Maximilian Schachmann (Quick-Step Floors) wins stage 18 at the Giro d'Italia(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Iljo Keisse and Zdenek Stybar(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Quick-Step Floors riders out for a ride during camp in Calpe(Image credit: Quick-Step Floors)
Maximilian Schachmann will lead his Quick-Step Floors team at the four-day Deutschland Tour set to start on Thursday in Koblenz. The German rider carries top form into his home race after finishing fourth overall at the recent BinckBank Tour, and the team will support him in his bid for a top place in the general classification.
"Max Schachmann comes out of a good BinckBank Tour, where he impressed on the climbs, so if he can continue where he left off, it will be exciting to see where that can take him in the general classification," said Quick-Step's director Davide Bramati.
The Deutschland Tour returns to the calendar after a 10-year hiatus. The race starts with a sprinter-friendly stage 1 from Koblenz to Bonn, which will suit the team's Colombian Alvaro Hodeg.
Hodeg joins the team in Germany after recently competing at the Tour de Pologne. Although he didn't finish that race, abandoning during the final stage, he started out strong placing second in the two opening stages and then won stage 3.
The team also includes Remi Cavagna, Iljo Keisse, James Knox and Jhonnatan Narvaez.
"It's good and well-deserved for all the German fans and current generation of talented and strong German riders to have the Deutschland Tour back on the calendar after ten years of absence," Bramati said. "We are happy to start with a young team, who we hope can be part of shaping this newly-launched tour.
"Many sprinters, especially the German ones, will be motivated for the first stage, but Alvaro Hodeg - despite being young and a neo-pro - proved that he can beat the fastest guys, so we put our trust him."
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After stage 1, the parcours then turns toward the hills, featuring short and steep climbs during the final three stages; stage 1 from Bonn to Trier, stage 2 from Trier to Merzig and the finale stage 4 from Lorsch to Stuttgart.
"On the last three stages, we will do our best and try to be up there, in the thick of the action, when things will get really interesting," Bramati said.
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