ORICA-GreenEDGE names squad for Tour of Flanders with Ride London winner Adam Blythe
![]() |
News – Blythe to Ride Flanders
After the past couple of races in Belgium, particularly the Gent – Wevelgem last weekend, it’s hard to believe that the race considered the ‘hardest one-day race of the year’ is still to come. But it is.
The second ‘monument’ of cycling, the Ronde van Vlaanderen or Tour of Flanders, will be raced and won this Sunday and ORICA-GreenEDGE has named a reasonably young, but strong, eight-man lineup to tackle it.
The carnage of recent weeks has seen two of the big-name favourites in Fabian Cancellara and Tom Boonen forced to miss due to injury, leaving a more open than usual race for those remaining. “There are generally only a handful of guys in the world that can win this race,†sport director Matt Wilson said.
“They have select attributes that even some of the best guys in the peloton don’t have – guys like Cancellara and Boonen, they just have something else. But with those two guys out, the race is wide open this year.”
“We have a couple of guys who are going well in Jens Keukeleire and Mat Hayman. With Mat, the course doesn’t necessarily suit him well, but depending how the race plays out and as I said with a lot of the big players out, anything can happen and he can be there. But really, we have a team here looking towards the future and the big picture so a top ten would be a great result and a success story for us on Sunday.â€
Hayman and Keukeleire will be supported by the power of Luke Durbridge and Sam Bewley. The speed of classics specialist Mitch Docker, Leigh Howard, Adam Blythe and Danish neo-pro Magnus Cort complete the roster.
The 264.2km Tour of Flanders course negotiates 19 ‘hellings’ or hills, many of which are cobbled. On a day where a lot can go wrong, the bunch has a high attrition rate and only few will survive to contest writing their name in the history books. “It encompasses basically every iconic climb in the Flanders region,†Wilson said. “You have a long time before you even hit the climbs from the coast.â€
“Generally you have bad weather and then once you hit the climbs for the nuts and bolts end of the race, you’ve got 100km or more of just constant up and down, one after the other. Together with the cobble sections, it makes a pretty epic race.â€
The challenging parcour is one major obstacle but as one of the biggest days of the year in Belgium, the atmosphere can also add a significant volume of stress, particularly for younger riders. “This race is huge in Belgium,†Wilson said. “It’s like any national sporting event that everyone in the country knows and identifies with.â€Â “Everyone has their favourite riders and favourite teams and half of Belgium tries to get out a see some of the circuit and that feeling is felt from within the bunch”.
“Even at sign on you have 20,000 people there to watch it. And every metre of road, you can be going down a ‘nothing’ part of the race and the crowd will be ten deep.â€
ORICA-GreenEDGE at Ronde van Vlaanderen (5 April):
Sam Bewley
Adam Blythe
Magnus Cort
Mitch Docker
Luke Durbridge
Mathew Hayman
Leigh Howard
Jens Keukeleire
Send your results as well as club, team & event news here
Other Results on VeloUK (including reports containing results)
- Crit Result: Loughborough Cycling Festival
- Features, Reports, Results
- RR Result: Northboats Road Race
- Crit Result: Litherland Circuit League 5
- Crit Result: West Thames Circuit Race League 7
- Crit Result: BMCR Hare and Hounds Race
- RR Result: BMCR 60 Plus Road Race Champs
- TT Result: East Bradford CC 15m TT
- TT Result: FTP Racing 25m TT
- Crit Result: Tameside Circuit Race Series (6 & 7)
- Crit Result: Solihull CC No Frills 4
- TT Result: Bynea CC 10m TT
- Crit Result: Salt Ayre Tuesday Series 7
- TT Result: Richmond CC 23.5m TT
- TT Result: ECCA 50m Time Trial
- TT Result: North Hampshire RC 10m TT
- TT Result: Icknield RC 10m TT
- TT Result: Southborough & District Wheelers 10m TT
- TT Result: Maldon & Dist CC 50m TT
- TT Result: Sunderland Clarion 25m TT
- TT Result: Fife Century RC Scottish 50m Championship
- TT Result: Bynea CC 25m TT
- TT Result: Brighton Mitre CC 10m TT
- TT Result: Merlin Cycles Classic Series (rd 5)
- TT Result: Anfield Bicycle Club 100m TT
- Crit Result: Portsmouth Evening Circuits 8
- Track Result: Brooks Cycles Track League
- TT Report: Ron Brown Memorial 100
- Crit Result: Squadra Ennerdale Crit 1
- Crit Result: Swindon Wheelers Centenary Race Series 2
- RR Result: Dick Longdragon Road Race
- Crit Result: Surrey League Cyclopark Races
- RR Result: Olveston GP Road Race
- RR Result: Blaydon CC Men’s Road Race
- Crit Results: Crystal Palace Crits 4
- RR Result: GA Bennett Road Race
- Crit Result: Salty Summer Crit Series 1
- RR Result: Yorkshire Classic Junior RRs
- TT Result: A3crg Goodwood TT League
- Crit Result: Santini Bovingdon Bomber Crit Series
- Crit Result: Full Gas Summer Circuit Series #4
Other News on VeloUK
- News: Transgender and Non-Binary Participation
- Events: West Midland’s Regional RR Championships
- Startlist: GT Ellingworth & GA Bennett Road Races
- News: Pedal Club Lunch (May)
- Startlist: Blaydon CC Road Races
- National Road Series Calendar – Senior Riders
- Sunday: 2023 MAS Design Yorkshire Classic Road Races
- Startlist: Olveston GP Road Race
- News: Wightlink-Wight Mountain CRT
- Press Release: Local team’s Robyn Clay triumphant at Lincoln Grand Prix
- Entry List: Banbury Star Road Race
- Startlist: BUCS Road Race Championships
- News: Another Circuit Series Round Added to Calendar
- Cycling Club Isle of Man announce Rás Tailteann roster
- Lizzie Deignan to race RideLondon Classique
- News: Ribble Rides with The Tour 21
- Startlist: Totnes Vire 2023
- Team News: Saint Piran Cycling Teams
- Startlist: Yorkshire Under 23 Classic
- Team News: Wightlink-Wight Mountain CRT
- Startlist (Women’s): 2023 Lincoln Grand Prix
- Startlist: 2023 Lincoln Grand Prix
- Startlist: PNE Road Race (National B)
- Startlist: Proper Northern Road Race Series
- News: Tour of Britain Host Cities
- TT Startlist: Merlin Cycles Classic Series 3
- Startlist: 70th Sloan Trophy Start List (April 30)
- British Road Championships: The Race Routes!
- History: CiCLE Classic Top 10s
- Startlist/Preview 2023 CiCLE Classic
- News: Fusion Media to support West Mids road racing
- Event News: Entries Needed for West Midland’s Events
- Startlist: PB Performance Espoirs Road Race
- News: BMCR (British Masters Cycle Racing)
- News: West Midlands RR League
- Startlists: Bourne Wheelers Road Races
- Team News: Wightlink-Wight Mountain CRT
- News: Saint Ives CC Development Squad
- Startlist: 2023 Danum Trophy Road Race
- Startlist: Betty Pharoah Memorial Road Races