Kasper Asgreen: "It would be amazing to win Flanders again, but it will be very difficult"

Kasper Asgreen will be taking the start of Tour des Flandres this Sunday with the number 1 on his back and looking to repeat his achievement of last year. Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team have not had the best of spring campaigns and are coming to the race having had illnesses hamper their riders' form, however Asgreen has shown glimpses of his best legs and will have high ambitions.

In a pre-race media conference, the defending champion has talked about the team's situation going into the race this year: "This year I am going into the race a bit more as the sole leader. Last year, with Alaphilippe as the world champion, the leadership was more shared. It means I am going in a bit differently, but the legs will decide who will be in the final. It would be amazing to win Flanders again, but it will be very difficult. It gives me a lot of motivation to be the defending champion"

Asgreen had his start to the season delayed as he was infected with Covid-19 alongside Davide Ballerini. Despite a slow start to the season, his podium at Strade Bianche showed the Dane quickly got back to his best level. Despite finishing 10th and 32th at the E3 Saxo Bank Classic and Gent-Wevelgem, it doesn't accurately represent his performances as he was a very active figure in both races, responding to Van Aert's attack on the first and driving the chase in the first, and attacking several times in the second.

He added: “The goal is to try to win again. The team was generally stronger last year without the sickness we’ve had this year. We will make the best of it. It makes it more difficult to make a move. It’s not so easy to sneak away anymore."

“We never focus on the wheel of somebody else. You have to be intelligent and know when to move. We are not used to racing to defend, we are used to racing an aggressive race. The race is very long and there are a lot of tricky points. I hope the guys can stay on the bike and we can be there," he concluded.

Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team for Tour des Flandres: Kasper Asgreen, Zdenek Stybar, Yves Lampaert, Florian Sénéchal, Bert van Lerberghe, Jannik Steimle and Tim Declercq.