The newly named Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team will kick off their season in February with the Saudi Tour but back in Europe some of the team's main riders will be starting their campaign in Valencia.
"Looking at the team for Valencia, we can definitely get some chances, especially with Fabio, as some of the stages should end in a bunch sprint." After recovering from his life-threatening injuries and having a successful return to the peloton last year, Fabio Jakobsen is starting his season with high ambitions after being put in the provisional list for the Tour de France. He will have the support of key lead-out man Michael Mørkøv, Yves Lampaert and Josef Cerny in the sprint stages for the week.
The team will also carry ambitions for the overall classification as young prodigy Remco Evenepoel will lead the Belgian team. "But also with Remco, Mikkel and Mattia we can do something nice. The route is a demanding one, with two hard uphill finishes; one of these has a few kilometers of gravel roads, which will make things even more difficult."
"We would like to get a stage victory and, if possible, do a good general classification. But the race is tough and we know it won’t be easy," explains Tom Steels, Quick-Step's sports director.
The Volta a Comunitat Valenciana starts this wednesday and will see a peloton of 15 World Tour teams at the start of the 5-day event in eastern Spain. Giacomo Nizzolo, Elia Viviani and Alexander Kristoff are too expected to battle for the sprints, whilst the battle for the GC will include the likes of Enric Mas, Alejandro Valverde and Aleksandr Vlasov alongside Evenepoel.
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