Two riders, one goal: Florian and Remco on the team time trial

Florian Lipowitz: My break was super long, and that's one of the reasons why I wanted to head south quickly, where it's warm. The preparation went smoothly and was good. I didn't have to change too much in terms of training.

Remco Evenepoel: It was a little busier than in previous years. There were a lot of things to discuss and test. I was in the Specialized wind tunnel in the USA and at Red Bull's APC. And of course with the team at the training camp.

Remco Evenepoel: It's very special. Nobody has probably ever started the season with a TTT. In a normal road race, you can still get used to it for a few hours before the final. But now it starts straight away: about 25 minutes of full power and pain in the legs.

Florian Lipowitz: In the race itself, you hardly have time to think about how hard it's about to get, which is perhaps an advantage at that moment. The preparation is crucial. We have invested a lot of time. I think we are well prepared.

Remco Evenepoel: You can train as much as you want: It counts in the race. But nobody knows where they stand at this point in the season. That's another reason why we should perhaps take things a little more relaxed. I don't mean that we won't give it our all. It's an important day, but not the most important day of the season. It's no secret that we're here to prepare for the Tour de France. If we draw our conclusions for July, we can still make mistakes now. It can't be perfect now either.

Remco Evenepoel: Above all, it's about trust and communication. When we started the first training sessions for the TTT, there was definitely a sense of hesitation. It got better the second time, and even more so the third. Everyone knows what they have to do. The closer the race comes, the better the teamwork becomes. A TTT is a team effort, but it's important that each rider have a focus on their own tasks. We have fun on the bike, we laugh, we discuss things in the right way. If someone makes a mistake, they admit it. It's important that we can be so honest with each other.

Florian Lipowitz: That would be winning the team time trial, of course. For me personally, but also for the whole team, that would be an important success, because it would really push us on and give us a good feeling for the rest of the season.

Remco Evenepoel: Of course we want to do the best we can. You can see that we want to win just by looking at the team we're competing with. I think we will do well. I am confident.