UAE Emirates-XRG rectifies communication error regarding strong Tour of Flanders team built around Tadej Pogacar

Pogacar looked ahead to Sunday's race. "Flanders is an amazing race and for sure ranks as one of the most important victories in my career,” said the Slovenian. "The energy of the race and the passion for cycling in this region is something special."

In the Tour of Flanders, Pogacar will have last year's third, fourth, and fifth-placed riders, Nils Politt, Antonio Morgado, and Mikkel Bjerg, at his side. In addition, Wellens and Jhonatan Narváez will be there as strong domestiques, while Oliveira will probably have to take on a large part of the positioning and work in the first hours. "The team is very strong and I think we can give a really good showing to try and ride for the victory."

This will require beating Mathieu van der Poel, which Pogacar failed to do in Milan-Sanremo. "In Milan-Sanremo we had a great race and a good battle between the rivals, and I’m looking forward to doing it all again on Sunday, albeit in different circumstances."

Pogacar will arrive in Belgium on Tuesday and will do his recon on Wednesday, the day that some of his teammates will be riding Dwars door Vlaanderen: Wellens, Politt, Narváez, Bjerg and Oliveira will participate, as will Filippo Baroncini and Classic Brugge-De Panne winner Juan Sebastian Molano.

For Narváez, it will be his first race since Milan-Sanremo, after he was removed from the start list for the E3 Saxo Classic and Ghent-Wevelgem for unclear reasons.

Tadej Pogacar
Mikkel Bjerg
Nils Politt
Tim Wellens
Jhonatan Narváez
Antonio Morgado
Florian Vermeersch  

Filippo Baroncini
Mikkel Bjerg
Sebastian Molano
Nils Politt
Rui Oliveira
Jhonatan Narvaez
Tim Wellens