Ben Swift to head strong UAE team in Germany
dubai — The UCI World Tour will take to Germany this Sunday for the EuroEyes Cyclassics Hamburg. UAE Team Emirates has announced a strong team that will be led by British rider, Ben Swift, who will line up alongside Italian teammates Simone Consonni, Roberto Ferrari, Filippo Ganna, Marco Marcato, Oliviero Troia, Diego Ulissi and Slovenian Marko Kump.
The route, which covers a total distance of 220.9 km and is now in its 22nd year, is expected to gather over 750,000 spectators. Riders competing on the circuit course will have to contend with one large lap, followed by three shorter circuit laps which will feature the Waseberg incline – the largest incline of the race – before a 15km uphill finish.
Giving his insight into the race, UAE Team Emirates’ Ben Swift said: “The EuroEyes Cyclassics Hamburg is usually a wide open race, with various chances to attack, although a final sprint is still the most probable outcome. I will try to seize the moment and the right situation to try to get into a tight group in which I can make my move during the sprint to the finish line.”
Commenting on the team announcement, Sports Manager Orlando Maini said: “Usually this race is the perfect battleground for sprinters; this is why we would like to give Ferrari the chance to go up against the best sprinters of the pack. Roberto is always impeccable in the role of last man in the leadingtrain for our other speedsters, but he has always been ready when he’s been assigned a captain’s rank as well. The Waseberg is the only part of the route that could weed out the group; Ulissi, Swift and Marcato are going to have to be ready for it.”
This weekend also marks the start of the Vuelta a España, the final Grand Tour of this seasons UCI World Tour.