“I will give everything in support of the team” - Gerben Kuypers joins Intermarché-Wanty with Liège-Bastogne-Liège set to be his first race

Despite not having raced so far this year, Gerben Kuypers has been promoted to the Intermarché-Wanty WorldTour team from their Wanty-ReUz-Technord development team and is set to race at Liege-Bastogne-Liege for the Walloon outfit this weekend.

The 24-year-old Belgian is already an accomplished rider on the cyclocross field, having finished in the top-5 of no less than two rounds of the UCI World Cup last season. However, he was forced to take a break from competition after the round in Gavere at the end of December, as he was struggling with abnormal fatigue.

He is now ready to return to racing though and make the step up to the WorldTour, as he said in a statement released by his team that “interrupting my cyclocross season has been the best decision to give my body time to recover from my health problems. I am satisfied with the quality of my training since the beginning of March, and I feel ready to start my road season with Intermarché-Wanty”.

Kuypers was reassured by the support given to him by his team, as he stated “I thought my health problems last winter ruined my dream, however, these physical problems apparently did not affect the confidence the team has in me. This opportunity to step up to the World Tour is the best proof. It is a true honour and I am extremely grateful to the structure. It is a great boost of motivation for my return into competition”.

Looking ahead to his debut race this weekend, Kuypers went on to say “the first race kilometres are always exciting, because it is difficult to estimate how good you are, especially at this level. Liège-Bastogne-Liège will be my first Monument, it will undoubtedly be special as it is something I would never have imagined a year ago. I will give everything in support of the team, making efforts which can make the difference for our leaders”.

On what he hopes to learn in his upcoming races, he said “I am curious to know what I can achieve at this level, I’m eager to learn and I feel supported in this process. For all these reasons, I am convinced that Intermarché-Wanty is the best environment for the continuation of my career”.