For the purists, Opening Weekend remains the start proper of the new racing season.
The 2019 team bikes and jerseys have been unveiled and already raced, but two consecutive days of the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne gives teams a chance to test their new wet – and often cold – weather gear, alongside seeing how the hardware copes with the brutality of the cobbles.
This year's races were a Deceuninck-QuickStep double as Zdenek Stybar took the honours at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and teammate Bob Jungels won alone in Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne a day later.
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There will be smiles at the Specialized headquarters in California on Monday as Stybar's and Jungels' victories were preceded on Saturday by a win from Chantal Blaak (Boels-Dolmans) in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Women's Elite and Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) taking the final stage at the UAE Tour.
Stybar and Jungels won their races on an S-Works Tarmac and an S-Works Venge, respectively, showing that both bikes can cope with the cobbles.
The offseason saw several teams switch bike sponsors and with it, plenty of new paint designs and team colours. Factor left AG2R La Mondiale and the WorldTour behind for a new partnership in the Pro Continental Roompot-Charles team.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/opening-weekend-huge-tech-gallery
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