Team Wanty-Groupe Gobert will return to race for the first time after Antoine Demoitié's death resulting from a Ghent-Wevelgem crash last Sunday. The Belgian team will race the Tour of Flanders on Sunday "after a very hard week."
Demoitié died in the early hours Monday morning at the hospital in Lille, France. The 25-year-old Belgian crashed 150km into the Ghent-Wevelgem classic and was hit by a jury motorbike afterwards.
"It was a very hard week," sports director Hilaire Van Der Schueren said. "The preparations for the Ronde didn't go as planned, unfortunately.
This Wednesday we did a long training together and I think it was good for the guys. After that I spoke with some riders individually as well because some of them have not only lost their teammate Antoine but also their friend Daan Myngheer.
"It was the right decision not to ride in De Panne and the races in France this weekend. But on Sunday we race. The only thing we can do for Antoine and also for Daan is get a result to make them proud."
Eyewitness describes Antoine Demoitié crash: 'I suspected that it wasn’t an ordinary accident'
Wanty-Groupe Gobert refuse to blame moto driver for death of Antoine Demoitié
Belgian rider Antoine Demoitié dies in hospital after Ghent-Wevelgem crash
The team sat out of the Three Days of De Panne and French race Route Adéie de Vitré, where the Demoitié was due to race next.
Instead, eight riders will make Wanty's race return in Flanders: Marco Marcato, Jérôme Baugnies, Dimitri Claeys, Björn Thurau, Tom Devriendt, Frederik Backaert, Kévin Van Melsen and Kenny Dehaes.
Kévin Van Melsen plans to escape for his late teammate. Demoitié's first WorldTour race as a professional was the E3 Harelbeke last Friday, where he spent around 100 kilometres in a breakaway.
"It is not easy to think about racing but now I know for sure that I will be able to say goodbye to Antoine on Monday, I am twice as motivated for Sunday's race," Van Melsen said.
"I want to be part of the breakaway with Antoine on my mind. I want him to be proud of me and proud of us up there."
The race covers 255.9 kilometres and 18 climbs, which for Wanty will be forever linked to Demoitié. "
His last race on Friday was over those iconic climbs in Flanders," team manager, Jean-François Bourlart said on Monday. "Just as his sports director asked him, he attacked and rode free in his first WorldTour race."
Gregor Brown is an experienced cycling journalist, based in Florence, Italy. He has covered races all over the world for over a decade - following the Giro, Tour de France, and every major race since 2006. His love of cycling began with freestyle and BMX, before the 1998 Tour de France led him to a deep appreciation of the road racing season.
-
-
Cannondale reacts to negative comments directed at new Synapse with smart technology
We gave Cannondale right of reply after its new SmartSense-equipped Synapse - which has integrated lights and radar - attracted an unusual amount of criticism when it launched last week
-
Pidcock third while Vos vanquishes Brand in final World Cup round before cyclocross World Championships
Next weekend will see riders compete for the rainbow bands in America
-
Tour of Flanders Espoirs cancelled indefinitely
The race's date, location and lack of young riders are all factors in the organiser's decision
-
Mathieu van der Poel shares his phenomenal power numbers from Tour of Flanders 2021
The Dutch champion put in a huge performance to finish second and has now shared his data on Strava
-
‘What is our sport coming to?’ - Chris Froome, Rohan Dennis and others respond after Michael Schär disqualified from Tour of Flanders
The 2021 Tour of Flanders left us with plenty of highlights and talking points, from Kasper Asgreens unexpected victory to Annemiek van Vleuten's resurgence in the race.
-
Tom Pidcock says he 'forgot the basics of eating well and fuelling well' at Tour of Flanders
Tom Pidcock went into his debut at the Tour of Flanders as one of the potential team leaders alongside Dylan van Baarle but he faded in the closing kilometres due to a 'hunger knock'
-
Five talking points from the Tour of Flanders 2021
From Deceuninck's success to Van Vleuten's repeat - don't miss these moments from a thrilling day of racing
-
Annemiek van Vleuten wins the Tour of Flanders with a signature long range move
Annemiek van Vleuten won the Tour of Flanders for the second time with a signature attack on Sunday.
-
Greg Van Avermaet said he ‘hoped to be better’ but content with podium finish in Tour of Flanders
Greg Van Avermaet said he’d hoped to be “just a little better” in the Tour of Flanders, but settled for a podium finish.
-
Mathieu van der Poel: ‘I started a good sprint, but immediately felt the legs were rough’
Mathieu van der Poel said he started his sprint well in the final of the Tour of Flanders 2021, but quickly realised he didn’t have the strength to beat Kasper Asgreen.
