Han Kock questions van Baarle's condition ahead of Paris-Roubaix - "It is a big question mark how good he is"

Dylan van Baarle confronts a daunting responsibility in Paris-Roubaix as he endeavours to satisfy the anticipated outcome of his title defence and simultaneously fulfil the significant task of being a valuable aide to his team leader, Wout van Aert.

"Dylan hopes he will be good, but there is a big question mark behind his condition," questioned NOS journalist Han Kock. Judging by the statistics, his spring began promisingly with a victory in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, although his performance was modest in Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne, and Tirreno-Adriatico was a letdown.

Owing to his injury in the E3 Saxo Classic and the serious stomach and intestinal complications that surfaced just before the Tour of Flanders, his health status is enigmatic to outsiders. "So it is a big question mark how good he is," Kock once again focuses on this point.

He further added, “Yesterday, I spoke to Dylan after his Paris-Roubaix recon, and he said he had a tough week. In the week before the Tour of Flanders, he says he only sat on the pot. Dylan was so ill that he didn't regret for a second that he couldn't be there in the Tour."

Baarle was able to make a recovery in time for the main event and even managed to allocate some time for training to improve his preparation. "After his illness, he was able to complete some good training sessions there. After the Roubaix reconnaissance with the team, Van Baarle trained for another 2 hours. He hopes he will be good on Sunday, but of course, I can't look into his body. He is happy that the weather will be nice on Sunday and that the cobblestones will dry up as a result,” concluded Kock.