"Dylan has a big engine and once it fires, he can keep going and doesn't run out": Soudal Quick-Step confident Van Baarle will deliver at the Tour of Flanders

Dylan van Baarle had a largely anonymous Dwars door Vlaanderen on Wednesday, but Sep Vanmarcke is not losing any sleep over it. Speaking at the team bus after the race, the Soudal Quick-Step sports director was clear: Van Baarle will be ready when it matters, and the Tour of Flanders is a very different beast.

Van Baarle dropped back in the opening phase of Dwars door Vlaanderen, which meant he spent much of the race chasing rather than racing. But what he did in that situation impressed Vanmarcke.

"He rode from the second to the first peloton on his own, which was very strong, but it meant he was behind the action. He also had a puncture, so the legs were a bit spent," the sports director explained in quotes gathered by In de Leiderstrui. Despite all of that, Van Baarle made it back to the front group and still had something left to contribute to the team's plan for sprinter Paul Magnier.

The broader goal on Wednesday had been twofold. "At the same time as Van Baarle, our plan was to ride for the sprint of Paul Magnier. He is in good form, but this spring it is not working out yet," Vanmarcke acknowledged. The team threw everything at bringing back Wout van Aert before the sprint, with Van Baarle and Pepijn Reinderink both working hard at the front.

"We did everything we could, with Dylan and Pepijn riding fantastically," he said. In the end, Dries Van Gestel closed some gaps in the finale but at the cost of using up the last lead-out man for Magnier. "We could have chosen to keep Dries with Paul and sprint for a good placing, but we wanted to go for the win. We used everyone, but unfortunately Paul did not really get into position."

For Vanmarcke, Wednesday's race actually provided reassurance. The evidence from the Opening Weekend and E3 Saxo Classic already pointed in the right direction, and what Van Baarle showed even on a difficult day reinforced that. "He only got going later, but was able to ride back to the front and then ride at the front. He is certainly in order, we saw that in the Opening Weekend and at E3 too," Vanmarcke said.

The key with Van Baarle has always been the same: give him time and distance, and he will be there. "It just takes a while before he gets going. Dylan has a big engine and once it fires, he can keep going and doesn't run out." Fortunately, the Tour of Flanders is 278 kilometres long, which gives the Dutchman roughly two extra hours to warm up compared to Wednesday.

Vanmarcke was also honest about where Van Baarle sits in the overall picture on Sunday. Pogacar and Van der Poel are in a category of their own, and there is no point pretending otherwise. "Pogacar and Van der Poel are there, that is the reality. But Dylan sits in a large group just below those two - a strong group with a lot of quality."

The task for Van Baarle will be to be in the right place when the race explodes, because Pogacar is unlikely to wait until the third time up the Kwaremont. "It will be a matter of calling on Dylan's big engine," Vanmarcke concluded. Jasper Stuyven remains a wildcard option for the team, but all signs point to Van Baarle as the man Soudal Quick-Step are building their Sunday around.