Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling is looking for even more success in the 2015 UCI Women’s Road World Cup at this weekend’s Tour of Flanders, the Ronde van Vlaanderen. The team will be jointly led by Belgian Champion Jolien D’hoore, who won the first round of the competition, the Ronde van Drenthe last month, and Italian Elisa Longo Borghini, who took fourth place in last week’s Trofeo Alfredo Binda.
“The Tour of Flanders is the race I love the most,” said D’hoore. “It’s a prestigious ‘monument’ race in Belgium and far beyond. I’m very proud to wear the Belgian champ jersey on my home roads, so obviously I want to do well on Sunday.”
D’hoore comes into the race after an impressive fourth place in last weekend’s epic edition of Gent-Wevelgem in Flanders Fields and, although conditions are expected to be far better on Sunday, the Belgian champion hopes to shine over the cobbles and bergs of her native region once more.
“We have a strong team at the start line,” the 25-year-old added. “I’m confident that we can show ourselves and play an important role in the race. I’m really looking forward to kick off this amazing spring classic on Sunday!”
Although she comes from northern Italy, Longo Borghini is one of the most accomplished riders over cobbles in the women’s sport, as she has shown since her very first races in the elite peloton. The 23-year old has finished fourth in both of the last two editions of the Tour of Flanders and, after superb form so far this year – with third place in the Strade Bianche to go with her fourth place in Binda – is capable of going even better this time.
“Flanders is one the most important races on the entire calendar,” she said. “We are ready to race and I can’t wait to get to the start.
“I know it will be really hard, but our team is strong and we’ve got many cards to play,” Longo Borghini added. “I can’t wait until Sunday!”
Although D’hoore and Longo Borghini will be team captains for the race, the team will also include Australian sprinter Chloe Hosking, whose performance in Gent-Wevelgem – where she finished in third place – showed that she is also capable of performing in Flanders this weekend. Fellow sprinter Giorgia Bronzini, who won last month’s Drenthe 8 is also more than capable of taking a result at the end of such a hard race.
The team will be completed by Cholet-Pays de Loire winner Audrey Cordon-Ragot, who has recovered from her Trofeo Binda crash, and Japanese Champion Mayuko Hagiwara, whose ability to ride in any terrain makes her one of the most valued teammates in the peloton.
Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling line up for the Ronde van Vlaanderen (5th April)
Giorgia Bronzini (Italy), Audrey Cordon-Ragot (France), Jolien D’hoore (Belgium), Mayuko Hagiwara(Japan), Chloe Hosking (Australia), Elisa Longo Borghini (Italy)
