In the mixed zone of the Tour of Flanders in Antwerp, the riders were forced to answer how they would beat favorite Mathieu van der Pol (Alpecin Deceuninck) for the second time this season in the Monument.

Dutch rival Wout Van Aert (Wisma Ries a Bike) missed the race after a big crash in the Dwar door Hlaanderen, and the best team in the Flanders Classics, Lidl Trek, suffered the same accident.

Defending champion Tadej Pogachar (UAE Team Emirates) is likewise absent from the event, which only increases van der Pol's chances, but one of the main domestiques from 2023, Matteo Trentin (Tudor) believes the only way to beat van der Pol is to get away before he attacks.

"I need to get in front of him and take him by surprise to take advantage," Trentin told Cycling News at the start.

"There are a couple of guys like Van der Pol who are in a different league, so my role will not change. That's more or less how I supported Tadei [Pogachar] last year.

Trentin was 10th in Flanders last year, ahead of the group of winners. Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) was on the podium as well, but the Dane said that "a sprint race between me and him [Van der Pol] would be ideal if possible."

Even after losing two strong teammates, E3 runner-up Jasper Stuyven and Alex Kirsch, Pedersen told CyclingPronet that Trek is not going to change its tactics in Flanders, leading the pack and anticipating against the Dutchman He suggested using numbers as poses.

Trying to get ahead in the race is far from a new tactic in De Ronde, but this year it seems to be the only route to victory ahead of the top of Van der Pol, where all eyes will be on his rainbow jersey.

"It depends on when Mathieu goes, but I would predict it if I could," Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious) told Cycling News.

"Hopefully, someone will make a move early on. Then Matej [Mohoric] will be behind and he'll come across.

"We'll see who has the legs in the end. That's the plan, but in a race like this nobody knows. We'll find out eventually."

Both Mohoric and Wright spoke about the aforementioned crash that affected their starting lists and tactics today.

"It's not necessarily that Mathieu is the big favorite," Mohoric told CyclingPronet.

"I think there will be a lot of riders looking to get ahead of Mathieu and the race will unfold early on. It will be a more chaotic race, more attacks, more riders trying to escape."

Mohoric and Wright will be prime candidates to test the anticipatory moves, as they have not had a very strong run in the E3 Saxo Classic "Mini Tour of Flanders."

Van der Pol has had an incredible race in Flanders, with his worst result being fourth place in his debut race in 2019. Since then, he has finished first or second every time and believes his team is capable of living up to all expectations.

"I think there will be a lot of attacks from quite a distance, but I think we have the team strength to handle it," van der Pol told CyclingProNet in Antwerp.

"Also, there are still other teams that believe they can win.

If van der Pol keeps his popular status and wins his third Tour de Flanders, he will tie Tom Boonen and Fabian Cancellara for the most wins in Flanders.