Wout van Aert goes into Friday's E3 Saxo Classic as one of the favourites for victory, having demolished the field along with Jumbo-Visma teammate Christophe Laporte last year and built his 2023 to near perfection in recent weeks.
Van Aert leads Jumbo-Visma and knows they may be obliged to control the race. In an act of bravado, van Aert suggested the team had five options for victory from their line-up.
"Obviously we will be watched, but we are also looking at Alpecin and UAE of course," Van Aert said, playing mind games with his rivals. "I think we'll start with at least five leaders."
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Jumbo-Visma's E3 Saxo Classic line-up is almost identical to 2022, with new hire Dylan van Baarle - winner of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad - in and Mike Teunissen now racing with Intermarché-Circus-Wanty.
Along with Laporte, Van Aert and Van Baarle, the team have Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne winner Tiesj Benoot and runner-up Nathan Van Hooydonck as contenders and Edoardo Affini and Tosh Van der Sande as helpers.
Wednesday's Classic Brugge-De Panne went off in miserable conditions with rain and wind shattering the peloton. More wind is expected on Friday for the E3 Classic, with a mix of tailwind, headwind and echelon-producing crosswinds.
"I haven't ridden this course very often, but what I know is that there are few places to rest. And with the wind in favour in the first part, it won't be easy. It will be a long gruelling race."
The E3 Classic is widely considered to be a dress rehearsal for the Tour of Flanders, with 17 climbs, many of which also feature in 'De Ronde', and the dual ascents of the Paterberg and Oude Kwaremont in a prime position, albeit much further out than in the Tour of Flanders.
In 2022, Van Aert and Laporte attacked on the Paterberg with over 40km to go and held on to finish 1-2 a full 95 seconds ahead of third-placed finisher Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ).
When asked what he recalled from last season's victory, Van Aert laughed: "A lot, I think. It was beautiful."
His E3 victory along with wins in Omloop het Nieuwsblad, a stage win and five stage podium finishes in Paris-Nice pinned Van Aert to the top of the favourites list for the Tour of Flanders. But a case of COVID-19 knocked him out of the race altogether.
The Belgian has come into the season with more muted results - a third place in Milan-San Remo behind career-long rival Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) was his best finish after illness during his altitude training camp. However his form appeared to improve during Tirreno-Adriatico.
Van Aert had only minor regrets about missing Van der Poel's move in Milan-San Remo.
"When I look back at the footage, maybe I was a little too far back at the start of the Poggio. But Mathieu van der Poel did stand out, so his attack would have been hard to match," he admitted.
Van Aert was hopeful that he will have the form to live up to his country's expectations that he will win the Tour of Flanders or Paris-Roubaix and has put last year's disappointment behind him.
"I believe I can be at the start of the Ronde a few more times with my best legs. And then things will work out. That page from last year has been turned," he said.
He considers his favourite status to be a compliment.
"People expect me to win the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. I also work very hard for that. So that makes sense."
