Florian Vermeersch: "If I can beat Tadej Pogačar, it’s at Paris-Roubaix"
His move to UAE Emirates XRG was quite a surprising one at the time, but it has paid off well for Florian Vermeersch. In fact, riding for the star team, the Belgian has made strong progress and is increasingly showing up in the top races. "I'm slowly coming into my prime," he describes himself in an interview with Het Laatste Nieuws.
And so (almost) everything has to give way to racing. "I put my history studies at UGent on hold and although our party is now called Anders, my political ambitions remain limited to the Lochristi town hall. Now I’m putting everything into cycling. I was only sick once in November, but had a good winter. My level has improved compared to last year."
"That bruised my ego"
This must lead to new sporting successes and – above all – victories by 2026, because that is something Vermeersch is still a bit lacking. "That’s an issue. After last season, only eight riders on our team had a zero behind their name. I was one of them. That bruised my ego, even though I rode a very good season."
The 26-year-old classics rider hopes to win more often this year, but for Vermeersch that’s no reason to slam his fist on the table and demand team leadership in certain races. "In the Omloop, Kuurne, De Panne, E3 Saxo Classic, Wevelgem, Waregem, and Roubaix I have sportive space."
"I like to take on the role of the underdog. I'm not Victor Campenaerts saying, ‘I'm going to drop everyone on the Molenberg.’ You can only make statements like that if you’ve already won a lot, which isn’t the case for me. Hopefully that changes soon."
Dreaming of Paris-Roubaix
Vermeersch mainly dreams of a breakthrough performance in Paris-Roubaix, although in this race he has to take his teammate and team leader Tadej Pogacar into account. Is this a curse or a blessing for the 2021 runner-up? "Definitely not a curse. You’re better off in the camp of the best than having to race against them. [...] In Roubaix I see Tadej as a lightning rod for me, although there’s a good chance he’ll be up front."
"If it’s possible in one race, then it’s Roubaix, but Tadej is so good that you never know. On the cobbles, I can follow Tadej and even occasionally hurt him. Extra weight helps on the cobbles."
