Freire thinks of Ronde van Vlaanderen

Three-time World Champion Oscar Freire is thinking of the Ronde van Vlaanderen (Tour of Flanders). The Spaniard had a successful run this last weekend in Belgium. He made his way over the numerous cobbled climbs of Saturday's E3 Prijs and then swooped in the next day to win the Brabantse Pijl for a third time running.

"I was good on Saturday but I didn't really know the roads," Freire said of the E3 Prijs. "I guess that will be different next week in the Tour of Flanders [Ronde - ed.]." The E3 is considered as an indicator for the Ronde van Vlaanderen, April 8, and the 31 year-old Spaniard now figures he knows the Hellingen (climbs) well enough that he could be considered a favourite.

"A hat-trick! Not bad, eh..." he noted of Sunday's win to Belgium's VRT. "A hat-trick in the Brabantse Pijl! Not bad, eh?. But then this course was made for me."

Rabobank dominated the finale by placing two of its men in the winning move. "I was still a bit tired from yesterday's E3 race but Michael Boogerd was brilliant. He really took control of the race during the last eight kilometres."

The Dutch squad, with the win, also made up for missing out in Saturday's E3. In contrast, Quick-Step, who won on Saturday, but missed out on the winning move in Brabantse Pijl.