2008 Ronde Van Vlaanderen Rosters Set

The Lion of Flanders: Guarding the cobbles in the early spring

The Tour of Flanders, one of the most coveted races on the European calendar, announced the teams that will participate in the 2008 edition yesterday afternoon. It looks as if the organizers really did their homework this year, as the selections all seem, on paper, to make sense. Flanders 2008 looks like it will be a very competitive race from start to finish. In addition to the 18 Pro Tour teams, the Landbouwkrdiet-Tönissteiner, Topsport Vlaanderen, Mitubishi-Jartazi, Skil-Shimano, Team Barloworld, Slipsteream-Chipotle, and Cycle-Collstrop teams will round out the contingent for the event. Each of the wild card teams have at least one man who can contend for the overall when the race commences April 6th.

A former Pro Tour rider, Kopp is used to mixing it up with the big timers

Collstrop will bring David Kopp, the German formerly of Gerolsteiner, as well as the always Classics-able Steffan Wesemann. New signing Sergey Lagutin, the all-arounder formerly of the Navigators team, could be a wild card for the team as well. Topsport Vlaanderen has the word "Flanders" in its name, so it was an obvious choice, but the team itself isn't bad. Koen Barbé, the 27 year old, finished a strong 4th at Het Volk in 2006, and notched a top 25 in this year's edition. He's a scrapper, and will be able to count on former Lotto rider Preben Van Hecke for support.

Omloop has won his nation's road championship, and could contend in Flanders

Mitubishi-Jartazi has a good team for the spring Classics, as Geert Omloop is a rider built to last in the tougher races. Barloworld, the revelation of the 2007 Tour de France, will take big bad Baden Cook to Flanders, as well as Enrico Gasparotto. "Gaspa" will look to assume team leadership in the one day races for one of the best Continental teams in cycling today.

"Gaspa" tasted victory in last year's Giro, as he took the Maglia Rosa in the opening team time trial on the island of Sicily in 2007

Slipstream-Chipotle will come into Flanders with a very strong team. The "Mustached Maurader," Steve Cozza, will look for valuable experience at Flanders, as he supports veteran strongman Magnus Backstedt. Another American, Tyler Farrar, could be a dark horse to place high in Flanders if Backstedt fails. One thing is for sure though: Slipstream snuck up on some teams in the early season, but the secret is out---they're a powerhouse team that is probably only a year away from receiving Pro Tour status . . . . . . if they want it.

Troublemaker: Cozza rides angry, and is a nightmare to control in any race for opposing teams

Skil-Shimano, a strong Continental team over the past few years, will bring Maarten Den Bakker, 2nd at the Amstel in 1998, and Sebastien Siedler, stage winner in last year's Bayern Rundfahrt to the cobbled Belgian challenge. Finally, the Landbouwkrdiet-Tönissteiner team will take Jan Kuyckx, stage one winner in this year's Etoile de Bessèges race, the traditional opening race of the French racing season, to Flanders and hope for the best.

Jan Kuyckx takes the season's first win at the Etoile de Bessèges

Of the teams not invited, none should feel more wronged than the Tinkoff squad. They have a few riders that could do real damage in Flanders if given the chance. Mikhail Ignatiev is a young Russian talent that has explosive time trialing ability and toughness, both of which are required for a Flanders victory. His team, tested earlier in the year at both the Tour of Qatar and the Mallorca Challenge, would lend him excellent support, putting him in position for a possible result.

Mikhail Ignatiev will be missed at the 2008 Ronde

All things considered, the organizers for the Ronde did a good job in choosing the wild cards for their event. A healthy mix of Flemish-sponsored teams will keep the crowd in the race, while the other teams will add firepower to the struggle for the win. Flanders is about a month away, but already there are many riders dreaming of victory on the cobbled roads and steep bergs of the Tour of Flanders.