Greg Van Avermaet has had a great start to the year. The BMC Racing rider was very competitive at the Tour of Qatar and the Tour of Oman. At the opening of the classic season last weekend, he was one of the best rider in Belgium. He won his first Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on Saturday and now he hopes to shine again in April.

"I always had the feeling that Flanders is the best race for me because it’s longer", he told Cyclingnews. "I’m a guy who gets better when it gets longer. For me it’s always pretty hard in a 200 kilometres long race like the E3 Harelbeke. It’s a hard race but for me it’s always harder to get a result in Harelbeke than in Flanders. This race suits me. Maybe it’s early in the season and everybody is still waiting for their form. When you’re heading to Gent here it’s so hard. This one feels like a big classic in the end and this is in my advantage."

Now, his preparation is only focusing on the Tour de Flanders. The Belgian rider would like to add his name to the palmares. "I’m still making progress. I will still ride a few years. Even when I’m 35 I’ll still be able to win the Tour of Flanders. For sure the years are [going by]. There’s only one Tour of Flanders every year. Every chance you have to take with both hands. I was twice on the podium. It doesn’t have to happen this year but I would like to do it."