"Of course I'd like to win" - Quinten Hermans confident of great form ahead of Ardennes, seeks Brabantse Pijl win

Quinten Hermans is having a slower start to his season but with a specific purpose. The Belgian looks to peak now in the Ardennes classics where he will have an important and possible leading role at Alpecin-Deceuninck, and he starts off his campaign today at Brabantse Pijl where he is a contender for the victory.

"I get confidence from the fact that the approach, a long altitude internship in Denía, has worked excellently for the Flemish block. I followed the same schedule as Mathieu van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen, only three weeks later," Hermans told Het Nieuwsblad. "The way they rode Tirreno-Adriatico, I was able to do the Basque Country. The training approach is individual, but at the same time we follow the same trajectory to reach that top form.”

After witnessing the utter brilliant performances of both van der Poel and Philipsen throughout this spring, amounting to wins at Tirreno-Adriatico, Milano-Sanremo, Classic Brugge-De Panne and a one-two in Paris-Roubaix, it's safe to say Alpecin-Deceuninck timed their build-up perfectly. Hermans now hopes to be in the same situation, but eyeing a different type of races.

He's shown good form at the E3 Saxo Classic where he worked for the team but let go the cobbled monuments so as to focus in the Ardennes, and raced Itzulia Basque Country as preparation. “Some days were eco days. It is not for nothing that I fell ill during or after the Basque Country in the past two years. Whoever participates there for the prizes pays the toll in the classics. You just have to put the brakes on for a few days to be top in the classics," he admits.

Having completed the Basque race he now finally enters the crucial moment of his first half of the season. Last year's runner-up at Liège-Bastogne-Liège is a candidate alongside teammates Soren Kragh Andersen and Axel Laurance for today's Brabantse Pijl, however he will have more opportunities throughout the following week and a half to take a big result.

“I know I did everything I could to be good for the next two weeks. If it turns out that myself and we as a team are being beaten by someone stronger, then we have to accept that. I expect an open race in the Brabantse Pijl. There is not one team at the start with a pronounced leader. Of course I'd like to win," he concluded.