Etixx-QuickStep’s manager Patrick Lefevere says that while there are a few riders who are stronger than his in the Tour of Flanders, his squad is far superior to anyone else and this can help the team win the race.

“Today, I think we have the strongest team but there are maybe two or three riders who one or two per cent more than everyone else – Fabian Cancellara, Peter Sagan and Greg Van Avermaet – but the others aren’t any stronger than us,” Lefevere said at Etixx-QuickStep’s pre-Tour of Flanders press conference on Friday.

Indeed, the team has cards to play in Zdenek Stybar, Tom Boonen, Niki Terpstra, Stijn Vandenbergh and Matteo Trentin. Niko Maes, Tony Martin and Iljo Keisse will support them.

Stybar is the probable leader, as he has shown the best form and has the fastest sprint outside of Trentin, who may not last the distance. Stybar suffered last weekend after a crash in Sanremo but says he will be at his best today.

“I worked hard enough to be on a good level in these weeks. But maybe I missed a little after the crash in San Remo, I lacked a bit of energy last week,” Stybar said. “It’s all about the little details as you can see. Everybody is so close to each other. But I’ll be 100 per cent on Sunday for Flanders.”

Lefevere says that despite their only cobbled win coming through Terpstra at Le Samyn, his team has only been beaten physically, rather than tactically.

“For me, we haven’t been beaten tactically. We’ve been beaten physically but I haven’t seen any team that’s stronger than us,” Lefevere said. “With the strength of the team we have, we need to isolate the other leaders. The more riders you have up there, the more chances you have.”