"Our plan is to race with a lot of attacks" - Wout van Aert admits Visma will not hold back at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad

To the microphones of Eurosport this morning, Wout van Aert admitted that Team Visma | Lease a Bike will attack Omloop Het Nieuwsblad hard. This comes as no surprise, but the Belgian is eager for his return to the cobbled classics and wants to race hard.

"It's true that it's a different approach it's the first time I race before Omloop Het Niuewsblad. I feel ready for the race, I'm ready for the first classic it's always a good feeling," van Aert said this morning at the start with Philippe Gilbert. He leads Team Visma | Lease a Bike, however a team that has six riders capable of contesting the triumph in such a race.

The presence of Christophe Laporte, Dylan van Baarle, Jan Tratnik, Matteo Jorgenson and Tiesj Benoot mean the Dutch team has plenty cards to use in the many cobbled climbs of the day. "We'll see how the race develops but of course with a team like us it's smart to race offensive," van Aert acknowledges "It would be a shame to control things, so I think our plan is to race with a lot of attacks."

Hence the team are overwhelming favourites to take the victory, not with a specific rider. No rider in the past has ever won Omloop and then the Tour of Flanders, but the 29-year old is not too concerned about the superstition regarding the two races. "For sure in the next five hours I will not think about this stat. If I win in the next few weeks I will try to change this myth," he concluded.