Despite his brilliant form that earned him his first win in the rainbow jersey at De Brabant Pyle, Julien Alaphilippe is still trying to dismiss the idea that he is the favorite to win the Tour de Flanders.

The new world champion, who spoiled Liège-Bastogne-Liège with premature celebrations and relegation, bounced back Wednesday in the De Brabanté Pile, which serves as a sort of crossover between the Ardennes Classics and the Flanders Classics. [This year was even more so with the introduction of the 550-meter-long, 8.9% average gradient, 17% pitch, rough, cobbled Mosquesstraat climb. There, Alaphilippe, teed up by Zdenek Stival, launched a big attack that signaled the start of the finale and raised expectations for his Flanders debut on Sunday, just one week away.

But after dispatching Mathieu Van der Poel and Benoit Kosnefrois in the sprint, Alaphilippe dismissed his own chances.

"I have achieved my goals for the season. I've also got rid of some of the frustration of Liege," he told the Belgian newspapers Het Nieuwsblad and Het Laatste Nieuws.

"This is my first time running the Ronde; it's a hard enough race for someone who has run it five or six times. I just came to watch. I don't know if I have the physical qualities to shine in the Ronde final. Just because you can have fun on the cobbles doesn't mean you can win."

Alaphilippe also pointed to the depth of the De Tuninck Quickstep team, the most successful team in the cobbled classics and always well-carded in Flanders.

In addition to Stival, Alaphilippe will line up alongside Yves Lampert, Caspar Asgreen, and Bob Jungels, all of whom have won major cobblestone races.

"Of course, I will play an important role in the team at De Ronde. I'm going to be a very important part of the team at De Ronde," Alaphilippe said.

According to Nieuwsblad, Alaphilippe will not return to his base in Andorra or to his home in central France, but will stay with his partner in northern France. This means that he will combine training with scouting the cobblestone climbs and narrow roads across the Belgian border.

"First I will recover a bit. Then we will explore the course twice. I'm interested, but there will be no stress or pressure on de Ronde."

"Please don't make me the favorite. I want to race well and help the team.