Visma | Lease a Bike presents strong team and looks set to mainly battle Soudal–Quick Step in Slovakia

At Soudal–Quick Step, most eyes will be on Paul Magnier. The 21-year-old Frenchman has been racking up wins since June, taking victories in the Heistse Pijl, Dwars door het Hageland, and the Elfstedenronde. He continued that run in August with a stage win at the Tour of Poland, and just this past Sunday he added the GP de Fourmies to his tally.

In Slovakia, he’ll be supported by veteran Yves Lampaert and the also experienced Josef Černý. Martin Svrček, Andrea Raccagni, and Dries Van Gestel complete the squad. “We’ve had a lot of success in this race in the past, with many stage and overall wins. We want to be up there again and hope for at least one stage victory,” said sports director Davide Bramati in a press release.

Paul Magnier
Yves Lampaert
Josef Cerny
Martin Svrcek
Andrea Raccagni
Dries Van Gestel

At Visma | Lease a Bike, the focus is more on the general classification, with Cian Uijtdebroeks and Thomas Gloag as strong climbers in the squad. They’ll need to deliver when the race finishes uphill on the fifth and final day, normally where the GC will be decided, on a 5.5-kilometer climb averaging 6.5%.

Uijtdebroeks and Gloag are joined by almost exclusively young guns. The Dutchmen Tijmen Graat and Menno Huising are on the roster; Huising will also ride the World Championships in Rwanda in September as Koen Bouwman's replacement. Niklas Behrens and Matisse Van Kerckhove are also included. The experienced rider in the group is Bart Lemmen.