Florian Vermeersch, who made his race debut in last year's rain-affected Paris-Roubaix, finished an unexpected second.

The 23-year-old Vermeersch, who has endured a trying spring of bad luck, will lead the team in this event. Victor Kampenaerts, meanwhile, has been in the limelight for his impressive runs on the cobblestones, but has yet to achieve any significant results.

In Paris-Roubaix, veteran teammate Philippe Gilbert, the 2019 winner, will be racing for the last time before retiring at the end of the season.

The 39-year-old Gilbert suffered from bronchitis at the end of March and has had trouble breathing in recent races.

"I still have trouble breathing," Gilbert said at the team's pre-race press conference.

"Especially in the Amstel Gold race, when I had to do the hard climbs, I didn't have enough oxygen.

"Roubaix is more like one long effort than a small hill. Of course, ideally, I would like to be in the best condition, but that's something I can't control.

"I'm here primarily to share my experiences. Of course, I hope to play a role, not just ride, but it won't be easy because I haven't shown anything this season. But it's not going to be easy because I haven't shown anything yet this season.

Gilbert said that in an ideal world he would not be racing this weekend. However, he said the team has little choice but to stay on the World Tour beyond 2023.

"There are few other options," he said. There is a lot of pressure on teams to race." Tim Wellens had to go and race in France right after Brabantse Pijl. It's not easy for the team and there is a lot of stress in the points battle to stay on the World Tour.

"There is no long-term vision anymore. We live week by week, almost day by day. There is a lot of pressure."

Meanwhile, Vermeer is set to lead the Queen of the Classics and said he hopes to avoid the bad luck that has hit him so far in the cobbled Classics season.

"I haven't really shown my stuff yet and I'm a little disappointed. Unfortunately, I had a crash and a puncture, and because of that I had some problems with my back. There is nothing we can do about it and we have to come to terms with it. Hopefully the tide will turn soon."

Vermeer said that despite Gilbert's talk about competing for World Tour points, he does not feel pressure to get a result this Sunday; the 23-year-old will have more chances in the future, he said.

"It's not that I have to defend my spring in Roubaix or that I have to do so right now. The season is long and I am still young. There are a lot of opportunities in the spring. The past few weeks have been frustrating. I'm going to start with a 'anything is possible' mentality."

The third big name on the team is Campenaerts, who has shifted his focus from time trials to classics this year, with good results including top-five finishes at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Doire de Hlaanderen.

He told Cyclingnews that he will enter Roubaix with Vermeer's full support, rather than taking another shot at his own chances.

"I'm tired," he said. I want to be a good support for the team. I want to be a good support for the team, especially Florian, who was second last year. We'll see each other again."

"I give it an 8 out of 10. 'We had bad luck. I wanted to win at Dwars. We didn't succeed, but we tried. After this race I'll take a week off and get ready for the next one."