Visma put their chips on Matthew Brennan after Van Aert's absence; Niermann believes he can follow van der Poel - "I'm not ruling it out"

Omloop het Nieuwsblad will start off the cobbled classics in the space of 24 hours and within Team Visma | Lease a Bike, the hopes are for a sprint to decide the race. For this, Matthew Brennan is going to be the leader, although Grischa Niermann believes he may even be able to follow Mathieu van der Poel.

"Wout takes a lot of my attention away, which is nice. And it's fantastic to race with him. He's always consistent in what he does, and his absence is a huge loss," Brennan said in words to Sporza. "But we have an experienced and strong team. My confidence hasn't been shaken. I know I'm in the best possible shape."

The Briton praised his teammate, whom ultimately helps in the fact that Brennan can stay under the radar for longer. During the race that was also the plan for this weekend, but an illness prevented the Belgian from taking to the start.

A hit for the Dutch team, and a commitment to the sprint scenario, as Christophe Laporte also provides some guarantees. "Yes, in some scenarios I could have used a big rider like Wout, but we're doing our best to limit the impact of his withdrawal."

He is at times compared for Van Aert, but assures that there is a big difference. "That's a huge compliment, but I also see a lot of differences. I still need to develop and discover what kind of rider I am. Will Wout give me advice then? Yes, but not with motivational speeches or anything like that."

Nevertheless, van Aert, a former winner of this race, will remain in the sidelines and provide the necessary advice for the team, which has been undergoing a very difficult period. "He's someone who provides useful input when you ask questions or analyze the race. Wout speaks freely, and it's good that I can rely on him."

It is going to be a full-on race with many of the world's best classics specialists, sprinters; and a mix of both present at the start, heading to Ninove with the Muur de Geraardsbergen-Bosberg combination in the final kilometers.

What doesn't lack here in comparison to other cobbled classics is the tactics and positioning factors, which are a key part of racing in this region, as Brennan learnt the hard way 12 months ago.

"Back then, I didn't really understand the race yet, so I just absorbed the experience. That's a big advantage now, because I know what the climbs entail and how the peloton behaves. I understand this race better, and I need to capitalize on that."

Team DS Grischa Niermann also spoke briefly, and admits he is keen on taking the race to a sprint. "We have a rider down, but we're not without a chance. Not many riders want to finish with Matthew. We're counting on a bunch sprint, but if we have a choice, we'll go for a tougher race with an elite group at the end."

However, despite this, he is not shy of putting the weight on Brennan's shoulders, showing plenty confidence in his climbing ability as well: "I don't know if he can do that this year. In the long run, we hope so. So I'm not saying that Matthew will be 100 percent on Mathieu's wheel when he goes. But I'm not ruling it out either."