Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team returns to action this week with four one-day races

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Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team returns to action this week with four one-day races

After a good week of racing at Tirreno-Adriatico, Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team returns to competition this Wednesday, March 15th at Milano-Torino and Nokere Koerse in Italy and Belgium, respectively. Grand Prix Denain, on Thursday and Bredene Koksijde, on Friday complete the block of four races ahead of Milano-Sanremo.

14 March 2023

Milano-Torino, one of the oldest classics in professional cycling, will see the riders cover 192km between Rho and Orbassano. A bunch sprint finale is expected and Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team is looking to race for a top result with Matteo Moschetti. The 26-year-old Italian will start his third Milano-Torino off the back of a solid week of racing at Tirreno-Adriatico where he finished Top-5 in the bunch sprint on Stage 3. Moschetti will be supported by Tobias Ludvigsson, Cyrus Monk, Alessandro Fedeli, Marcel Camprubí, Matteo Badilatti and Corey Davis.

“This is a nice race, one that should suit the sprinters. It starts near my hometown and I’ll probably have my family at the start-line so I’m extra motivated to do a good performance. The forecast shows there could be some wind so we will be riding attentively. I do like racing in the crosswinds and I hope to have recovered well from Tirreno-Adriatico. Normally, two days is not a long time to recover but the shape was there and I believe I can be competitive. I’m motivated to make up for the lost opportunity in the last sprint in Tirreno and be up there fighting for the win in Milano-Torino,” said Matteo Moschetti.

Cobbled Climbs

This Wednesday, the team will also be in action for the Belgian one-day race Nokere Koerse, that features short but demanding cobbled climbs over a 189.8 km course, including the famous Nokereberg, where the finish line is located.

Local rider Tom Devriendt is looking forward to racing on home roads and playing the role of Team Captain to a very strong and motivated squad. Filippo Colombo, Fabio Christen, Kamil Malecki, Szymon Sajnok, Nicolò Parisini and Nick Zukowsky complete the seven-rider roster for Nokere-Koerse as well as Grand Prix Denain, the following day and Bredene Koksijde, on Friday.

“I’m really looking forward to racing near my home. Nokere Koerse is a beautiful but demanding race with some nice sectors. I hope we can be at the front of the race as a team and fight for a top result. GP Denain in the following day will be a good preparation for Paris-Roubaix will all the cobbled sectors. I want to perform well there but all depends how I recover from the previous day. I think we have a strong team with many options and we can be competitive in any race scenario. The final race, Bredene Koksijde should favour a sprint but the weather can play a big factor so we need to be attentive. I’m really looking forward to it as it will be a good race to put in the km’s ahead of the classics block,” said Tom Devriendt.

Grand Prix Denain on Thursday, March 16th will resemble a mini Paris-Roubaix with 12 cobbled sectors featured in the last 80 km of the race. A day later the 200.9 km long Bredene Koksijde Classic will be a combination of some cobbled hills as well as “pavé” sectors and technical and narrow roads. On paper it should be a race that will favour a select bunch sprint finish but the weather conditions might lead to more convoluted race tactics, resulting in splits.

Gabriele Missaglia and Alex Sans Vega will be taking on the DS duties in Milano-Torino while Aart Vierhouten and Rik Reinerink will be directing the team in the Belgium and French races.