Omloop Van Het Houtland, Romain Hardy: "Achieve our goals"
The Omloop Van Het Houtland is a flat and Flanders-type race that can be subject to wind. It often smiles on the sprinters.
“I will discover the Omloop Van Het Houtland. I enjoy racing in Belgium because the events are beautiful, even if my preference is for the Ardennes competitions. But everywhere in this part of Europe, the public loves cycling. They are great connoisseurs of our sport. It is always nice to race there. We have a great asset in the Arkéa-Samsic team with our sprinter Amaury Capiot. My job will be to be by his side in the final, to protect him so that he can get the best possible result at the finish.”
“I had never raced in Belgium before I joined the Arkéa-Samsic team as a trainee. It was a great discovery. I like the races in this country. It’s a lot of friction, they are great competitions. We learn a lot in this kind of race. It’s a change from the races in France. I was very well integrated into the team during my trainee period, the other more experienced riders in the team passed on theirs to me, which allowed me to progress on my own.”
“Omloop Van Het Houtland is a Flanders race that often generates a sprint as the course is flat, but you have to take into account the weather conditions, because if it is windy, there will be the possibility of tackles, which will give the race a completely different scenario. Our main asset in this competition will be Amaury Capiot, who has had a solid end to the season.”