9 February, 2018, Santa Rosa, California (USA)
Greg Van Avermaet will return to the Tour of Oman next week where he is set to lead an ambitious BMC Racing Team line-up.
Van Avermaet will line up alongside a strong team that can look to take different opportunities as they arise, BMC Racing Team Sports Director Valerio Piva said.
“We are heading to Oman with some of our Classics team, and traditionally this race is the final preparation for Van Avermaet ahead of the first Classic. We saw that he was looking strong in Valencia and there are some finishes that should be good for him here, so he will be our leader. However, we will also have Jempy Drucker on the start line as our sprinter, and then, when we look to the General Classification and the stage finish on Green Mountain, I think we will look to protect Nicolas Roche. He will be coming out of the Dubai Tour and I think he can do something there. Overall, we will have to take the race day by day, but we are taking a strong group of riders, and collectively we can look for opportunities to go for stage wins,” Piva explained.
Van Avermaet will continue to test his form in Oman ahead of the start of the Classics season.
“The season started with a solid week of racing in Spain, and now, I’m looking forward to heading back to the start line at the Tour of Oman. It’s a good race with some nice stages that should suit me so, not only will I be looking to improve my shape before the start of my Classics campaign in Belgium but I also want to take the opportunity to go for stage wins where possible,” Van Avermaet said.
Tour of Oman (13 – 18 February)
Rider Roster: Alberto Bettiol (ITA), Jempy Drucker (LUX), Nicolas Roche (IRL), Michael Schär (SUI), Greg Van Avermaet (BEL), Nathan Van Hooydonck (BEL), Francisco Ventoso (ESP)
Sports Directors: Valerio Piva (ITA), Klaas Lodewyck (BEL)
