AG2R La Mondiale team leader Oliver Naessen's preparations for this Sunday's Tour de Flanders are not going as well as he would like. Crashes in both the Bink Bank Tour and Ghent-Wevelgem have shaken, but not upset, the Belgian rider.

He does not start as one of the big favourites - that moniker is widely attributed to Wout Van Aert (Jumbo Visma), Mathieu Van Der Poel (Alpecin Phoenix), and Julien Alaphilippe (Elegant Quickstep ) and others widely attributed to the team--but Nessen knows the local roads, but with Nessen's familiarity with the local roads, his strength in the Classics, and the support of Grand Tour specialist Romain Bardet in his last race in AG2R, the 30-year-old Nessen should be able to finish at least in the top five.

Speaking at a press conference on Friday ahead of this weekend's race, Nyssen said: "I have a chance. There are many scenarios that could work out for me and, in fact, the Tour de Flanders is tactically very simple."

"I have to wait until the last Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg (within the last 20km). I would be happy with a top-five finish," said Het Laatste Nieuws.

Commenting on his recent crash, Nessen said: "There is nothing wrong with the bike. But I still feel it. After the crash at Bink Bank, my knee is very sensitive. It never gets better after a crash like that.

"After the fall in Ghent-Wevelgem, only one day was wasted. But that's in the past."

On Sunday, Naessen expects support from his brother Laurens, Sylvain Dillier, Julien Duval, Alexis Gujard, Stein Vandenberg, and especially Bardet.

"I think he'll be with us the longest on Sundays. 'That would be useful. Romain will do well. He doesn't know the way. During the week, he has been watching TV footage of the last 50 kilometers of past races. On Thursday and Friday he trained on the course.

Asked if he was overestimating Bardet's role as a climbing specialist, Naessen said flatly that he was not.

"That's not true. On Thursday's reconnaissance run, we ran up Ude Kwaremont at full speed. It was his first time on the cobblestones. Isn't that nice?"

"On Strava, he's immediately ranked in the top 10 all-time.

"He's motivated. After the lockdown, when it became clear that the Tour de Flanders would be held in the fall, Bardet wanted to run here first, or after the Tour de France, as a goodbye to the team," Nessen continued, and Bardet will move to Sunweb in 2021.

"Grand Tour riders are physically stronger than one-day specialists. When it comes to the top of the pyramid, Romain is just the rider to be found there."

Bardet's French compatriot Alaphilippe will be making his first appearance in Flanders, and likewise has high hopes for the road racing world champion.

"His rainbow jersey will make space in the peloton. Trek-Segafredo is also a very good team, maybe the second strongest.

"But it's hard to predict whether Alaphilippe will make it to the finals.

AG2R La Mondiale in the 2020 Tour de Flandre: Romain Bardet, Sylvain Dillier, Julien Duval, Alexis Gujard, Oliver Naessen, Laurens Naessen, Stein Vandenberg [29