Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling will line up at the start of the women’s Gent-Wevelgem for the first time this coming Sunday, the 29th of March, with Belgian Champion Jolien D’hoore hoping to continue her outstanding run of form. The 25-year-old celebrated her birthday with victory in the Ronde van Drenthe World Cup last week, which came hot on the heels of her first road victory for the black and orange team at the Omloop van Het Hageland the previous Sunday.
Since then D’hoore has worked hard in the service of her teammates, but hopes to be able to show her black, yellow and red jersey off again on her home roads this week.
“Gent-Wevelgem is a race close to my heart,” she said. “It’s a typical Belgian spring classic so it should suit my abilities. This year it’s ‘only’ a 1.2 but the organisation of Gent-Wevelgem has bigger plans for the future. They really support women’s cycling and want to help in the growth of it.”
Although the 2015 Gent-Wevelgem will be only the fourth edition for women – and although it only ranks as 1.2 on the UCI calendar – the event carries considerable prestige thanks to the history of the men’s WorldTour Classic that it is run alongside. The 115km course will start in the historic city of Ieper (Ypres) – famous for the battles that were fought around it in World War I – and include five climbs, including two ascents of the infamous Kemmelberg, before the familiar flat run in to the finish in Wevelgem.
“There will also be some media coverage from [Belgian TV station] Sporza,” D’hoore added. “Enough reasons to show my Belgian champion jersey! The team is really strong at the moment so we can rely on each other in the race, and that makes it a lot easier and relaxed for every one of us.
“We are all motivated and ready for another beautiful race in Belgium!”
D’hoore will be joined in the Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling line up by Australian Chloe Hosking, who provided the Belgian champion with a textbook lead out in Drenthe before sprinting to second place herself in the Novilon Eurocup the next day. The powerful team will be completed by the British trio of Anna Christian, Amy Roberts and National Criterium Champion Eileen Roe.
Unfortunately, the team will be without the strength of Emilia Fahlin, with the former Swedish Champion suffering from illness, as well as the effects of her crash in the Ronde van Drenthe last week.
Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling line up for Gent-Wevelgem (29th March)
Anna Christian (Great Britain), Jolien D’hoore (Belgium), Chloe Hosking (Australia), Amy Roberts (Great Britain), Eileen Roe (Great Britain)
