There’s a lot of cycling in Belgium these days. Yesterday Dwars door Vlaanderen took place, tomorrow it’s E3 Harelbeke and on Sunday it’s time for Ghent-Wevelgem. The E3 Harelbeke is a WorldTour race that takes the riders through the Flemish Ardennes over hills that are also on the route of the one hundredth Ronde van Vlaanderen next week.

Jürgen Roelandts is one of the leaders in the Lotto Soudal team.

“Between Milan-Sanremo and E3 Harelbeke I took some rest," he said. "On Sunday Jens Debusschere and I did a ride of about two hours, on Monday I took a rest day. The past days and today I did a short training ride. That rest is important to fully recover from Milan-Sanremo and to be fresh for the two upcoming classics: E3 Harelbeke on Friday and Ghent-Wevelgem on Sunday.

“The E3 is a race I like. The hills are quite close to each other, your position is even more important than at Dwars door Vlaanderen. The bad weather that is forecasted for tomorrow and Sunday could be an advantage. In the past I proved that I can ride a finale after a wet and tough race. Remember Ghent-Wevelgem last year.

“It’s good that we have several strong riders in our team who can ride a finale. Tiesj Benoot left again a good impression in Dwars door Vlaanderen, so he’ll definitely play his role on Friday. Last year he launched me for the sprint for a top ten place. The team is in a winning mood. Jens won a nice semi classic and I am happy with my third place at Milan-Sanremo. With these results we already performed well in two important races.

“I have the feeling my condition is still improving. By the end of Tirreno-Adriatico I felt better than at the start. In the penultimate stage I was fourth of the bunch in a tough sprint, which confirmed I was ready for Milan-Sanremo. Jens and I stayed in Italy and further prepared ourselves there. That turned out to be successful for both of us. I was third Saturday and Jens won yesterday. In the meantime the Ronde van Vlaanderen is coming closer, it’s only ten days to go. I could quietly prepare myself for the Classics and got better each race. I think I can still add some percentages to my condition and am really looking forward to the rest of the spring.”

While sports director Herman Frison is still reminiscing about the victory of Jens Debusschere at Dwars door Vlaanderen, he’s also thinking about the upcoming Classics.

“It was a beautiful victory of Jens yesterday. The whole team did a good job in the race. Our riders took the initiative and rode aggressively. At the end Jens finished it off. That’s how we like it. The team has the right spirit. Tim Wellens won a stage in Paris-Nice, there was the third place of Jürgen Roelandts at Milan-Sanremo and now the victory of Jens. This is a motivation for everyone.

“Tomorrow we want to aim for the victory again. The condition of our riders is promising. Tiesj Benoot and Jürgen Roelandts are our leaders for the E3 tomorrow, a small Ronde van Vlaanderen actually. They have a strong team around them that can support them.”

Line-up Lotto Soudal: 

Tiesj Benoot, Sean De Bie, Jasper De Buyst, Frederik Frison, Pim Ligthart, Jürgen Roelandts, Marcel Sieberg and Jelle Wallays.