For the eighth edition of the Antwerp Port Epic, set to take place on Whit Monday, organisers have secured the participation of eight WorldTeams.
The eight are: Alpecin-Deceuninck, Arkéa-B&B Hotels, Cofidis, Intermarché-Wanty, Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, Soudal Quick-Step, Picnic-PostNL, and XDS Astana.
The core of the race remains unchanged, featuring cobbled sections and unpaved roads reminiscent of a Flemish version of the Strade Bianche, in Italy.
Participants will start from the Schengenplein in Antwerp for a 182.23-kilometre ride in and around the harbour area. At the 62-kilometre mark, they will reach the 'Kabeljauwpad' in Zandvliet, followed by a rapid succession of cobbled and unpaved sections. The race then moves into the Beenhouwerstraat in Ekeren before returning to the Schengenplein with 12 kilometres remaining.
Last year’s winner, Alexander Kristoff, will not be competing. Riders featuring in this edition include Tibor del Grosso and Quinten Hermans from Alpecin-Deceuninck.
The provisional starting list also includes Arnaud Démare and Florian Sénéchal from Arkéa-B&B Hotels; Aimé De Gendt and Stanislaw Aniolkowski from Cofidis; Biniam Girmay and Arne Marit from Intermarché-Wanty; Sam Welsford from Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe; Tim Merlier and Yves Lampaert from Soudal Quick-Step; Nils Eekhoff from Team Picnic-PostNL; Mike Teunissen from XDS Astana; Hugo Hofstetter from Israel-Premier Tech; Toon Aerts and Arnaud De Lie from Lotto; and Giacomo Nizzolo from Q36.5.
The question remains whether the race will culminate in a group sprint at Schengenplein, with the challenging course likely to favour a small breakaway group staying ahead of the pack.
