The Tour of Flanders is upon us. The build-up races are done and dusted, recon rides have been ticked off and final team line-ups have been confirmed. All that remains is the anticipation for the Holy Sunday.
Part of the pre-race shuffle are the final press conferences, a chance for the media to quiz the riders on their hopes and fears and so fill the internet, radio, television and newspapers with the riders’ hopes and fears for Sunday.
As ever, the top-tier contenders have sat down in various corners of Flanders over the past couple of days to share their pre-race thoughts, and Cyclingnews‘ Patrick Fletcher and Barry Ryan made their way around many of them.
Soudal-QuickStep weren’t as downbeat as you might imagine, Wout van Aert was short and succinct in his answers, and a relaxed Tadej Pogačar cracked a few jokes. Only Mathieu van der Poel avoided scrutiny, his Alpecin-Deceuninck team again preferring to post their own video of the Dutchman’s thoughts.
Here, we’ve put together all the key quotes from the key contenders for both the men’s and women’s races, for an overview of how everyone’s feeling ahead of the big day.
Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma)
“Last year, I was really on a top level earlier on in the spring and I was quite confident I would be really ready for the Tour of Flanders. I think this year I kind of grew towards the same feeling, so hopefully it’s right on time.
“It’s always hard to tell, but I definitely feel that I’m recovering faster and faster than I was one month ago at a race like Tirreno, for example. If I look at it that way, then for sure I am progressing. You can also see that in the way I’m riding, so hopefully there has been this tiny little step in this last week. That would be nice.
“I would have a different feeling now if I hadn’t been really at the top end of the race last weekend [E3 Saxo Classic and Gent-Wevelgem]. For my confidence, it was really nice to have a win and to have the good feeling in the legs during these two races.
‘I learned [at E3] that Mathieu and Tadej were super strong, probably a bit stronger than me. Luckily I could hang on and that was a good lesson for me. I showed I could also win the race if I’m maybe not the strongest but if I’m able to stay with the guys. I hope to be a little better on Sunday – we’ll see when I make my move. But they are the two guys I will be looking at the…
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