Bruges: Marco Marcato will lead UAE Team Emirates at the 101st edition of the Tour of Flanders on Sunday, April 2.
Marcato, who is racing in this event for the eighth time, finished inside the Top 10 in 2011 and is now targeting his first victory.
“This race is legendary and riders that win it are remembered forever,” he said. “It evokes so many emotions that are difficult to put down in words. It’s an amazing race and what sets it apart are the spectators. Their love of the sport and excitement pushes us on to race more aggressively for a better result. I am hoping for a top position and would love to improve on my result this year under the new team banner.”
The race is 259-km long and starts in Bruges, finishing in Oudenaarde and includes 19 cobbled ‘Hellingen’ (hills), or ‘murs’ (walls); named so for their steep inclines. The race is considered to be one of the five monuments of cycling as well as one of the major ‘Cobbled Classics’ and is nicknamed Flanders’ Finest.
Elsewhere, UAE Team Emirates neo-pro Simone Consonni clinched a podium on day one of The Three Days of De Panne race, finishing third behind Quick Step’s Philippe Gilbert and Orica-Scott’s Luke Durbridge.
Third represents another impressive result for the 22-year-old who started his UAE Team Emirates career earlier this year finishing eighth in the first stage of the Dubai Tour and fourth in the first stage of the Abu Dhabi Tour. And thanks to his podium, Consonni is now confirmed to make his debut at the Tour of Flanders on Sunday.
Consonni said: “I’m so happy, today is a great day for me: what a feeling to see my name in the stage classification just behind Gilbert and Durbridge. I’m really pleased because in my career I have only raced a few competitions that were over 200-km distance. I had good feeling about today; Belgian races are challenging and they motivate me to want to do my best to achieve the best results.”
