Tiesj Benoot's cycling year ended early at the end of July after a training crash in Italy. He has been able to prepare well over the past few months and is ready to shine in his home region. "I feel good. We had a successful training camp. It's been seven months since I've raced. We will see how I react to the hectic pace of the peloton, but at the moment, I feel fine.”

Benoot has no doubts, despite not having raced yet this year. "Last season, we proved that it was not necessary”, the Belgian said, referring to his team-mate Van Aert’s victory. For the 76th edition, the leader of the Dutch cycling team will not be at the start. "It's a shame because I like racing with Wout. Normally, all eyes are on him. Now we have to find another way to win the race."

Grischa Niermann concurs. "It won't be easy without Wout, but we have a strong team full of ambition. When a large group of riders crosses the finish line together, we have a fast man in Christophe Laporte. We also have other strong riders. The most important thing is that one of us is present in the final.”

The sports director is pleased with his men's progress. "We have had excellent altitude training. Tiesj seems to be in very good shape, and the new riders, Dylan van Baarle and Jan Tratnik, have also made a positive impression on me. We will see if the altitude training will bear fruit on Saturday.”

This week the riders once again explored the course in the Flemish Ardennes, although according to Benoot - who is preparing for his third season in yellow and black - it was mainly to get a good feeling. “Everyone in the team knows the area by now. But it is nice to test the material and ride some cobblestones a week before the first classic”, he says.

"In my opinion, the weekend will be a success if we manage to win one race of this diptych”, Niermann expresses his ambition. "But I think the most important thing is that we come out of this well and have a solid base for the rest of the classics season. We also know that our big goals for this spring will come later”, the sports director refers to the monumental Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. "Nevertheless, I want to win every race we start. We have a lot of ambition and are confident for the weekend."

Christophe Laporte, Nathan Van Hooydonck, Dylan van Baarle, Jan Tratnik, Edoardo Affini and Tim van Dijke will join Benoot for Team Jumbo-Visma.