"The last two years I was in the best Classics team" - Jan Tratnik does battle with former Visma teammates in quest for back-to-back Omloop Het Nieuwsblad wins

Jan Tratnik sensationally sealed the win at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad in 2024. Now, twelve months on, the Slovenian is back to defend his crown, only this time in the colours of a new team, having swapped Team Visma | Lease a Bike for Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe.

"I feel good, so yeah, no complaints," a smiling Tratnik says to reporters in his pre-race interview. With a strong Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe team around Tratnik, the opportunity is certainly there for the Slovenian to go back-to-back at the Omloop. "We have some young guys, they just arrived from altitude training camp and as I heard, they are more than ready. In general as a team, we are strong. So yeah, I hope that we can compete with the best but for sure, what I know is that we will give everything that is in our power to deliver the best possible result."

In Tratnik's quest for victory though, his former team are likely to be his main challengers. "The last two years I was in the best Classics team and maybe somethings were a bit easier," he analyses. "But I know that this year, maybe things will be a bit harder, but I still believe that it's possible. We just need to fight and then we'll see where we are standing."