Since the opening weekend, the Dutch Jumbo Visma has been the star of the spring classics with Wout Van Aert, Christophe Laporte, and Tiesj Benoot.

Two of this trio will race in Paris-Roubaix on Sunday. Van Aert will be returning from a COVID-19 infection, while Laporte will return to the race in which he finished sixth last year.

Dutch fastman Mike Tunissen and Belgian Nathan Van Hooydonk will also form the strongest team in Compiègne if Van Aert is in good form.

Although star rider Van Aert did not participate in Thursday's reconnaissance ride of the final 100 km of the Paris-Roubaix course, Laporte was present and spoke about the Belgian champion's form before the Queen of the Classics.

"I will see Wout tomorrow," Laporte told Cycling News. 'If he runs the race, I think he'll be fine. I think he's trained well and we'll see how he feels on Sunday. I think he feels he can run very well on Sunday." [It's been a good spring for me and for the team. The last race comes on Sunday and I want to finish this part of the season in a good way. It's a very good team and I think we can have a good race in Roubaix."

Last fall, Laporte's sixth place was his best result in six appearances in this race.

He aims to do even better this time around and said the race will be easier if it doesn't rain, but noted that Paris-Roubaix is never easy, even with the dry conditions expected over the weekend.

"Last year I was 6th and I want to do better on Sunday. It will be a hard race, a hard day. The weather will be good, but we'll see what happens."

"I've done Roubaix six times and five were dry. If it's dry, the race will be completely different from last year. It will certainly be easier than last year, but it will never be easy. You always have to push on the cobblestones and you always have to be at the front. It will be easier, but it will still be dangerous.

Jumbo Visma will be one of the strongest lineups in the race, but they will be up against another team that has risen to the top of the Classics in recent weeks, Ineos Grenadiers.

The British team has been firing on all cylinders of late, with Ben Turner a super domestique, Michał Kwiatkowski winning the Amstel Gold Race, and teenager Magnus Sheffield winning the Brabantse Pijl has been exploding.

They are also likely to be the biggest challengers to Jumbo Visma, along with the disease-plagued Quick Step Alpha Vinyl team, which features Filippo Ganna, Luke Rowe, and Dylan Van Barre. Laporte said that Paris-Roubaix has a different outlook from the races in which the British teams have excelled.

"It's not the same race. It's not like the Brabantspaille or the Amstel Gold Race." In the recent race in Flanders, several people were at the front. It's really important to have more than two people in front of you in the last 15 km, so you can compete."

"And Roubaix is sometimes a tactical race. Sometimes you can win between sectors. To do that, you need to have at least two or three riders in front of you. That way, if you have one rider in front, you don't have to push from behind, and that's good for everybody."