Win at Brabantse Pijl? Podium at Amstel Gold Race and Liège-Bastogne-Liège? Mauro Schmid has big Ardennes goals

Jayco AlUla announced its teams for the Ardennes classics on Thursday afternoon. Mauro Schmid will be the leader together with the experienced Andrea Vendrame. A lot is expected of the Swiss champion, mainly because he has already won three times this season.

Schmid is having an excellent season. He finished second in the overall classification of the Tour Down Under, won the Muscat Classic as well as a stage in the Tour of Oman. He won the Coppi e Bartali with one stage victory and three second places. His second place in the NXT Classic shows he is ready for the Ardennes.

He will therefore start in all four races. Brabantse Pijl, Amstel Gold Race, Flèche Wallonne and finally Liege Bastogne Liege. And he will be dangerous in all four too, as he will be ably supported by Anders Foldager and Alessandro Covi.

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Given his form, the Swiss rider is ambitious regarding his major goals for the spring, thanks largely to significant experience gained last year. "I already rode into the top ten in Flèche Wallonne last year and almost finished in the top ten in Liège," he said on his team's website. "Normally these races suit me perfectly, especially with the form I have now," he added positively.

The Swiss is not shy about his ambitions. "In the Amstel, I could certainly go for a top-ten finish or even a podium. The same applies to Liège." Although he will have to pull out all the stops to achieve that, he is optomistic. "I hope to take a step forward compared to last year so that I can fight for the podium." In Brabantse Pijl, the Swiss rider is already considered one of the top favourites.

However, Schmid is not the only card Jayco AlUla has to play in the Walloon races. Andrea Vendrame will share leadership with the Swiss champion in the Amstel Gold Race and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, according to sports director Pieter Weening. "We are starting with a strong team. Schmid and Vendrame are very good at this type of racing and are performing very well."

For La Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, they are also adding Alan Hatherly to the squad. The South African is having a strong year, evidenced by his thirteenth place in Tirreno-Adriatico and his third place in Coppi e Bartali. Sports director Weening therefore has a lot of confidence in his team. "I am convinced that we will go home with some beautiful results."