Jasper Stuyven and the entire Trek-Segafredo team finished below par in the Spring 2019 Classic campaign; despite a strong showing in September, they were not selected to represent Belgium at the World Championships. However, the bad weather at the 75th Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, similar to the spectacular conditions at last year's Yorkshire World Championships, was seen as a chance for a comeback.

At the post-race press conference, Stuyven said in Ninove, "Obviously it's good revenge."

"Sportif director Steven de Jong kept saying it was a hard race for everyone. I tried to think about eating and drinking. When things were hard, I tried to think that it was hard for everyone"

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Yong, 27, has long been regarded as a top athlete, but there is a big difference between being one of the favorites to win the Classic and actually winning the Classic.

On Saturday afternoon, Stuyven made his own dreams and expectations a reality, and consequently the team's as well. We finally won the Classic," Stuyven said. I've never been in better shape, physically and mentally.

"Last night I told the team that winning races is not my ambition. I wanted to show that last year was an accident. I wanted to show that the team was there. I believed in everyone; we were strong as a team in 2018. The whole team was going for it and it was good to see that everyone was ready. That was good. I'm even happier to have finished the race," Steuben said.

Going into the race, Stuyven was full of confidence. He is strong on the opening weekend in Belgium; he finished fourth in Omloop in 2018, won the Cune Brussel Cune in 2016, and was runner-up the following year.

"I really believed in it. I knew how my preparation was. I was really relaxed. Mentally I was fine, and I knew how hard I had been training. I started the season well with the team. There was a good atmosphere in the team, which has continued since the end of last year. It made me feel like it was possible. I'm glad we were able to show at the first Spring Classic of the year that it can work."

Like last year, Stuyven crashed in the Volta ao Algarve, but this time, he said, things were different. He said, "Again in 2018 I crashed on the first stage, but then I rode well in the spring classic campaign. This time I was calm. I knew immediately that the fall was not serious. It was like it had to happen in order for me to go the next week."

It was a stark contrast to his crash in Algarve in 2019. 'I had a good build-up then, but it was a really hard crash. I lost too much weight and got sick. I panicked that I had to come back quickly for the next Classic. It ended badly."

Steiven has been working with a psychotherapist for several years. He is able to put things in perspective and go into the race in the best mental state possible. That was not the case before.

"Last year, I wasn't doing what I should have been doing mentally. I thought I had everything under control, but I didn't at all. Last year was probably the year I needed it the most. I wanted to get that back this year. It's about always working on it, even when things seem to be going well," Steuben explained.

In Saturday's race, Stuyven made a breakaway move at a less decisive section, well away from the finish. I was the last rider to bridge up," he said. In the past, I might not have dared to do it because I was afraid of losing. Having the courage to lose is a completely different approach. I feel strong and mentally calm. I am not stressed."

It also appears that the team took a similar approach. Early in the race, with 130km to go before the finish, the Trek-Segafredo team added four riders to their 14-man group in a crosswind.

"In this weather, wind and sometimes rain, it can happen anywhere. Right from the start we were there. It wasn't a bad thing to take the initiative when everyone else was there.

"We have riders who like to race in this weather. I believe in them. We give each other success. We are a team that can be a force next to other strong teams."

Steuben, along with teammate Edward Tuns, appears to be reaping the benefits of a high-altitude training camp at El Teide volcano in Tenerife.

"Now I can write it off as effective," Steuben laughed. 'We worked hard up there. I really like training there. Last year I discovered it with Edward in May and we had a good run in Switzerland and the Tour. I worked hard with Edward

"It was a lot of fun. We train seriously, but we don't live like monks. It was a lot of fun. In the Algarve I was pretty tired from training camp and it wasn't easy to cope with that. My goal today was to be well prepared and it worked out perfectly."

During the long eight-rider breakaway, Stuyven did not have the confidence to join the winning contenders. At 43 km to the finish, their bonus was 2 min 40 sec, but at 25 km to the finish, their bonus was reduced to 1 min 20 sec.

"Everyone was too relaxed in the group because we had two minutes. That bothered me. I was worried that if Mike and Frederick weren't allowed to really pull it off, it wouldn't work," Steuben said.

I can't say that I felt I was the strongest in the group, but I felt certain that I was in the group until the last kilometer. But I still had to be. In Mule, the other riders could have been leading the pack."

In Gerarlsbergen's famous Mühl, Stuyven escaped with Yves Lampert (Deceuninck-Quickstep), but Sören Krafft-Andersen also joined them.

"Eve and I were somewhat irritated about Seelen because we weren't sure if he was really dead or playing poker. He said he was dead, but I wasn't sure," Steuben said.

When Lampaert attacked, Kragh Andersen was dropped. 'Eve went where I wanted to go,' he said. The main goal was to try to win or to find out if Soren was really dead. No one in the group was sure. I might have done well in the sprint, but we had seen some good sprints from Yves and Soren had a strong sprint after a tough race. In the sprint, Steuben easily held off Lampert.

It is clear that Stuyven will be a force to be reckoned with in the upcoming spring classics.

"I'm not going to say I'm the favorite in any other race. I am really happy that this one race is in my pocket. I have a few other races coming up and Paris-Nice. The question is whether I can keep this form up. I want to be very relaxed for the other races. I want to enjoy this victory, preferably with a glass of wine."

A wine lover, Steuben hoped that the team's hotel, Weinbrugge in Bruges, would have good wine on Saturday evening.