Tour of Flanders wildcard teams announced
Four Belgian Pro Continental teams for the Ronde
The organisers of the Tour of Flanders have announced the seven wildcard teams that will join the 18 WorldTour teams on the start line in Bruges on April 2.
As you would expect, four of the seven wildcard places go to Belgian teams, with Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise, Wanty-Groupe Gobert en Verandas Willems-Crelan, meaning only one Belgian Professional Continental team, WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect, did not receive an invitation.
>>> Paris-Roubaix teams announced
Alongside the Belgian team, there are spaces for two French teams in Direct Energie and Cofidis, as well as Roompot-Nedelandse Loterij from the Netherlands and Wilier Triestina from Italy.
Of the invited wildcard teams it is Wilier Triestina that has the best result in the Tour of Flanders, with Filippo Pozzato finishing second in the 2012 edition of the race when the team was known as Farnese Vini-Neri-Sottoli.
Direct Energie, Cofidis, Wanty-Groupe Gobert, Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise and Roompot Nederlandse Loterij will also ride Paris-Roubaix seven days later.
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Henry Robertshaw began his time at Cycling Weekly working with the tech team, writing reviews, buying guides and appearing in videos advising on how to dress for the seasons. He later moved over to the news team, where his work focused on the professional peloton as well as legislation and provision for cycling. He's since moved his career in a new direction, with a role at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
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