Despite magnificent performance: Kragh drops Flanders
A seventh place in Milano-Sanremo has not made Søren Kragh Andersen change his mind. His seventh season as a WorldTour rider will be his first without the Tour of Flanders on the personal race calendar.
Immediately after Paris-Nice, Søren Kragh Andersen told TV2 that this year he will not be riding Flanders, but instead betting on the Ardennes.
And that decision an excellent Milan-Sanremo has not changed.
The Dane confirms this to Feltet.dk today.
The DSM rider will ride the cobblestone races E3 Saxo Bank Classic, Gent-Wevelgem and Dwars door Vlaanderen before traveling home to Monaco to train ahead of the Amstel Gold Race, Fléche Wallonne and Liége-Bastogne-Liége. Thus, Kragh also drops riding Paris-Roubaix.
Why did you opt out of Around Flanders?
"The team has decided that. I think they would like to try something new. Both the team and myself believe that I can do well in the Ardennes if I get some time to prepare for it in between the Flanders classics and the Ardennes. We are trying something new, ”says Kragh, who also indicates that the decision may be changed.
"Then we have to see how the first three classics go here. But that is the plan so far. "
Now you say the team has decided that. Would you like to ride Flanders?
"No, I'm also happy with the plan. I think it's an exciting plan. For me, it suits me just fine. ”
Why did you want to try something new?
“To get better. If you keep doing the same thing year after year, then you will also get the same thing over and over again. Sometimes you will need to change plan. Try to explore new strategies. It's part of the game. ”
The 27-year-old Kragh has ridden Flanders for the past six seasons, but with a 53rd place as the best result, the Fynbo has never been close to a top result in the Belgian monument.
However, in terms of his terrific form in this month's Paris-Nice and Milan-Sanremo, Kragh is not incomprehensible if his and DSM's decision raises a few eyebrows among some cycling fans.
"I can understand that, but if I ride super strong in the Ardennes, then they probably also understand well," it sounds from the Dane.