Lot Soudal and Dettunink Quickstep will each have to make last-minute changes to their teams for the Volta Ao Algarve, which opens Wednesday in Portimão, Portugal. John Degenkolb is ill and will be substituted by Yon Dibben for Lotto Soudal, while Iljo Keisse will replace Davide Ballerini, who is also ill, for Dečuninck Quickstep.

Degenkolb made his debut with his new Lotto team at Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana earlier this month, and Fabio Jacobsen (Detunink-Quickstep) in the bunch sprint finish of the final stage in Valencia, Finishing third behind Dylan Groenewegen, the 31-year-old Degen hopes for an early recovery to start his spring classics season at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on Feb. 29, and his subsequent program includes the 2015 win on March 21 in Milan~ San Remo and Paris-Roubaix on April 12, also won in 2015.

Degenkolb's replacement, Dieben, is a new addition to the Belgian WorldTour team this year and made his debut at the Tour Down Under in Australia last month.

In Deceuninck-QuickStep, Ballerini, who joined from Astana in early 2020, has already started the season with Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana and, like Degenkolb, is ready for the Spring Classic program

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Veteran Iljo Keisse will be replacing Ballerini. He has already competed in the Tour de la Provence since returning from Australia, where he was part of the team that helped Irish road race champion Sam Bennett win a stage in the Tour Down Under and a race in Torquay, Cadel He was active in the Evans Great Ocean Road Race before Dries Devenyns won the race.