After his second-place finish in Dwars door Vlaanderen, Van Aert heads to the Grote Markt in Antwerp with confidence. The 31-year-old Belgian was very active on Wednesday and seemed to be heading for victory with a 10-kilometer solo breakaway. In the final meters, however, he was overtaken by Filippo Ganna, who relegated Van Aert to second place.

"I look back on my last two races with a good feeling", Van Aert begins. "In both In Flanders Fields and Dwars door Vlaanderen, I raced aggressively and had strong finishes. It’s a shame it hasn’t led to a victory yet, but it is the way of racing I love. That makes me happy."

With the start in Antwerp and the traditional finish in Oudenaarde, the 110th edition of Vlaanderens Mooiste promises to be another grueling battle. The 278-kilometer route is littered with iconic climbs and vicious cobblestone sections. The crux of the race lies in the final 55 kilometers as the Oude Kwaremont, Paterberg, and Koppenberg loom ahead.

"Of course it’s stressful, but for me, the Tour of Flanders is one of the highlights of the year", Van Aert continues. "Being at the center of one of the biggest cycling events in the world feels very special. Especially as a Belgian, there’s nothing better than being able to ride a Monument in my own country. I get goosebumps every year when I’m doing the reconnaissance. It’s just really cool."

According to the Team Visma | Lease a Bike leader, there’s not much point in discussing all possible scenarios. "The Tour of Flanders is a race in a class of its own and is chaotic every year. It’s almost impossible to predict how the race will unfold.” What Van Aert does know for sure is that his form is on the rise. After the setback earlier this year, he can tell from everything that he’s back in the mix with the best riders."

"Am I surprised by where I am now? No, not really. I’ve worked incredibly hard for this over the past few months. After my crash in the Mol cyclocross, we stayed calm and knew there was plenty of time to get back to a high level. Of course, I had hoped to be a bit better at Strade Bianche, but now you can see that I needed the past few races to take that final step."

Niermann makes no secret of the fact that Team Visma | Lease a Bike is starting the race with high ambitions. "We have a very strong team at the starting line. Wout has shown in recent races that he is among the strongest riders in the peloton, but Christophe Laporte and Per Strand Hagenes have also already posted impressive results. In the ideal scenario, we’ll have several cards to play in the final, but that will depend on how the last fifty kilometers unfold. I expect the strongest riders to be the ones left standing."