Tom Pidcock's busy spring schedule did not originally include Ghent-Wevelgem, but the Englishman, who has been suffering from stomach problems in recent weeks, took the start line in Ypres on Sunday to increase his race distance for next weekend's Tour of Flanders The race was a great success.

The leader of the Ineos Grenadiers was forced to miss the Strade Bianche, his first goal of the road season, due to a stomach virus. He then returned to full training, but was again plagued by gastroenteritis in Milan-San Remo and abandoned after being separated at Capo Berta.

"I had a pretty bad spell before Strade and it took me a while to recover," Pidcock told reporters, including Cycling News, on Sunday morning at Ypres' impressive Grote Markt.

"I thought I was fine going into San Remo, but the sugar and the stress on my stomach obviously didn't help. But now I think I'm fine.

"Before San Remo I was feeling very good. So I was feeling very good before San Remo.

Pidcock was originally scheduled to return to competition at Wednesday's Dwars door Hlaanderen, but was a surprise late addition to Gent-Wevelgem's Ineos lineup, which was announced Saturday afternoon.

He dismissed the idea of racing against E3 Saxo Bank Classic winner Wout Van Aert (Jumbo Visma); at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad in February, Pidcock mixed it up with eventual winner Van Aert to take on Berendries attacked and attracted a lot of attention.

"The idea today is to keep up. It's not about racing today. I'm not 100%, but I'm feeling good. But I feel good, I'm in good shape. That's what I'm thinking. It's good to run one more race."

Pidcock has never raced Ghent-Wevelgem professionally, but he is familiar with the course, which includes dirt roads such as Plug Street, having raced in junior and under-23 competitions. He also knows that Ghent-Wevelgem rarely follows a set script.

"To be honest, there is no single point today where the race will go on. Elia is here to prepare for the sprint."

The gray skies and low clouds over Ypres on Sunday morning looked like something out of a Jacques Brel song.

Still, Pidcock was confident that there was little chance of a group sprint on the Vanackeresstraat on Sunday afternoon.

"Wind plays a big role in this race, but with this fog you don't know how strong the wind will be. Wind will play a big role in this race.

"I have never run this race before, so I would like to take a look at the experience of the other racers on the team to see where the key points are. But I have no doubt that the race will be fast and hard, and it won't be a group sprint.