Kaden Groves must skip Dwars door Vlaanderen, Red Bull BORA-hansgrohe without Tim van Dijke and Oier Lazkano

For example, Alpecin-Deceuninck will have to do without Kaden Groves for Dwars door Vlaanderen. The Australian sprinter already gave up on the Tour of Catalonia last week due to knee pain and has been replaced for the Belgian race. Groves, who is also scheduled for the Tour of Flanders, is in Belgium: on Tuesday, he cycled about 70 kilometers in Waregem and the surrounding area. Edward Planckaert is his replacement at Alpecin-Deceuninck.

Mathieu van der Poel will also not be there on behalf of Alpecin-Deceuninck, which focuses entirely on Jasper Philipsen. "We are approaching Flemisch cycling week in road cycling, but first, it is time for Dwars door Vlaanderen. Jasper will get a new chance after his setback in Gent-Wevelgem last Sunday. In addition, Tibor Del Grosso will make his debut in a Flemish classic," the team said. Jonas Rickaert, Xandro Meurisse, Fabio Van den Bossche, and Tobias Bayer complete the team.

Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe will also be missing a few riders. Tim van Dijke will not be starting in Dwars door Vlaanderen, unlike his brother Mick, and the Basque rider Oier Lazkano will also not be there. “We sent Oier home because he is not 100 percent,” team leader Heinrich Haussler told Sporza.

Lazkano, who already made a big impression last year, did well in tests with his new team. "But during the second training camp, Oier became ill for the first time. That disrupted his build-up to the season." After the opening weekend, Oier became ill again. Then he went on an altitude training camp, where he fell ill again. "Then you realize that his basic fitness is too low to be competitive in the classics," he says.

He has now returned to his home country to rest and train. "He will rejoin the group for the Tour of Flanders," says Haussler. Laurence Pithie - who, according to himself and his team, is well and truly fit to compete with the best - and Jordi Meeus seem to be the team leaders on duty. In addition to Mick van Dijke, Danny van Poppel, Ryan Mullen, Sam Welsford, and Filip Maciejuk have also been selected.  

Jasper Philipsen
Jonas Rickaert
Xandro Meurisse
Fabio Van den Bossche
Edward Planckaert
Tobias Bayer
Tibor Del Grosso

Jordi Meeus
Danny van Poppel
Mick van Dijke
Laurence Pithie
Sam Welsford
Ryan Mullen
Filip Maciejuk