Roodhooft unfazed by competition in Tour of Flanders: "I don't care if they do"

This Sunday, the Flemish Cycling Week ends with the Tour of Flanders. There, Mathieu van der Poel will attempt to win for the fourth time, although Tadej Pogacar will be happy to get in the way. The Slovenian world champion will have to beat Van der Poel on his home ground, but how? Philip Roodhooft, Van der Poel's team manager at Alpecin-Deceuninck, does not seem to find that question particularly interesting.

This is Pogacar's third time competing in the Tour of Flanders. In his previous two participations, he already beat Van der Poel (in 2023), while the Dutch rider beat him the year before. Van der Poel seems unbeatable in his current form, which makes the competition think: how can we prevent the Dutch rider from winning a fourth Tour of Flanders?

'He's a better sprinter than me, that's for sure,' said Pogacar - the biggest threat to Van der Poel in the run-up to the Tour of Flanders. "And I think he's better on the cobbles. I'll have to try not to let him take me to the sprint, but if that happens, there's nothing for it but to give it my all.'"

"Anything can happen," the Slovenian world champion continued his analysis. "There are many climbs here that I can use to my advantage, but with his form, it will be a difficult job anyway. It's not like I'm looking for revenge or anything," he said, slightly lowering expectations for Sunday.

Read more below the photo!

Pogacar was beaten by Van der Poel in the sprint at Milan-Sanremo

Roodhooft is very clear about Pogacar and other competitors

Enough about the opponents. What does Alpecin-Deceuninck expect from the competition? Sports director Philip Roodhooft has a clear answer. "I don't care," the Belgian says bluntly to Cyclingnews. 2I don't know if teams will try something, and I don't care if they do."

Roodhooft, therefore, believes that Van der Poel and the Belgian formation should mainly look to themselves. "I think we have proven in the last three or four years that we can win in the Classics, and the more we win, the more difficult the goal is to achieve again. But we have to trust in our potential."

Alpecin-Deceuninck is traveling to Bruges full of confidence, where the 109th edition of the Tour of Flanders will start on Sunday morning. "We work for it, and sometimes it comes, but for the moment, it seems we are on the right side of the track," Roodhooft concludes. Pogacar better watch out!

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