With a team steered onto the cobbled classics with major focus, Lotto Soudal will enter the Tour des Flandres as outsiders, however with a lineup that's stacked in quality and young talent.
Team DS Nikolas Maes, who will be in the car behind the peloton on Sunday, has talked about the team's choice of lineup and ambitions for the second monument of the season: “With the selection we have on paper, we should be able to leave a mark on Sunday’s race. Maybe not immediately for the highest podium spot but our intention is obviously to play a role at the Ronde. Of course, the performance of Victor Campenaerts at Dwars door Vlaanderen gave us that extra boost. He will certainly try something again on Sunday. I also expect Tim Wellens to be up there, he needed Dwars door Vlaanderen to get back into race rhythm."
"We also expect something from our youngsters Florian Vermeersch and Brent Van Moer. And also Cedric Beullens has surprised us positively several times this spring season. With Sébastien Grignard and Roger Kluge – who replaces Frederik Frison after his collarbone fracture – we have two more riders who can contribute," he added.
Campenaerts has ridden only one-day races this season and has avoided the illnesses that have been devastating the peloton. With Top5 placing at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Dwars door Vlaanderen, he's likely to be the most trustworthy card in Flandres with his traditionally aggressive style of racing. Florian Vermeersch, runner-up at Paris-Roubaix last year, and Tim Wellens will be outsiders for the Top10.
“Which result I’m happy with after the Ronde? We are talking about a cycling Monument of 270 kilometres so we need to be realistic. But as always, we go for the highest achievable result and try to surprise," Maes concluded.
Lotto Soudal for Tour des Flandres: Victor Campenaerts, Tim Wellens, Florian Vermeersch, Brent van Moer, Cedric Beullens, Sébastien Grignard and Roger Kluge.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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💬"We want to leave our mark on the #RVV22. Maybe not immediately for the highest podium spot but our intention is obviously to play a role at the Ronde." Read our pre-race preview for @RondeVlaanderen with DS Nikolas Maes 👇
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