’s greatest monuments. It’s always an extraordinary day in this competition, whether you’re in front or behind, because it’s so tough. I’m going to try to enjoy myself – if I can put it that way – on the cobbled hills, because it’s a race that has one of the best atmospheres every year. It won’t be easy, but you have to make the most of the crowds, so that they give you a boost to push yourself even harder. After all, it’s still a race, and as I’m a competitor, my desire is always the same when I start a competition: to give it my all, with the aim of getting the best possible result at the finish”.
World Team
“I’ll be discovering the Tour of Flanders for the first time. It will be my first participation in this event. It will be my second monument of the season after Milan-San Remo. I’m feeling in good shape. I’ve just finished ninth in the E3 Grand Prix, which is a bit like a ‘little’ Ronde van Vlandereen. I want to do it, I like racing in Belgium and taking part in these cobbled events. I know that Sunday will be a different race of course, but I’m going to this Tour of Flanders with the intention of achieving the best possible result”.
Women’s team
“The Tour of Flanders is always a very special race, one of the most difficult classics with an atmosphere and ambiance that have something extra! I can’t wait to enjoy it on Sunday, and one thing is certain: all the riders in the ARKEA-B&B HOTELS team are motivated to ride and try their luck on the famous cobbled hills of Flanders, which have helped write the legend of our sport.”
“The Tour of Flanders – or otherwise known as the Ronde Van Vlaanderen in Belgium on the Flemish coast – is in a way the ‘high mass’ of Holy Week in Flanders. For me, it’s one of the most beautiful monuments of the season, where everything comes together: the public, the enthusiasm and the sporting level. It’s the conclusion of all the Flemish cobbled classics, and the anticipation at the roadside is incredible. The same atmosphere can be found a week later on the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix. The ARKEA-B&B HOTELS team that will be taking part in the Tour of Flanders looks good on paper. We’re certainly not the favourites for this classic, but we can expect great things from Florian Sénéchal, Vincenzo Albanese who will be new to the sport but who demonstrated his qualities in this type of competition at E3, and also Luca Mozzato who has been present in all the races in Belgium since the start of the classics campaign”.
“Team ARKEA-B&B HOTELS Women will compete in its first Tour of Flanders this Sunday. The ARKEA-B&B HOTELS riders are delighted to be lining up at the start of such a monument. It’s a race with 7 cobbled sectors and 12 climbs concentrated in the last 90 kilometres (163km in total). We want to be at the front of this prestigious classic.”