When it somes to spicing up an excitement by adding some internal rivelry into equation, BMC Racing team is second to none. The American squad will live up to all expectations from the very beginning of the spring classics season, lining-up at the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad with Greg Van Avermaet and Philippe Gilbert as co-captains. Are they going to do better than Etixx-Quick Step in last year's finale of that race? Van Avermaet remains optimistic.

Even though biggest objectives are still too distant for serious De Ronde or Paris-Roubaix contenders to be in decent form in the opening weekend, both Van Avermaet and Gilbert have a lot to prove in Omloop. For the former it's the season when he eventually must turn his near-misses into victories, while the latter badly wants to prove that taking a leadership in Flemish classics away from him was a mistake. It doesn't sound like a perfect recipe for a flawless team cooperation, but the 30-year old Belgian believes he is capable of bringing a victory home on Saturday.

„I badly want to win this Omloop, it could be the beginning of a beautiful spring,” Van Avermaet told Nieuwsblad on Friday.

A mistake in last year's Omloop finale prevented the BMC rider from playing his cards in last kilometers, but he insists it won't happen again.

„I won't do that mistake again. I suddenly found myself too far behind and I couldn't recover from that, even though together with Sep Vanmarcke we did out best. The train was already gone. I know where I'm at with my condition, I had good preparations. I did a reconnaissance of the route on Wednesday. I think it's very important to get that feeling of riding the cobbles and remind the course one more time.”

„The Omloop is the first warm-up for the spring classics. The line-up will be pretty much the same as in the Ronde van Vlaanderen. Everyone is in good condition or just about to reach it, but good condition and top form are not the same states. I'm gonna line-up at the start with very good sensations.”

„It's difficult to gauge the competition. It's a very special race. We're going to ride the cobbles for the first time in the season. Obviously, I expect a lot from Lotto-Soudal and Etixx-QuickStep camps. Especially the latter have something to make up for after last year, and we shouldn't forget about Alexander Kristoff either. He's collected a lot of victories recently.