Lotto–Intermarché bank on one leader for Strade Bianche after losing two key riders

Van Eetvelt will lead the team on Saturday. The Belgian climber finished 11th in Siena in 2024 and improved to ninth a year later. He will be hoping to continue his solid spring form: after crashing out at the Tour Down Under, he rode a strong UAE Tour, finishing third on the queen stage to Jebel Moubrah before taking sixth overall.

Normally, Jarno Widar would also have been on the Strade Bianche start line. The 20-year-old top talent impressed at the Volta ao Algarve, but he fell ill during the Faun Ardèche Classic and the Faun Drôme Classic. He struggled to recover, and as a result both Trofeo Laigueglia and Strade Bianche were skipped. Widar is not the only late absentee for Lotto–Intermarché.

The team will also be without German champion Georg Zimmermann. The 28-year-old went down at Trofeo Laigueglia and will therefore miss Strade Bianche. Zimmermann has ridden the race once before, in 2023, but did not reach the finish. He will be replaced this year by Jenno Berckmoes, fresh from Belgium’s Opening Weekend.

The 25-year-old Belgian has started Strade Bianche once, finishing 92nd in 2024. Alongside Berckmoes and Van Eetvelt, Lotto–Intermarché can also call on Liam Slock, Simone Gualdi, Mathieu Kockelmann, Matthew Fox and Reuben Thompson in Tuscany.