Matteo Jorgenson will head into Sunday's Tour de Flanders as the leader of the Visma Ries-a-Bike, completely changing his original plans after Wout Van Aert's big crash at Dwars door Hlaanderen forced him to miss the De Ronde.

The young American rider told Cycling News before the start of the midweek classic that he "can't control all the variables," but four hours later, with Van Aert hospitalized with a broken collarbone, ribs, and sternum, he never would have guessed he would cross the line to win He would never have expected to cross the victory line.

He revealed at the team's press conference in Ghent that Plan B had not been fully formalized after the big star was forced to withdraw from his biggest goal.

"If you look at the man-hours spent on the original plan, I think you can understand that the new plan with the riders we have is not yet complete," Jorgenson said.

The Dutch team has gone from being co-champions with arguably the best team to being underdogs against Mathieu van der Pol (Alpecin-Desseuninck). He is expected to win his historic third Tour de Flanders, matching the record set by Boonen, Cancellara, and Museeuw.

"We don't even know the final plan yet, but basically we have to beat the pressure from Alpecin.

"There is one clear favorite and I think that is Mathieu van der Pol.

However, Jorgenson assured that he and Wisma should not be underestimated in this race. He is getting better, especially after winning Dwars door Hlaanderen and finishing fifth in the E3 Saxo Classic.

"I think I'm still the best in the world, so you can never count on us," Jorgenson said, but he is well aware that many things can go wrong in a 6-hour, 270-km race.

"Van der Pol as a rider is definitely a step above us in theory, but it's a motorcycle race and as we have seen in the past, a lot can happen.

Jorgenson admitted that he still doesn't know how far he can go after winning the Paris-Nice overall earlier this month and the Dwars door Hlaanderen two days ago, reaching new heights in 2024.

"I have to remain realistic and give my best on Sunday. But my legs are completely new this year and I think I am still finding my limits," Jorgenson said.

"The truth is, I still don't know where I exploded, so what I felt after Wednesday was a new level of confidence in a race like this.

Jorgenson had the perfect tactic after Van Aert crashed in the middle of the Classic. Instead, Jorgenson teamed up with Thijsje Benoot to win the race and beat his fellow escapees to a bittersweet but stunning victory.

Benoot also spoke highly of his North American teammate at a press conference at the KAA Ghent stadium.

"Honestly, I think Flanders suits him better than Dwars door Hlaanderen. It's a longer, harder race," Benoot said.

"Personally, I prefer hard races," agreed Jorgenson. 'I do better in races that are hard from start to finish.'

Benoot explained that the two-hour race and the elevation gain work in Jorgenson's favor, as it did for climbers like last year's Flanders winner, Tadej Pogachar (UAE Team Emirates).

Pogachar's absence also changed things for Jorgenson.

"It's a big change (with Pogachar gone). He's obviously a player you can count on in the finals," Jorgenson told Cycling News. 'Now I have to concentrate on Mathieu van der Pol.'

Jorgenson was able to gain valuable route information from the Belgian, who had a perfect finish in the Dwar door Hlaanderen final.

However, the 24-year-old from Boise, Idaho, became something of a local expert before his second appearance in De Ronde.

"I think I wasn't a bad rider already, and I'm proud of my ninth place result in Flanders (in 2023)," Jorgenson said.

"But there's no doubt that I've improved a lot since then, in many ways. [One of them is my knowledge of the area, which I learned from the team after doing the Flanders and Roubaix recondances in November, and I feel like I have a better understanding of the lay of the land and the flow of the races around here."[8

Jorgenson is co-leader of Vimalies a Bike with Benoot and Dylan van Baarle, while Tim and Mick van Dijk, Edoardo Affini, and Per Strand Hagenes will also start in Antwerp. If they finish first in Oudenaarde, they will become the first Americans to win the Tour of Flanders.

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