Deceuninck – Quick-Step has unveiled its six-man team for the Tour Colombia, and Luxembourg rider Bob Jungels has been named as one of the “headliners” together with Julian Alaphilippe. Jungels won a stage in the race in 2019, while Alaphilippe finished 7th overall and was winner of the points classification last year.

They are joined by Alvaro Hodeg, another 2019 stage winner, as well as Mikkel Honoré, Jannik Steimle and Bert Van Lerberghe.

The race, from 11-16 February, starts with a time trial and ends with a tough summit finish to Alto Verjon, where the riders ascend to an elevation of 3,266m over 18.1km with an average gradient of 5.1%.

“It will be difficult as there’s a lot of altitude metres this year and many Colombian riders on the start line, but this doesn’t mean we won’t try,” said Deceuninck – Quick-Step sports director Wilfried Peeters in a press statement. “We love racing in Colombia, the crowd is fantastic and they always give us a warm welcome there, and we hope to give them something to cheer for next week.”