Tim van Dijke approaches season debut at Omloop with respect: "I expect that it's going to be hell without any competitions in my legs"

Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe made many exciting signings to strengthen their classics lineup. This includes the Van Dijke twins from Visma | Lease a Bike. While Tim van Dijke already showed glimpses of what might be his potential at last year's Paris-Roubaix, Mick van Dijke is still yet to carve his name into (cobble) stone.

New team also means new approach to pre-season for the 24-year-old brothers: "I really wanted to do an altitude training camp," Tim explains in an interview with WielerFlits. "Because I am also riding Tirreno-Adriatico, that training camp had to be done before the Opening Weekend. And I also need competition toughness, that is why we preferred to do altitude beforehand rather than in the middle of the classics campaign. "

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad will be their first race in new team colours: "So I am really looking forward to racing now, but I do keep in mind that it is going to be hell," he adds. "Everyone wants to be good here. And then I come here to participate nicely without any competitions in my legs. That is why I expect that I will die a thousand deaths, that is what I am preparing for."

"In any case, I am doing well. I am stronger than last year. The biggest difference is that I am almost two kilos lighter than in 2024. That is quite a lot. But above all, I feel good, I feel fit. I hope to be able to start the Opening Weekend and ride home with a good feeling. I also hope to reach the final, that is what I hope."

Contrary to his brother, Mick van Dijke didn't have a perfect preparation as a knee pain forced him to sit back for two weeks. "It is still a bit of a matter of finding out how I am going to handle the altitude training camp. We really see this as a learning period, because we have never had such a preparation for the classics. But I do feel good. Saturday is just an important day for me. Then it is a bit more selective and I can do my own thing. That is my preference."

"We have a strong classics team. But it will take some time to get a feel for each other. This weekend will help us a lot. In principle, we will all start in a free role, simply because we do not yet know whether someone will stand out a bit." It'll be certainly interesting to see the dynamics of the newly put together Classics strike team which also includes Oier Lazkano, Jan Tratnik, Jordi Meeus, and in later races also Laurence Pithie.