In-form Modolo looks to improve on 2014 result ahead of Tour of Flanders

27 March 2017, United Arab Emirates:  UCI World Tour team, UAE Team Emirates, will line-up at the 40th edition of Three Days of De Panne on Tuesday, 28th March with Italian rider, Sacha Modolo, who won two stages of the race in 2014. This year Modolo is aiming to better his previous performances and clinch his first seasonal victory before competing at the Tour of Flanders on Sunday, 2nd April. 

”The Three Days of De Panne is quite a challenging and difficult race and achieving a good result in it is something everyone wants to do. It’s a highly demanding and competitive race that pits all riders against each other and encourages them to put on their best performance. In 2014 I won two stages, one in Koksijde and one in De Panne: it would be great to be able to achieve either the same or an even better result. I would obviously love to clinch my first seasonal victory at such an important event ahead of Tour of Flanders,” said 29-year-old Modolo. 

The Three Days of De Panne (Dutch: Driedaagse De Panne–Koksijde) is an annual three-day race in the far west of Flanders, featuring elements of the spring classics such as cobbles, crosswinds and short, sharp climbs. The race is considered a rehearsal for the Tour of Flanders, with sections of the course featuring in both races. It is the final opportunity for riders to impress and secure a place on their team for the Tour of Flanders. 

Mario Scirea, Sporting Director of UAE Team Emirates commented: “There’s always a fierce battle in the Three Days of De Panne: it is the practice race for the Tour of Flanders. The selection for it begins as soon as the race starts. Every stage is just as important and the team are getting ready to do the best they can.“

He continued: “The stages which we could do well in are the sprint of the third-stage, (the flat stage) with Modolo and Kump, and the time trial (TT) of the final stage, where Ganna will have the opportunity to test his skills in a short time trial”.

Riding alongside Sacha is a seven man UAE Team Emirates line-up: Simone Consonni, Filippo Ganna, Andrea Guardini, Marko Kump, Vegard Laengen, Marco Marcato, and Federico Zurlo.

THE THREE DAYS OF DE PANNE STAGES 
In the first stage the riders cover four hills that feature in the Tour of Flanders (Leberg, Berendries, De Muur and Ten Bosse).

In the second stage the riders climb Kemmelberg, famous now for playing a decisive role in the race. 
The third stage is broken up into the morning and the afternoon session. The race ends in the afternoon with a Time Trial to win the overall General Classification title.

• Stage 1: March 28, 2017, De Panne - Zottegem 205.5 km
• Stage 2: March 29, 2017, Zottegem - Koksijde 192.9 km
• Stage 3a: March 30, 2017, De Panne - De Panne 118.5 km
• Stage 3b: March 30, 2017, De Panne - De Panne (TT) 14.2 km        

There are four leader jerseys that riders will compete for at the Three Days of De Panne (Dutch: Driedaagse De Panne–Koksijde) these are:

1. White Jersey, leader of the General Classification
2. Green Jersey, leader of the Classification by Points 
3. Red Jersey, leader of the Mountain Classification
4. Blue Jersey, Leader of the Sprint Classification