Deceuninck - Quick-Step reveal stacked squad for Classics Opening Weekend

Julian Alaphilippe training at Liège-Bastogne Liège 2020 (Wout Beel/Deceuninck - Quick-Step)

(Image credit: WOUT BEEL)

published 22 February 2021

Deceuninck - Quick-Step have revealed their stacked squad for the opening Classics weekend, with Julian Alaphilippe making his Omloop Het Nieuwsblad debut.

The Belgian WorldTour squad will be changing up their roster for the first two cobbled races of the season, Omloop and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, on Saturday and Sunday (February 27-28).

Deceuninck sports director Tom Steels said: “It’s finally that time of the year, the Opening Weekend which riders and fans love so much. We are excited and really looking forward to it. Julian will have another nice shot of showing what he is capable of doing on the Flemish roads, after last year’s De Ronde. It will be great to see him ride a prestigious race as Omloop clad in the rainbow jersey.”

“Last year he was slated to make his cobbles debut for us, but due to the weird season that we had, this has been postponed for this year. Styby is a former winner of Omloop, while Kasper produced a masterpiece at the previous edition of Kuurne. Yves, who was again strong on the cobbles last season, Florian, Tim – who everyone is used to see at the front pulling hard for the team – Alvaro, Jannik, Stijn and Bert will provide us with a lot of options and firepower for the weekend, which we await with plenty of confidence and motivation.”

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Alex Ballinger is editor of BikeBiz magazine, the leading publication for the UK cycle industry, and is the former digital news editor for CyclingWeekly.com. After gaining experience in local newsrooms, national newspapers and in digital journalism, Alex found his calling in cycling, first as a reporter, then as news editor responsible for Cycling Weekly's online news output, and now as the editor of BikeBiz. Since pro cycling first captured his heart during the 2010 Tour de France (specifically the Contador-Schleck battle) Alex covered three Tours de France, multiple editions of the Tour of Britain, and the World Championships, while both writing and video presenting for Cycling Weekly. He also specialises in fitness writing, often throwing himself into the deep end to help readers improve their own power numbers. Away from the desk, Alex can be found racing time trials, riding BMX and mountain bikes, or exploring off-road on his gravel bike. He’s also an avid gamer, and can usually be found buried in an eclectic selection of books.

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Deceuninck - Quick-Step reveal stacked squad for Classics Opening Weekend

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