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Antoine Duchesne and Ryan Anderson, the Canadians of Direct Energie, are headed to Omloop and KBK

The Canadians of Direct Energie, Antoine Duchesne and Ryan Anderson, are kicking off Classics season with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Saturday and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne Sunday.

Antoine Duchesne Ryan Anderson Direct Energie
February 25, 2016
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Antoine Duchesne Ryan Anderson Direct Energie

The Canadians of Direct Energie, Antoine Duchesne and Ryan Anderson, are kicking off Classics season with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Saturday and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne Sunday. Duchesne, who is entering his third year with the team (formerly Europcar), will make is second appearance at Omloop. The next day will be his debut at Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne. Anderson will ride both races for the first time.

For Duchesne, the cobbles and climbs are both what he looks forward to and are the biggest challenges in the early races in Flanders. Even though Anderson has raced in northern Europe, when we was on Spidertech, he does have an added challenge. “I don’t know the roads as well as most of the other guys who have raced these events so many times,” he said. “I will study the route and use my teammates and DS as best I can.”

A few days before the races, the pair only had a general idea of what their roles would be out on the roads. “At Omloop, I will be definitely be working with Sylvain [Chavanel]. KBK was supposed to be for Bryan [Coquard], but now we will probably work for [Adrien] Petit,” Duchesne said as the team has had to make changes in light of Coquard’s crash during training on Feb. 16. Petit is the final wheel in Coquard’s lead-out train.

Duchesne, from Saguenay, Que., has a solid base in France. This past winter, he focused on one of his passions, working at a vineyard. He shares a place in the south of France with Ag2r-La Mondiale’s Hugo Houle from Sainte-Perpétue, Que. The two Québecois riders support one another during races, even though they are on competing teams. “We always try to take care of each other,” said Duchesne. “When one is moving up, the other will always try to move up as well. When it’s hard, a little encouragement is always there, too.”

Anderson, who raced with U.S. continental outfit Optum presented by Kelly Benefit Strategies for the past three seasons, is just getting settled in France and with his new team. “I am based in the Vendée region, but have been really busy jumping around since I arrived in Europe,” said the Spruce Grove, Alta., native. “The team has been a big help with getting setup, helping with the bank, a phone and stuff like that. Sorting out all of that stuff takes more energy than the biking itself sometimes.”

He also has to adjust to working in a new language. “My French is not very good right now,” said Anderson, the only anglophone on the team. “I pick up a little bit more as the days go by. It’s pretty much all French. It’s a very nice language, but learning it well–while trying to get setup in Europe, train and race–is a work in progress. Antoine and the team are helping me so it will come.”

“In a month or two, he should be fine speaking French!” added Duchesne.