Kasper Asgreen was the last Soudal-QuickStep rider to win Tour of Flanders, earning his stunning 2021 victory in a two-up sprint against then-defending champion Mathieu van der Poel.
It was a year that Soudal-QuickStep reigned supreme in the Spring Classics, winning five of the one-day spring races. Asgreen accounted for a pair of the victories, having notched a solo win at E3 Saxo Classic ahead of his Monument triumph. Julian Alaphilippe won La Flèche Wallonne for a third time, with podiums at Strade Bianche and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
After the 2021 campaign, the steady stream of Classics conquests subsided. Two riders - Remco Evenepoel winning back-to-back at Liège-Bastogne-Liège the past two years and Tim Merlier winning Nokere Koerse twice - earned the big results. At Flanders, Asgreen was the top QuickStep finisher in 2022 in 23rd position and rebounded for a top 10 last year.
“Going into De Ronde, it’s pretty clear for everyone that we are in a different situation than in the past. We would have preferred to be in the position we were a couple of years ago, but we aren’t and that’s a fact,” Asgreen said Friday in advance of his sixth appearance at the Ronde.
“Being frustrated by the fact we aren’t the same team anymore or sitting in a corner crying won’t help us.
“We have to work hard to return to the level we had in the past, but it’s obvious that for Sunday afternoon we’ll need to adapt and bring something different. As we aren’t the team that has to control the race anymore and dictate how it unfolds, we’ll try to be in a position where we can do something interesting with a solid result in mind.”
Last year’s runner-up at Flanders Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) returns as a clear favourite, now that several contenders are out due to injuries sustained in Dwars door Vlaanderen, including Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike), Jasper Stuyven (Lidl-Trek).
“Following Wednesday’s Dwars door Vlaanderen things have changed and it’s very likely we will see a different race than we were used to, with a completely new dynamic,” Asgreen said.
“We’ll have to anticipate, but that’s not a secret. Flanders is a race with many crucial points and we need to find the one that suits us and works to our advantage.”
Asgreen lines up with Alaphilippe, Merlier, Yves Lampaert, Gianni Moscon, Casper Pedersen and Bert van Lerberghe. He said the Oude Kwaremont was a key section of the course where a number of riders could take advantage of the situation presented. He also said that as the longest climb, it was the best place to attack.
“Many are already suffering there and near the top you can make the difference if you have the power, even if it’s not that steep.”
Team manager Patrick Lefevere told media on Friday he was optimistic to reverse a “negative spiral” of the team in the Classics.
“Things are not going well at the moment, but the boys are doing their best. We are in a negative spiral,” he told HLN. “I always look forward to the Tour of Flanders. It's a home game. We keep faith in the boys and you never know what can happen.”
Asgreen confirmed that the team was motivated for a good results, and was not ready to give up without a fight.
“We come to the start with a good team and we have to race as one and believe in ourselves, because as everyone knows, the Wolfpack never gives up. It’s a Monument, and one of the hardest races of the season for that matter, and anything can happen.”
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