In Van der Poel's absence, Alpesen Desoninck is counting on two hill specialists in Flesch Walloon

Alpecin-Deceuninck has been the team to look to in past Classics, due to the presence of Mathieu van der Poel, but without the world champion, the Belgian line-up will start on Wednesday in the Flèche Wallonne without a clear favourite. Quentin Hermans and Axel Lawrence now have to pull the chestnuts out of the fire.

Van der Poel was not at the start for Flèche Wallonne and that will not be the case on Wednesday either. The 29-year-old Dutchman can be found this week in his usual training environment near Denia and Calpe, as he prepares for his final spring competition: Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

His Alpecin-Deceuninck team therefore has to take a different approach in Flèche Wallonne. The successful formation puts Quentin Hermans and Axel Lawrence up front as leaders. Earlier this month, Hermans won a stage in the Tour of the Basque Country and also finished sixth in the Brabantse Beagle. Under-23 world champion Lawrence has already enjoyed success this year at the Star of Bessèges and the Tour of Catalunya.

Alpecin-Deceuninck also relies on Søren Krage Andersen, Stan van Tricht, Luca Virgalito, Zandro Morris, and Juri Holman.