Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) looked a bit lost on Sunday after struggling in Ghent-Wevelgem, "not knowing when I will be back to my 'usual self'. On Wednesday, he found some answers and a podium finish in Dwars door Hlaanderen gave him great confidence for the Tour of Flanders.

"A big step forward," said Pidcock when interviewed in Wallahem.

Pidcock had been suffering from stomach problems in recent weeks, missing the Strade Bianche and Milan-San Remo. In Ghent-Wevelgem, he finished 67th.

In Dwar de Hrahndelen, he played a key role in the development of the race at Berg ten Hout with 70 km to go, returning to the best influential riders. Together with Ben Turner, he formed a strong eight-man lead group, but was unable to see Mathieu van der Pol (Alpecin Phoenix) and Tiesj Benoot (Jumbo Visma) break away from the back of the podium.

"You seem to be okay today," Pidcock was asked about his stomach problems. 'I don't know. I think I'm fine, but I don't know. It's not something you can really say that it's affecting me or not. I think I'm fine right now.

Pidcock underwent blood tests to determine why his food was not optimally digested, suggesting that he was underfed in Ghent-Wevelgem. He added, "One of the problems was that I didn't eat enough on Sunday, but today I ate enough."

Pidcock described the winner, Van der Poel, as the strongest in the lead group, but he could not capitalize. Despite Ineos' numerical advantage, Turner was reportedly just below his personal best, leaving Pidcock vulnerable on the tactical final circuit around Waregem.

Attacks were repeated, and Pidcock himself attacked in the last 2 km, but as soon as he was pulled back, Benoot went, followed by van der Pol.

"In the end it was cat and mouse. The rubber broke on the last move. That's when Stefan [Kühn] hesitated a bit, and he was the one to go.

Still, Pidcock dominated the rest and earned a confidence-boosting podium for Sunday in Flanders.

"I'm happy with the podium," he said. I was enjoying the race towards the end. I had a pretty good sprint myself, but today Cookie was easy to break down. I felt really strong. I didn't hesitate today, I just went for it. This is important to gain confidence for Sunday and future races

"Sunday will be different. Sunday will be a different atmosphere. It will be a long hard day, but if I have the legs I had today, I'll be happy."

"I'll be happy with the way I ran today,"

Piedmont said.

While Pidcock was making the full turn in the lead group, the presence of Tadej Pogachar (UAE Team Emirates) did not escape him. The Tour de France champion was making his cobbled classics debut and was under intense scrutiny to win his third Monument title in Flanders.

Pidcock effectively staged an acceleration that drove the Slovenian out of the race, and the Tour de France champion waltzed onto the cobblestones, seemingly pleased that he did not get his way.

"Watching him ride, he still doesn't fully understand where the key points are. He hasn't ridden in a race like this yet," Pidcock said.

"Because positioning is just as important as leg strength. He obviously had good legs. Twice on the radio I heard him coming over the gap. But when you need to position yourself for the climb, it's not necessarily under the finish line, it's five kilometers before. Ben's legs weren't great, but he was first into the ten-haul, and he raced on.

"Also, when there are a lot of big guys in the pack, you have to elbow them out a bit or get under them. Once you get a grip on that, there's no reason why you can't be in the lead group."