Team Lotto Belisol will miss the services of Jurgen Roelandts at the Belgian classics
Jurgen Roelandts of Team Lotto Belisol injured his cervical vertebrae at the Santos Tour Down Under after a horrific crash during the opening stage of the race.
The cyclist is still under medication and is expected to return to professional cycling not sooner than the end of spring season.
His absence means that the Belgian team now has to rely on Andre Greipel and Kenny de Haes for the Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne and the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, scheduled next week.
The team’s Manager Marc Sergeant has stated that the brilliance of their classics specialist will be missed during the Belgian races. Marc revealed his concerns during an interview with Sporza.
He mentioned, "We have a team of really strong riders, but we have no one that can replace the role of Jurgen Roelandts, We're definitely missing reliable winners. The flip-side is that it does allow some of our lesser known riders to stand up and shine".
Team-Lotto had a terrific start to its 2012 campaign and Andre Greipel is their in-form cyclist.
The German has already filled his pockets with as many as six stage victories collectively at the Tour of Down Under and the Tour of Oman.
The 29-year-old started his winning streak with the first place finish at the Cancer Council Helpline Classic 2012.
He also won the first, the third and the sixth stage of the Santos Tour Down Under, along with the first and the fourth stage win at the Tour of Oman 2012.
Marc is hopeful that Greipel will continue his talismanic form at the Belgian races to fill the gap of Roelandts in the team.
He remarked, "On Saturday [in Het Volk] we just want to focus on animating the race, the result isn't as important. Sunday however in Kuurne, with Greipel there, that is another matter".
Eight cyclists to ride with the team at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad are, Lars Ytting Bak, Sander Cordeel, Jens Debusschere, Kenny De Haes, Maarten Neyens, Mimo Vicente Reynes, Marcel Sieberg and Frederik Willems.
However, Andre Greipel, Gregory Henderson, Lars Bak, Vicente Reynes, Marcel Sieberg, Sander Cordeel, Jonas Vangenechten and Frederik Willems will represent the team at the Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne.
Only time will tell if the Belgian team can live up to the expectations of the home crowd that will cheer their every move during the coming races.
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