10 Opening Weekend Wildcards 🇧🇪
Outside of the leading contenders, there are plenty of riders to watch from both the men's and women's pelotons. Here are my picks.
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Wout van Aert, Demi Vollering, Lorena Wiebes and Tom Pidcock will take top billing this weekend with the first set of cobbled Classics. Focusing on the WorldTour races of Omloop Nieuwsblad (both men and women) and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne, we’ve picked out 10 wildcard riders to watch.
Perhaps they’re flying under the radar or have a point to prove - either way they’re not out-and-out favourites but could cause a surprise.
Mathias Vacek 🇨🇿
Age: 22
Team: Lidl-Trek
Jasper Stuyven and Toms Skujiņš will lead the line for the American team, and even though Mads Pedersen isn’t racing, the squad is brimming with talent. Tim Torn Teutenberg is racing and feels like an obvious underdog pick, but he’s not been in action since Australia. Mathias Vacek, on the other hand, has been flying all year. He was part of the Lidl-Trek team that won the TTT at Valenciana, and then followed that up with third at the Figueira Champions Classic, and a string of notable team performances in Algarve. He’s not raced Opening Weekend before, so this will be his first taste of the action but he’s been introduced to the cobbled Classics steadily over the last couple of seasons as he continues to develop. A powerful rider with an underrated kick, he could cause a few surprises if he’s given a free role or the more established riders on the team have an off-day. He looks like a great rider to go up the road in a move designed to anticipate the big hitters.
Sofie van Rooijen 🇳🇱
Age: 22
Team: UAE Team ADQ
Silvia Persico will start as UAE Team ADQ’s main leader, but debutant Sofie van Rooijen could also be in the hunt for a result. The 22-year-old worked for Elisa Longo Borghini at the UAE Tour Women, and now back in Europe, with a string of one-day races on the cards, the Dutch rider will have plenty of chances to shine after stepping up to WorldTour. Last season van Rooijen won six times in total. Still, she was also fourth in Scheldeprijs and won Drentse Acht van Westerveld, Konvert Koerse, and of course won the U23 race at the European Continental Championships. There's little doubt she will be a star, and Omloop Nieuwsblad could be another breakthrough moment. It’s her first outing in the race, but she has the qualities to make an impression.
Fred Wright 🇬🇧
Age:25
Team: Bahrain Victorious