Fred Wright vying for first classics win against Pogacar, Van Aert, and Van der Poel - "Do more than just hang on for dear life like I was last year"

Although Tadej Pogacar, Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel are expected to hog the limelight at the Tour of Flanders, Fred Wright will be vying for his first Classics win and presenting stiff competition to the trio on Sunday.

Having secured seventh place in the previous year, he now has his sights set on the top spot. “In my first year at Flanders, I was at the foot of the Koppenberg and I was like ‘nope, I’m out of the race!’ I went back to the bus, that was me done. And then years later I was in the first two guys onto the Koppenberg, so that’s already an improvement. I’ve built on the base from last year so I like to think my legs won’t be falling off quite as much as they did last year in the last time up the Kwaremont and the Paterberg,” he told Eurosport.

He continues, “Putting myself in the same positions as last year is the goal. I like to think I will have the legs to do more than just hang on for dear life like I was last year. This year I’m definitely going to try and prove I wasn’t there last year by chance. I’ve got confidence I can be there. It’s all about knowing the roads. It all becomes a wealth of knowledge and I’m only getting more knowledge the more I do.”

Cobbled Classics hold a special place in Wright's heart. If he fails to deliver in Flanders his next target will be Paris-Roubaix. “I love them, I really do. Every year I learn the roads better, it’s the best time of the year, these two weeks. The excitement, it’s a different style of racing, every day you race you’ve got to be so concentrated. You don’t get a thrill in racing quite like the Classics I would say. The adrenaline, everything, makes other races seem boring! They are stressful in a good way.”