One thing is certain,
Alpecin-Deceuninck will have more responsibility as van der Poel becomes the uncontested man to beat. Both Team Visma | Lease a Bike and Lidl-Trek are less likely to work together with the Dutch team, but simultaneously both teams have less cards to put van der Poel under pressure. But there are different sides to the outcome: "Maybe there will be even more pressure on my shoulders, which won't make it any easier. On the other hand, Visma-Lease a Bike and Lidl-Trek remain two super strong blocks, even without the presence of Van Aert and Stuyven respectively. Jorgensen, Benoot, Pedersen, Milan, you name it."
"For me, the focus remains the same in any case. I'm just going to do my thing. Winning the Tour of Flanders is never easy and Sunday will be no different," he adds; with Tadej Pogacar also absent a second triumph in Flanders becomes very possible. "How am I going to handle it? I can't say much about that in advance. It depends on how the race evolves, what the situation is. Of course I take my responsibility, but as I said, I think Visma-Lease a Bike and Lidl-Trek remain super strong opponents.”
In very strong form, van der Poel will be the main favourite off the back of a masterful performance at the E3 Saxo Classic and a very strong day at Gent - Wevelgem. He has since rested and trained in preparation for the big day in Belgium, he tells: “Monday and Tuesday were all about resting after two tough races. On Wednesday I had a tough training session. Thursday and today I will combine resting and getting some tension in the legs."
"The day before the race I limit myself to an easy coffee ride to be as fresh as possible at the start on Sunday. The weather in Belgium was not too bad and the training volume was not too high this week, so I decided to stay in Belgium.”
