With a fourth place in Milan-Sanremo and fifth place in Paris-Nice, Sylvain Chavanel (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) is one of the strongest riders in peloton right now. The Frenchman hopes to continue his run of success in today's E3 Prijs Vlaanderen where he will form a dangerous duo with defending champion Tom Boonen.

Tom Boonen is a 5-time winner of the E3 Prijs Vlaanderen, and his victory in last year's edition kick started his formidable spring campaign. Hence, it is no surprise that most of the media attention surrounds the Belgian champion in the days leading up to today's battles on the cobbles.

Boonen's condition is, however, questionable. Illness and elbow surgery have severely hampered his season, and he enters his favourite races with question marks lingering over his heads.

The same cannot be said of teammate Sylvain Chavanel. He played a major role in Sunday's epic Milan-Sanremo, and he was very close to his first monument victory in a race that does not suit him perfectly.

He now enters his favoured terrain on the Belgian cobbles, and it is no surprise that the Frenchman is on the hunt for more success right from the gun.

"First of all I am getting better after my cold at the beginning of the week," he said. "I recovered well, and normally I am ready for the race. I would really like to be there and fight for a top 10 placing. It’s a race that I love, and I already rode it a few times. It’s a race I love because it’s on a parcours similar to the parcours of Ronde van Vlaanderen. So for sure it’s a kind of parcours that is suitable for me. I will try to be there and do my best."

Chavanel number 1 in the world

His performances in Paris-Nice and Milan-Sanremo has brought him the great honour of entering the race as the world's number one. That position is, however, under threat from Joaquin Rodriguez (Katusha) who should end up with a podium place in the Volta a Catalunya on Sunday. Furthermore, Peter Sagan (Cannondale) is the major favourite for today's Belgian race, and the Slovakian could also take over the position as the world's leading rider.

However, Chavanel chooses to focus on the race and not the world ranking.

"Honestly I haven't thought a lot about being in 1st place in the WorldTour classification," he said. "I think it's better to stay focused on the race and then - if I am able to do a good race again - the WorldTour ranking will be a consequence."

Peeters optimistic

The team's two captains both chose to skip the Dwars door Vlaanderen on Wednesday. Even in their absence, the team played a major role with Nikolas Maes and Omloop Het Nieuwsblad runner-up Stijn Vandenbergh both in the group fighting for the win.

The strength in numbers is a cause for optimism for sports director Wilfried Peeters.

"This race is like the little Ronde van Vlaanderen," he said. "I am happy the weather condition will not be so extreme, so normally we won’t have rain or snow. It will be dry, so that's already important. Yesterday (On Wednesday, ed.) in Dwars door Vlaanderen I saw a good team. The guys are motivated and I think we have to maintain this level, even in the next races, to get a good result in the race. We have Tom who has already won this race five times. Each time he starts, he’s a presence in the peloton. Sylvain is also in good shape. He will be there to try to get a good result. We can also count on Niki Terpstra who is having a good moment with his form. Really, the whole team is strong and in good form. For us it will be a good test for the future."

Starting at 14.30, you can follow the E3 Prijs Vlaanderen live on CyclingQuotes.com/live. Until then, you can prepare by reading our preview here.