"It’s a bit too early to say that I’ll be able to follow Mathieu and Tadej later on" - Dylan van Baarle confident after Opening Weekend however

Dylan van Baarle is starting out his life at Soudal - Quick-Step and so far the signs are good. After an impressive performance on the final day of the Volta ao Algarve, the Dutchman has headed into the Opening Weekend where he showed good form and was on the attack as well hunting a triumph at Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne. He is aiming to improve his form further now, ahead of the monuments in early April.

To do this, he will now take on an altitude camp for three weeks together with his partner Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, before returning in time for the main classics block. Perhaps, following his own plan, he would not be able to do that at Team Visma | Lease a Bike. The added freedom this spring provides him with improved motivation.

“It gives me freedom in my head, that I can do what I like to do. That helps me in the races as well," van Baarle said in words to IDLProCycling. "I feel a lot calmer, also because of the freedom I get outside of cycling. The positive I can take from it is that I also feel relaxed away from competition. I know I can do my thing.”

Whilst on the results sheet his numbers aren't impressive, on the road van Baarle put on one of his strongest displays in quite a while in Kuurne; and his form should only improve if he avoids mishaps now. As a former Paris-Roubaix winner and Tour of Flanders finisher, his ambitions won't be of laying low... “Maybe it’s a bit too early to say that I’ll be able to follow Mathieu and Tadej later on,” he said, “but I can get deep into finales again. That’s the goal this year — to reach that level again.”

Omloop het Nieuwsblad was a rude awakening though, as in Belgium the temperatures were as low as 5 degrees and the rain fell from time to time. The veteran was a victim of a poor clothing choice. “I was messing around with the weather a bit. Rain jacket on, rain jacket off… and in the end I could never really get warm again. It was a frustrating day". Adding that to the crashes that swarmed the race, he was never truly in contention.

At Kuurne on the other hand he was on the attack several times, both on the climbs and the terrain that led to the finish, also leading the peloton for a while although the team didn't have particularly high ambitions in a final sprint. He is now avoiding the main stage-races in March, where he risks crashes and illnesses more; to focus on his own schedule.

“That’s definitely part of the reason. In those races you also have to recharge mentally every single day, while you still have big objectives afterwards. I found that harder in recent years, and I hope this way it will work," he concluded.