Dylan van Baarle predicts a battle between Tadej Pogacar and Mathieu van der Poel on Sunday: "Their level is really bizarrely high at the moment"

Dylan van Baarle didn't get to race too much in recent months and years due to terrible luck with crashes. However he was able to put everything together for the spring and will be an important piece in Visma | Lease a Bike lineup. While the Dutch team lacks a clear favorite, they can play the game of numbers with multiple possible leaders.

Nevertheless, the campaign didn't start too well for Van Baarle at the E3 Saxo Classic. "It was actually very disappointing. At the most important moment I was just not in the right place. After that I just chased the facts, while I had a good feeling. But the sharpness was lacking in the end," he says on the In Koers podcast.

"I have to admit that I've never really managed to be in the right place at the crucial moment in the E3," the Dutchman continues. "You just know that if you're not there at the Taaienberg, it's difficult to play a role in the final. So it wasn't that different than usual, but I should have been at the front, that's clear. This race was a good reminder that I just have to be sharp in the other classics."

The Dwars door Vlaanderen already saw improved Visma | Lease a Bike and that included Van Baarle too. The 32-year-old did work in the shadows to ensure that the attack of his teammates would work out, first creating a gap behind his four teammates (including Edoardo Affini) as they launched their attack, and later disturbing the chase behind escapees.

Now the focus is on the Tour of Flanders, where Van Baarle will be at the start, together with what he sees as the two top favourites. "The favourites for the Tour of Flanders are of course Van der Poel and Pogacar. Their level is really bizarrely high at the moment. But behind them you also have Pedersen and Ganna, who could play an important role in the final."

And Wout van Aert? According to Van Baarle, he is not a top favorite this year. "As a team, we have to play our collective this year. With Matteo, Tiesj, Wout and me, we actually have four pawns who have to participate in the final, and I am certainly confident that we can do that. But top favorites? We certainly are not. Still, I will certainly not write us off, and certainly not Wout."