"He is always one of the top favourites" - Teammate Tim van Dijke backs Remco Evenepoel on his Tour of Flanders debut

Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe are heading to the Tour of Flanders very well armed, with several men in top form. One of them is Tim van Dijke who's had a superb spring and has led the team on several occasions; but this Sunday his task will revolve around Remco Evenepoel.

“He has never ridden the Tour of Flanders before, but in truth the plan was already to line him up there. I think that race should suit him really well," van Dijke shared with IDLProCycling. “On Sunday we’ve got our mate with us, haven’t we? Our Aero Bullet. We’re looking forward to that. We’ve got a really strong team to support him there, and I think Remco can go a very long way. To make life difficult for Pogacar and Van der Poel, we now have a real leader with us.”

The likes of van Dijke, Jan Tratnik and Gianni Vermeersch will be amongst those who will either support the Olympic Champion with positioning at key moments, or depending on the race situation, be on the early attacks before the ascent of the Koppenberg. That is the climb where most believe the race will fully detonate, and the team without the 'big two' (Tadej Pogacar and Mathieu van der Poel) will need to put on as much pressure as possible up until that moment.

Van Dijke seems to be guided more towards a positioning role. “All I have to do is make sure I support Remco as well as possible, and I think I’ve got the legs to take him a long way. If you look at how many riders we’ve had in the finales, then it should work out well. I hope I can mean a lot for Remco and that we can go for the win.”

The Dutchman's confidence in his teammate is very high, even if the two have not yet raced together. “If he starts a one-day race, he is always one of the top favourites. The only slight disadvantage is that he rode Catalunya. It’s up to us to make sure Remco is in position when the big favourites go.”

The second place at this year's Omloop het Nieuwsblad believes that if the team can deliver Evenepoel in prime position, it will be very difficult to drop him. Meanwhile that would also aid his chances of obtaining a strong individual result in Oudenaarde.

“Then I don’t expect there will be many riders who can drop him on the Kwaremont. If Remco gets clear with the absolute top favourites, then I don’t have to ride [behind]. I know every centimeter of the Tour of Flanders course and I’ve got good legs. We’re going to make a good plan and then give everything on Sunday. That’s going to be fun," he concluded.