Matteo Trentin made his debut at the 2012 Tour de Flanders as the least battle-experienced member of Tom Boonen's team, but still shifted pianos early in the race, making a familiar sound for the Belgian and winning a record third race in Oudenaarde.

Ten years later, Trentin was once again in a supporting role in the Tour de Flanders (open in new tab). With the masterful Taddei Pogachar (open in new tab) taking on the race for the first time, Trencin (open in new tab) was his conductor on the cobblestones.

"I am your guide, like a guide dog," Trencin laughed as he turned to Pogachar at the Park Hotel in Wallhem, where the UAE Team Emirates (open in new tab) team stayed prior to the Tour de Flanders.

In an interview with Het Nieuwsblad, two-time Ronde winner Peter van Petegem certainly did not downplay the importance of Trentin.

"There is one person who will be important on Sunday: Matteo Trentin. He must lead Pogachar. In Rondo, you need to know where you are because there are many paths," Van Petegem said. [If Trentin is good, I believe in Pogachar. And if he's still there on the final climb up Quaremont, ......."

Trentin returned to racing in Ghent-Wevelgem after abandoning Paris-Nice with a late concussion. His sharp early-season run led to a victory at Le Samyn, but he admitted that the rest had taken a toll on his form.

"I want to be up front, but I am also realistic.

"I'm not in the condition I was on opening weekend and I'm struggling a bit to recover after the short climb. But we have Tadej, so we'll be fine. Ideally, when we get to 25 or 30 people, there will be two of us up front, because with one person, you have to make choices that you don't know are right or wrong."

Pogachar competed in the under-23 Tour de Flanders in 2018, finishing 15th, but in the meantime his talents have been diverted elsewhere. His return to the cobblestones began this week, and the days leading up to the Ronde were something of an introductory session to the rudiments of racing.

Pogachar, who finished 10th in Wednesday's Dwar door Hlaanderen, surveyed the finale of the Tour of Flanders on a snow-covered reconnaissance ride on Friday morning. For Trentin's tastes, the preview was a bit short. At least this year, Pogachar's prodigious strength may have to make up for the gaps in his knowledge.

"Of course, you need experience and you need to know the road.

"I need five days to scout all the rondos and understand all the dangerous little places. But we had a good scouting today, and if something goes wrong, we have enough to regain our position. But of course we'll work hard to make sure we don't have this problem."

In Dwars door Vlaanderen, Pogachar's inexperience compromised the race. He was involved in a crash that occurred in front of Berg ten Foote. Pogachar tried to ride solo to catch up to Mathieu van der Pol, Tom Pidcock, and others, but he had already taken damage in a seemingly innocuous section near Ronse. Such pitfalls are always lurking in the Flanders race.

"You need to know when to move up in the standings, you need to know the points. That helps mentally. I don't know why I'm behind, but I might be under unnecessary stress," Trentin said. Trentin is expected to push through the Flanders Ardennes for Pogachar, at least until the Koppenberg, which has 45 km to go.

In the final hour of the race, power begins to take precedence over position.

"In Ghent-Wevelgem, Gil May didn't know where he was going, but he won the race anyway. So in the finale, the legs are more important than anything else. ......" Trentin warned.

Trentin warned.

Pogachar's status has been elevated among the contenders due to the absence of the now-iconic Wout Van Art, even if the consensus is that 2020 winner Mathieu Van Der Pol (Alpecin Phoenix) is the favorite to win.

Trentin argued that Jumbo Visma would still be the team to beat even if Tiesj Benoot and Christophe Laporte were leading the pack instead of Van Aert.

"With or without Van Aert, Jumbo is the strongest team. And I don't think the situation will change with or without Van Art. Because they have Benoot and other strong riders who are always in front of them.

"Van der Pol is back in great form, but Jumbo is still the favorite to win."