Tiesj Benoot will lead the Lotto Soudal team at the Tour of Flanders on Sunday and it will be the fourth participation for the 24-year-old rider at the Ronde. The Belgian rider sees himself as one of the outside favourites but has said that he is not feeling pressure. Benoot has performed well at Flanders before. As a neo-pro in 2015, he finished fifth but in the past two editions he has abandoned the race.
Benoot has already had a strong season so far. At Strade Bianche, he claimed his first pro victory and at Tirreno-Adriatico he finished fourth overall, taking home the best young rider jersey. Also, he has performed well already in Flanders this season, riding aggressively at both at E3 Harelbeke and Dwars door Vlaanderen which resulted in fifth and seventh places respectively.
“It’s normal that I am one of the favourites for Sunday after my performances of the past weeks,” said Benoot. “I am not the main favourite though. Sagan and the Quick-Step team as a whole are one step higher than riders like Van Avermaet, Vanmarcke and me.”
“It would surprise me if the race would explode on the Muur van Geraadsbergen like it did last year. Although it is a moment were all teams will need to be alert a first time. There can always occur a selection at that point in the race, but I expect the race will really explode later. I prefer a long and extensive finale because then it becomes an exhausting race that ends with a fight man against man.”
“We miss André Greipel, Jens Keukeleire and Nikolas Maes from our original line-up. Greipel and Keukeleire could have been by my side in the finale. That’s why it’s in my interest that others get isolated. Although that is not quite realistic for Quick-Step, as they have such a strong block.”
“I’ll probably need to finish solo if I want to win, because most of the favourites are faster than me. I feel really good. The situation is a bit different now I have won Strade Bianche, because that has taken away the pressure. Of course that doesn’t mean that I don’t want to set a top result in the Ronde. At E3 Harelbeke and Dwars door Vlaanderen I proved that the condition is good and that will still be the case this Sunday. The Ronde van Vlaanderen is the race of my dreams. I already want to win it since I was a child. We ride on my training course and as a neo-pro I immediately finished fifth. I am ready to go full on Sunday!”
Lotto Soudal Line-up for the Tour of Flanders:
Lars Bak
Tiesj Benoot
Jasper De Buyst
Jens Debusschere
Frederik Frison
Marcel Sieberg
Jelle Wallays.
