The CCC team will have its best riders for this week's Volta Ao Algarve. Greg Van Avermaat, Matteo Trentin, Patrick Bevin, and Simon Geschke will join seven riders in the five-day stage race in Portimão, Portugal, from February 19-23.

Van Avermaat and newcomer Trentin continue to tune up for the spring classics.

"I feel good after the five days in Valencia and am looking forward to racing in Portugal. My legs are getting better each day, so it will be good to get back into the rhythm of racing."

"So far, everything has gone well in terms of my pre-classic season build-up and the Bolta Ao Algarve is the next step in my preparation. The Volta ao Algarve is the next step in our preparation. Of course we will do what we can for the team and try to achieve the best possible results.

"Looking at the parcours, the stages that suit me best are stage 1 (Portimão - Lagos) and stage 4 (finish on the Marjan climb).

A potential addition to the team's overall contenders is Geschke, who finished third overall in the Australian stage race at the Tour Down Under. The Volta Ao Algarve will be the 33-year-old German's first European race of the season.

"The important stages in the Algarve for me are the stages with mountain finishes (Alto da Foia on stage 2 and Malhão on stage 4) and the time trial (stage 5). I'm looking forward to the time trial because it will be a test for me and I want to finish with a good result, I did very well in the time trial two years ago and this one will be similar. I'll try not to lose time in the other stages and do well in the time trial.

"It's a really good race. I've only raced it once, but I like this course, and after a strong race in Australia in January, all my training has been going well, so I think I'm in good shape." Coming back with a result in the Tour Down Under gives me confidence for the shorter stage races."

Meanwhile, New Zealand's Bevin, who suffered a supraventricular arrhythmia (arrhythmia) in training just before the race and had to abandon the Tour Down Under in January as a precautionary measure, returned to competition last week at the Vuelta a Murcia.

After further medical checks, Bevin returned to racing, finishing 17th overall in Spain, before taking on the individual time trial in Lagoa on stage 5.

"Simon Geschke will race after a good result in Australia. And with Paddy Bevin joining him, the time trial on stage 5 will definitely be our target."

"Greg Van Avermaat and Matteo Trentin will also team up again. They both raced well in Spain and I think we can build on this in Portugal. We can continue working together before our first race in Belgium."

Joining the team will be Gijs Van Hoecke, Nathan Van Hooydonck, and Michael Schär.

CCC team for the 2020 Volta Ao Algarve: Patrick Bevin, Simon Geschke, Michael Schär, Matteo Trentin, Greg Van Avermaat, Gijs Van Hoecke, and Nathan Van Hooydonck