Both athletes are not among the absolute top contenders to win the race, which should be the first wet race in nearly 20 years, but Nessen has struggled with overtraining this year, and Van Avermaat himself admits that a top-10 finish would be a good result.
The two spoke about the race at a press conference on Friday afternoon, with Van Avermaert, who won a sprint victory at the velodrome in 2017, saying he is not in a position to win this year.
"I'm getting better. The road is no longer downhill, it's a little uphill," the Belgian said.
"And the Belgian said: 'I'm not going downhill anymore.' It's strange to say it, but I can't ask for more. We have to be realistic.""Based on my body signals and the results so far, a top 10 is ideal. I'm hoping for a very good day and I'll use my experience to my advantage
"I think I'm ready for Roubaix in the spring after a good run in the Tour de Flanders. There are a lot of question marks around my name right now. I didn't race at this level and at this distance beforehand."
[11Meanwhile, co-runner Nessen has endured a tough season as a result of overtraining in order to be in top shape for the World Championships in Flanders; the 31-year-old trained for 28 hours earlier this year, which led to burnout and and was not selected for the World Championships, which had been his "career goal," he said.
Over the past week, Nessen trained for six hours, competed in Kermesse, and GP Fred de Bruyne, which he won, but he said he expects the World Championships to give him an advantage Sunday.
"There are riders who ran the World Championships, and I think it's an advantage to have done such a big job a week before Paris-Roubaix. But there's always the possibility of a 'decompression factor' for the athletes who had the World Championships as their big goal, and they could suffer the consequences on Sunday. [What I did] was certainly not the World Championships."
Nessen admitted that he is not a popular rider like the much talked about Wout Van Aert or Mathieu Van Der Pol, but he noted that Paris-Roubaix could produce a surprise winner. He expects to follow in the footsteps of Johan Van Summeren and Mathieu Heymann in the record books.
"I see this race as a classic where everything is possible and some winners are not expected at all. Personally, I had a great race in Roubaix, despite the crashes and mechanical problems, and I'm looking forward to the next one." You can want it all, but you can also go home with nothing. In Paris-Roubaix, everything is open."
"On Sunday, it's 90 percent rankings and 10 percent conditions. What is impossible in other classics is possible here. Every year, unexpected riders end up on the podium.
The expected inclement weather will be a major factor during the race. Van Avermaert said that a rainy Roubaix would only add more stress from the very stressful dry races of the past few years.
"I've never raced in the rain before," he said. 'It rained in the morning and the night before. In the races before that (women's and junior), the cars would be spitting mud too."
"I know the stress of a dry Roubaix, but this time it will be worse. When it's really wet, it becomes very important to make the right decisions.
"It's going to be a great race in the rain because there will be a tailwind and the speed will be higher.
Nyssen added that the possibility of crosswinds will also make things tougher.
"I think the course is comparable to Paris-Roubaix in the spring. However, at this time of year, there are fewer cornfields, more open areas, and you can feel the wind.
"Because the cobblestones on Sunday will be different from what we saw.
"In the dry it is the most dangerous race of the year, but in the rain it is something else. No one who knows this race wants to run on the cobblestones in the rain, but that's part of the game. Those who want to run in the rain don't know the race."
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