Not surprisingly, Quick-Step Alphavinir has 59 wins on cobblestones through 2003.

This Belgian team has eight wins in the Tour de Flanders and six in Paris-Roubaix. The cobblestone monuments are still weeks away, but the first order of business is the opening weekend and Saturday's Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.

They will lead perhaps the strongest team in the peloton this year for the opening race of the Classic: the Dane Kasper Asgreen, winner of last year's E3 Saxo Bank Classic and Tour of Flanders, including Yves Lampère, Florian Senechal, and Zdenek Stejbal. He leads the team.

No other team on the starting line boasts four winners. Jumbo Wisma of the Netherlands is the closest, with Wout Van Aert, Mike Tunissen, and Tiesj Benoot lining up in Ghent. Therefore, a battle between the two teams is expected.

"I'm sure they have to take some responsibility for the reinforcements they have made to the Classic roster, and I don't think they are afraid of that," Asgreen said of Jumbo Bisma.

"I expect them to have a good partner to control the race. And if they make it to the final, obviously it will be a rivalry. But there are always strong teams, so I don't think it will be too different from previous years."

"It's hard to say if they're stronger or the same strength, because it's hard to say if they're going to be the same.

"It depends on the leg strength of the riders that day; if one or two riders are out of shape, it can work in our favor or in their favor. I think the level of professional cycling in general is high right now. It's certainly not just us and Jumbo Visma."

Asgreen named himself, Lemper, Seneschal, and Stybar as team leaders for Saturday ("a pretty flat hierarchy").

Bluff or truth?

Asgreen developed COVID-19 earlier this month and missed the Tour de la Provence.

Still, his rivals have their eyes on him.

"I'm completely recovered from the illness," he said. Obviously, I couldn't train a bit. It obviously affected him in the Algarve, and I think it will still affect him here and probably in Tirreno-Adriatico.

"Luckily, Roubaix was a little later this year, so we already had some training blocks scheduled. So now we can make up for that delay, and hopefully we'll be okay for the Classics in late March/early April, but we have to be realistic that we're still not at 100 percent because we've backed off a little bit.

Asgreen and Quickstep Alphavinir's other three co-leaders include veteran road captain Iljo Keisse, reliable domestique Bert van Lerberghe, and the powerful Josef Cerny.

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad champion Davide Ballerini will not return to defend his title, and Julian Alaphilippe will forgo cobbling this season. Young riders Jannik Steimle and Stan Van Trijdt will get a chance here and there, while sprinter Fabio Jacobsen will ride for the Classics, starting with the Cune Brussel Cune on Sunday.

However, the absence of Belgian Tim Declercq, who was struck by pericarditis in the Algarve, is unplanned. While he will be missed over the weekend and in the coming weeks, Asgreen said he is confident his teammates will be able to fill the void.

"Obviously, it's a big loss for the team to not have Tim here. He has great experience in these races and it's not easy to control the race," Asgreen said. So his not being here will definitely affect the race."

"But Josef is here as a replacement. He's new to the Classics, but he's got a big engine and I think he'll do well. I did a reconnaissance yesterday and he seemed to be good on the cobblestones. I hope he will do a really good job in Tim's place."

"Every year we have newcomers who step up when we need them, and this year will be no different. We also have Yannick Steimle and Stan Van Trijdt joining the Classic team a little later, and they are also very much looking forward to seeing them in these races."