This weekend, Quick Step Alphavinil heads to Paris-Roubaix, the queen of the classics.

The team's classics team had a disastrous month in Belgium and the Netherlands, failing to even make the podium in the cobbled classics races.

La Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège await for world champion Julien Alaphilippe, but Sunday's race is all or nothing for the likes of Caspar Asgreen and Yves Lampère. It is likely to be an all or nothing race for the likes of Kasper Asgreen and Yves Lemper.

Asgreen and Lampère, who have both been hit by the physical ailments of many Quick Step riders in recent weeks, said at a pre-race press conference on Thursday that the team will be in "attack mode, not defense mode" on the cobbles of northern France.

"The weather is dry. So I think we will be fast." Hopefully we won't have bad luck this time. I'm sure everyone will have a strong race."

"We want to come into the race with as much as we can and be able to take the race into our own hands. In a race like Roubaix, it's hard to say what the really detailed tactics are. You never know what will happen in any given place, but we'll go in attack mode instead of defense mode."

The Belgian will lead the team with Asgreen, who looks to be in good shape after finishing sixth in the Amstel Gold Race, Frenchman Florian Senechal, and veteran Zdenek Stibal. Along with Jumbo Visma and Ineos Grenadier, the team is one of the strongest in Compiègne.

Lampert explained that his team is not used to controlling the race from the front and leading the peloton. While Quick-Step Alphavini has been suffering from physical problems, Jumbo and Ineos have been doing so for the past few weeks, and Lampaert said he is confident that he and his teammates will be able to regain their usual positions on Sunday.

"The big difference is that we are a little bit stuck in the third or fourth line of the race. And that's where a lot of bad luck is happening."

"I'm not used to racing in that position and I'm hoping to regain my first row position. I'm confident that will happen on Sunday."

"But we have to remember that we all have problems. It takes time to recover well and we will try to be at 100 percent on Sunday."

Asgreen is the only Monument winner on the Quick-Step Alphavinyl team, and he has been through the Tour de Flanders. Nevertheless, there are many other riders who feel the same way.

"You're at the start, so you have a chance to win, but it won't be easy.

"But I think there are 180 riders on the start line, and I think we've got a good chance of winning.

"I've been feeling good the last few weeks. Not every race has gone the way I wanted it to, but I believe I have the form I need to win races."

"I'm not sure if I'll be able to win every race, but I'm confident that I have the form I need to win races.

"I think we are getting closer and closer with the team every race. In Flanders and Amstel, everyone rode a perfect race and we were in a good position to keep up with the best riders. I am confident we can do the same on Sunday."

The illnesses that have struck many riders around the team and the peloton, including Van Aert, who is returning from a COVID-19 infection, will also affect the race, said Lampaert, who is himself fighting to get in shape.

"I think there are a lot of athletes who got sick and suffered," he said. 'It's not like you can get a fever or something and be fine in 10 days, it takes time this year, and it's not easy to catch up with the guys who are in great shape.

"Sometimes we try to train a little early because the spring classics don't wait for the sick. But at the end of the day, it's not easy to start at such a high level of racing if you're not at 100%."

"So it's definitely going to be difficult. But I think I trained well enough at the Circuit de la Sarthe to be at 100% on Sunday. The race was hard, so hopefully I'll be in top condition."