Giant-Alpecin name team for 100th Tour of Flanders

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Giant-Alpecin head to the Tour of Flanders with Koen de Kort and Zico Waeytens as its protected riders. The 100th edition of the Belgian monument takes place Sunday, starting in Bruges and finishing in Oudenaarde 255km later.

Having finished seventh last year, John Degenkolb will miss De Ronde as he continues to recover from injuries sustained in a training ride accident in January.

"The Ronde van Vlaanderen is of the most demanding one-day races of the year," explained coach Marc Reef. "It is considered as of one of the biggest days in the calendar and it is always a very special day for the riders that are involved.

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In the absence of Degenkolb, Giant-Alpecin are looking to Koen de Kort and Zico Waeytens to lead the team’s ambitions as Reef explained.

"The objective of the team is to be visible at the front of the race. Next to that, we also want to put Zico and Koen in a good position ahead of the key moments of the race and, in particular, the hill sections,” Reef said. “During the second time the riders tackle the Oude Kwaremont, the race usually starts to open up so we need to be attentive. Last year, the team finished seventh in the race and this year we will aim to go for a positive result with either Zico or Koen."

Neo-pro Søren Kragh Andersen has been selected for his first monument while 24-year-old Nikias Arndt will make his fourth appearance at the race. The experienced Roy Curvers will captain the team and look to ensure the Giant-Alpecin riders are well positioned at the key moments across the race to meet its objectives.

Giant-Alpecin for the 2016 Tour of Flanders: Søren Kragh Andersen, Nikias Arndt, Roy Curvers, Bert De Backer, Koen de Kort, Ramon Sinkeldam, Albert Timmer and Zico Waeytens.

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