The Flemish cycling season opened last weekend. On Tuesday we will also kick off the Walloon cycling season with Le Samyn des Dames. Liv Racing starts with Evy Kuijpers, Marta Jaskulska, Valerie Demey, Lotte Kopecky, Alison Jackson and Sabrina Stultiens.
Last year, Lotte Kopecky finished third in Le Samyn des Dames. She has ambitions to get a high ranking as well this year. “I’m really looking forward to this race, I’m super motivated. According to the forecast, there should not be much wind, which is a pity as this would make the race slightly less hard. On the other hand, that does not have to be an inevitable problem, because we have a strong block. If we give our all in the race, just like last weekend, I wonder how far we can get.”
Positive energy
Sports director Lars Boom: “Le Samyn de Dames is a relatively short race of 92 kilometres, but at the same time very difficult. The local lap that we cover three times contains several cobblestone sections. I know from experience that they are not equally good everywhere. We will always have to be attentive and make use of team power. On Saturday, we poured a lot of positive energy in the Omloop. Hopefully the three newcomers in the selection – Marta Jaskulska, Sabrina Stultiens and Alison Jackson – will get some of that right away.”
Photo credits: Cor Vos