Decimated by illness and injuries, Quebec’s Hugo Houle’s Israel-Premier Tech squad was forced to withdraw from 106and Tour of Flanders, one of the most beautiful spring classics just before the mythical Paris-Roubaix.
Regrettably, Israel-Premier Tech withdrew for the event scheduled for this Sunday in Belgium.
A total of 24 teams will therefore start the Tour of Flanders (Ronde van Vlaanderen). Norwegian Kasper Asgreen won the race last year ahead of Mathieu van der Poel.
Hugo Houle is doing well, but there is nothing he can do about it.
“Everything’s going well for me. It’s a shame but it’s the reality,” he said.
Already in mid-March, the cyclist had lived Paris-Nice almost alone with the many health problems in the team. At the Tour of Catalonia, other team members had to withdraw even if Houle was not there.
On Wednesday, in the Travers la Flandres race, the Canadian-Israeli team fielded only three runners.
“It is a very regrettable situation and we are extremely disappointed to have to withdraw from the Tour of Flanders. This decision was not taken lightly, but we believe it is our only option at this stage,” general manager Kjell Carlström said in a press release.
The team currently has very few healthy riders who could start, and they have had close contact with Covid.
For the team, this is obviously a huge disappointment.
In addition, the Israel-Premier Tech team has also withdrawn from the Grand Prix de l’Escaut.
The 119and edition of Paris-Roubaix is scheduled for April 17. It is one of the oldest cycling races created in 1896.