Classics squad ready to take on Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne
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Philippe Gilbert hands off to Fernando Gaviria as Iljo Keisse looks on (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Philippe Gilbert will be trying for his third win at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on Saturday. (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Quick-Step's Niki Terpstra and Iljo Keisse wonder if it's snack time yet (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Philippe Gilbert is swarmed by reporters near the end of the Quick-Step press conference (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Fernando Gaviria (Quick-Step Floors) poses for a photo (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Niki Terpstra reaches for some freshly squeezed orange juice from this cycling-powered machine (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Fernando Gaviria and Iljo Keisse hope to figure in the finales for Quick-Step at Omloop and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Iljo Keisse has become a super domestique for Quick-Step (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Fernando Gaviria poses with Alessandro Tegner and his Algarve leader's jersey from 2016 (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Niki Terpstra (Quick-Step Floors) interviews with media ahead of Omloop and Kuurne (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Yves Lampaert (Quick-Step Floors) stands for a video interview (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Iljo Keisse puts his legs to work on the orange-juice-squeezing machine (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Specators and fans mingle during the team press conference at the Quick-Step Floors Pop-Up Store in the Ring Shopping Center in Kortrijk (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Specators and fans mingle during the team press conference at the Quick-Step Floors Pop-Up Store in the Ring Shopping Center in Kortrijk (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Riders take the stage for the team press conference at the Quick-Step Floors Pop-Up Store in the Ring Shopping Center in Kortrijk (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Quick-Step manager Patrick Lefevere, director Tom Steels, Zdenek Stybar, Philippe Gilbert, Fernando Gaviria, Iljo Keisse, Niki Terpstra, Yves Lampaert (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Phlippe Gilbert, Fernando Gaviria and Iljo Keisse. (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Zdenek Stybar and Philippe Gilbert (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Quick-Step manager Patrick Lefevere (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Philippe Gilbert told gathered reporters that the Molenberg could be the most decisive climb in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Quick-Step riders share a laugh during the press conference ahead of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Specators and fans mingle during the team press conference at the Quick-Step Floors Pop-Up Store in the Ring Shopping Center in Kortrijk (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Quick-Step Floors used the occasion of the team's press conference preceding Belgium's 'opening weekend' to announce the team's latest initiative: the grand opening of the Quick-Step Pop-Up Store in the Ring Shopping Centre in Kortrijk, about two hours southwest of Gent.
With just Dries Devenyns missing, the riders who will take on Omloop and its revised finish - Fernando Gaviria, Philippe Gilbert, Iljo Keisse, Yves Lampaert, Zdenek Stybar and Niki Terpstra - assumed their spots centre stage with director Tom Steels and manager Patrick Lefevere, taking questions from the assembled media before breaking off for one-on-one interviews.
Gilbert, who could tie with Ernest Sterckx ('52, '53, '56), Joseph Bruyère ('74, '75, '80) and Peter Van Petegem ('97, '98, '02) as a three-time winner if he were to take victory on Saturday, was highly sought after, as was Fernando Gaviria, the 23-year-old Colombian sprinter who will be making his first starts in both Omloop Het Neiuwsblad on Saturday and in Sunday's Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne.
Click or swipe through the gallery for a glimpse of the team's press meeting.
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