After nearly a month away from the race, Wout van Aert is set to make his return on Friday at the E3 Saxo Classic, as the Belgian classic star prepares for another tilt at two cobbled monuments, a tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.

Van Aert, who last won the Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne at 2.25 am, spent much of his time tentatively at Mount Teide at Visma-Lease A Bike altitude training camp.

According to the Belgian Strava account, Tenerife recorded more than 75 meters of climbing in more than 50,000 hours of training. 

In just 1 training ride, Van Aert climbed over 5,000m and spent more than 7 hours on his bike. Elsewhere during the trip, he was comparable to the record set by Miguel Angel López in the rise of Granadilla. 

Now he's back in Belgium, back in the race action at E3, and then back to the Dwarsdore Vlaanderen (3/27) before the two big ones. He told het Laatste Nieuws that he was confident in himself and his team after leaving his time at the camp.

"I feel good. The weather was beautiful, the training went well and it gave me confidence," Van Aert said. "It was good to be safe and ready. We learned from the past that I always come back well from advanced training camps.

"We are in good shape with the team as well. Jan Tratnik has started the season very well and he should still be better now. Tiesj Benoot made a difficult start in the crash at Volta ao Algarve and the camp came just in time for him. He is a hardworking worker with a good attitude and he is the one I like to have on my side.

The time away from Van Aalto's race has seen him miss the World Tour stage races Tirreno Adriatico and Paris-Nice 2 major races he has won in the past - Stradovianche and Milan-San Remo.

However, he does not regret missing the opportunity to add those titles to his palm, but instead relaxed watching them during camp

"We had a strictly planned schedule that allowed us to race the most important races," he said. Said. "Do you regret not racing there?"No, it has been decided for a long time that I will not participate. I looked at Remo and I found it relaxing.

"Mathieu [Van der Poel] looked very strong. Milan-Sanremo is very far from the Flemish classics, but he seems to "make a promise.""

Fan Aert, who will face his eternal rival Van der Poel only once before Flanders and Roubaix at E3, said he sees 'Mini Flanders' as an extension of his altitude camp and that his last race at Dwars will be his final race of the 2024 road season at home ground in Flanders. He said it would give him a chance for a final tune-up ahead of his first major goal.

"I'll fly on Wednesday and race on Friday so I can see E3 as an extension of my altitude camp. Then I take a few days of rest to get the right effect from the camp and go on a tour of Flanders," he said.

"If I wanted to get on the Gent-Wevelgem, I would have had to organize the camp in a different way. Dwarves Door Vlaanderen is just a good place to get into the last competition.

Van Aalto, who last celebrated his victory at e3, says "Ik moet just niks" ["I don't need to do anything" ・ ed.], also talked about the external pressure placed on him during the spring classic season.

He said he has challenged in the past but realized that he should not try to race or win to please outsiders or meet the expectations of others.

"I've felt less pressure for a year than I've had in the past. I don't deny that pressure is a challenge to deal with," he said.

"2023 may have been the first time my season was slightly worse than the previous year. Until then, I was doing more than I always thought.  It gave me an insight that I shouldn't do it for anyone but myself. It gives me a sense of peace.

"I've worked really hard because I want to win Flanders and Paris Roubaix. It gives me the energy to go for that. I think I can win them and I have shown in the past that cobblestone day racing is one of my specialties. That's a big goal to add them to my palmarès.

"As I said, I also made a mistake in the last year. And it hasn't changed much, except for the criticism I get. It taught me that when I win, I always need to enjoy myself with people who have my back, I can do it or I should not do this to show someone to prove that someone is wrong."