5 takes you need to know for Opening Weekend

Why Trek-Segafredo is ready for the first classics of 2021

1. It’s open season!

For the uninitiated, the much-anticipated Opening Weekend heralds the start of the Classics Season. It begins on Saturday with Omloop het Nieuwsblad, the first WorldTour classic, followed by Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne, a 1.Pro-level race on Sunday.

In case you might have forgotten (but how could you?) it was at last year’s Omloop that Jasper Stuyven claimed a stunning victory over Yves Lampaert.

The course remains virtually unchanged for the third year in a row. The race departs from Gent’s historic city and for 200 kilometers snakes around the brutal Flemish landscape before it arrives in Ninove. Thirteen infamous Flemish bergs and nine cobbled sectors characterize the 2021 edition. The one-two punch of the Muur-Kapelmuur and Bosberg is struck in quick succession in the closing 20 kilometers and is guaranteed to provide fireworks.

Omloop’s weekend counterpart, Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne, is a relatively different race. While it also features several cobbled climbs, there are no major obstacles in the final 50 kilometers, which often means the peloton remains mostly intact. Despite this, in recent years the winner often came from a late attack, such as in 2016 when Stuyven won solo after a bold move.

Jasper opens his season Saturday.

2. Our young guns step up

Our weekend lineup will mostly feature familiar faces. One name you may not yet recognize is 22-year-old Jakob Egholm, who is in his first year with Trek-Segafredo. This weekend, Jakob will step up to race his first big classic and first WorldTour race in support of compatriot Mads Pedersen and Jasper Stuyven. Jakob is picking up experience, hoping to define his skills better, although he has already expressed a preference for the gritty classics.

Charlie Quarterman, 22, is another rider making the jump into the classics. In his second year with Trek-Segafredo, ‘The Quarterback’ has proven himself a hard-working and dependable teammate. Charlie is a strong time-trialist with a big engine – precisely what’s needed to keep our leaders in position at crucial points.

A big test for Jakob Egholm - but he's ready!

3. The strength of the Team

When it comes to big engines, the strength of our opening weekend lineup is deepened by cobble connoisseurs Alex Kirsch, Ryan Mullen and Edward Theuns. The trio is at home on the rough Belgian roads and has the talent to animate the race, which gives Trek-Segafredo a versatile hand at the table.

Kirsch has established himself as one of the savviest, thanks to his positioning skills and innate ability to read a race. His presence is a huge asset to the team. Likewise, Mullen is one of the biggest motors in the peloton. His punch gets the team to the front when they need to be, deep into the race. Theuns is a proven race winner whose experience and turn of speed make him a threat in any situation, be it a late attack or sprint.

Three classics amigos.

4. Mads is keen

The classics are Mads Pedersen’s territory, and he’s ready. He commenced his 2021 season at the start of February at Etoile de Bessèges. An uphill sprint on the first stage gave the Dane a chance to stretch his legs, and he narrowly avoided a late crash in Stage 2 with some skillful evasive maneuvers. Pedersen then joined his teammates in a training camp to finalize the classics’ preparation.

“Now we are heading into the first classics of the season, starting with Omloop on Saturday. We traveled straight from Dénia, where we had an excellent training camp with the whole classics group together. Our team was looking strong out there, and now we want to put it into practice. Of course, we didn’t get much chance to race before Opening Weekend, but that’s the same for everyone.

“We had a chance to do some training races against each other, and the whole squad looks in great shape. Yesterday, we did a good recon of some of the important sectors, and it felt nice to be on the cobbles again. So, we arrive at Opening Weekend with a good feeling, and we really believe in ourselves. We have high ambitions for this spring so let’s start this campaign with a top result!”

Now Mads wants a win.

5. Jasper’s ready to defend

Jasper Stuyven is the only active rider to have won both Opening Weekend races, Omloop het Nieuwsblad in 2020 Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne in 2016. Returning to Omloop as defending champion means Stuyven will race with the No. 1 bib.

“My winter training was really nice; I spent most of the winter at home because we didn’t have a team training camp in December. Since January, we have had two team camps, and I also did an altitude camp in Tenerife, which I really like to do as part of my own preparation.

“The last week with the team has been a hard training week with some race simulations and it was pleasing, not only to see that I was feeling well, but also everyone else was going well too.

Who can forget last year?

“It doesn’t bother me that Omloop is my first race of the season. I’m not convinced that you need to have raced already to be competitive there. I think the team anticipated well with contingency training camps set up even before [Volta ao] Algarve was canceled, so we didn’t have to scramble to find something to fill the gap.

“Maybe the stress of the peloton will be a bit strange for the first 10 minutes, but it’s something you easily get used to again. I’m looking forward to racing in Belgium again; it’s not a secret that the classics group is a good group of friends, and we have fun together. We’re looking forward to racing together again and going out there to try to win the race.

“Returning as defending champion and wearing No. 1 is always an enjoyable experience. Winning the race just once is a challenge, but I would love to go back and win again!”

Trek-Segafredo Opening Weekend Lineup: