25.03.2022 World-Tour, News, Race news
PALADIN READY FOR GENT WEVELGEM
CANYON//SRAM Racing won’t wait long for its next race, with Gent Wevelgem coming on Sunday 27 March. The team will race with Alice Barnes, Shari Bossuyt, Tiffany Cromwell, Mikayla Harvey, Kasia Niewiadoma and Soraya Paladin.
Fresh from third at Trofeo Alfredo Binda, Soraya says she is looking forward to the World Tour race.
“I needed some recovery days after Trofeo Binda because I had worked hard the last weeks. My morale is high and I’m excited to start the Belgium classics” says Soraya.
“Gent Wevelgem is usually a race for fast wheels. This year’s course is more challenging with the climbs coming closer together. A solo attack or a small group of strong and brave riders making it to the finish line would not surprise me. As a team, we need to be smart and be ready for echelons. We’re racing strongly and we have confidence so I believe we are ready for action on Sunday.”
The 159km race starts at Ieper and keeps its traditional finish in Kortrijk. The windy stretch of road at De Moeren is new for Gent Wevelgem and can play an important role in the race outcome. Though the elevation is similar from 2021 to 2022, the race organisers have stacked the climbs closer together and added the Kemelberg from both sides, including the steeper Ossuaire side, in what they believe will create a more exciting finale. That makes a total of seven climbs within 30km of racing. After the last time up the Kemmelberg, there will be 34km remaining to the finish line.
The race starts at 13:50CET on Sunday 27 March and can be followed on Twitter with #GWEwomen and #GWE22. It will be broadcast from 16:15-18:45CET on GCN, Eurosport, Sporza, FloBikes, RTBF, NOS, L’Equipe, SBS, TV2 and SuperSport.