Nevertheless, that will be his prime focus. A
Tour de France debut and taking himself to the limit, in a race he dreams of winning. To be able to do that this year will be a very difficult task, not only with a hard route but also as he faces all of the strongest Grand Tour specialists in the current peloton. The only rider who finished on a podium of a Grand Tour that won't be in the start in Florence is Geraint Thomas - all others will.
“I have already raced a lot against [Primoz] Roglic. In the Vuelta a Catalunya we were at the same level. I've knocked him off a few times in the Vuelta and he's knocked me off. So I know Roglic well. I haven't raced much against Jonas [Vingegaard] and Tadej [Pogacar] in the Grand Tours yet. That is something new, but of course I cannot answer that at the moment. We'll see in the Tour.” Throughout the year he will face his rivals however. Pogacar at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Vingegaard at Itzulia and Criterium du Dauphiné, and Roglic at the previous two alongside Paris-Nice.
He will start his season in Portugal with the Figueira Champions Classic and Volta ao Algarve, and will also have the Ardennes in his plan. “I am not going to a Grand Tour in May now and so it is a nice option to take part. It is a course that suits me. It is a very open race with few recovery moments," the Belgian said of Amstel Gold Race, where he will make his debut.
“It's nice to have a new goal in the spring, with Paris-Nice and therefore the Amstel. The Flèche Wallonne is still an open question. It will depend on how I come out of the Tour of the Basque Country and the Amstel, but the Amstel and Liège-Bastogne-Liège are already two certainties.”