Lotto Soudal to UAE Tour with team of offensive riders
 

The UAE Tour marks the beginning of the 2022 WorldTour calendar. The 7-day stage race kicks off this Sunday and Lotto Soudal will be at the start with a team of attacking riders. Due to several cases of illness that only came to light at the last minute, the team has to start with four riders.

The Belgian WorldTeam will bring Michael Schwarzmann, Jarrad Drizners, Xandres Vervloesem and Matthew Holmes at the starting line of the UAE Tour. “This race is an excellent opportunity for all of them to show themselves”, says sports director Mario Aerts. “We will start with every rider on the same level. They will help each other and they will all get their chances. Holmes and Vervloesem will aim for a nice spot on the general classification, Schwarzmann will try in the sprint stages and maybe for Drizners there will be opportunities in a breakaway.”

John Lelangue, General Manager of Lotto Soudal: “We can only start with four riders because of several cases of illness that only came to light at the last minute and the busy schedule with, besides the UAE Tour, also the Ruta del Sol, Tour des Alpes Maritimes et du Var, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Faun-Ardèche Classic, Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne and Drome Classic. We would have preferred differently, but we cannot control this. The wellbeing of our riders always comes first. After consultation with our team doctor, the UCI doctor and according to our internal covid-protocol, we had no choice but to make this decision.”

Photo: Facepeeters