Wout Van Aert, making his first appearance on the road on Saturday since his big crash at last year's Tour de France, will race in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, the opening race of the 2020 season.

The leader of Jumbo Visma, racing for the second time in his career, said he is feeling good after an extended high-altitude camp in Tenerife in preparation for the season opener.

At the Dutch team's pre-opening press conference in Ghent, Van Aert said he had "no doubts" about his current condition, but added that he could not give an exact answer until Saturday evening.

"I think I'm in pretty good shape," Van Aert said, Het Nieuwsblad reported.

"I trained daily at high altitude in Tenerife with Mike Tunissen and Amund Grondahl Janssen.

"We are much further along than I had hoped. 'In Tenerife we have improved a lot. We didn't do any special tests like we did in the winter, but the wattage is good. Everything went according to plan."

Despite not having raced on the road yet this season, Van Avermaert will be on the start line in Ghent as one of the favorites to win the Omloop. Greg Van Avermaert, world champion Mads Pedersen, and Philippe Gilbert are among the starters.

Van Avermaert said he would not be racing just to be there, although race conditions are a question mark. Regardless, however, there is no specific goal he is aiming for in Omloop.

"I'm not going to start the race just to make up numbers, and I don't plan to do that at Omloop Het Niusbrod. Plan' I know it sounds silly, but I don't have a specific goal for Saturday."

"I can't answer that," he replied when asked if he was worried about returning to racing. 'If I don't run the way I want to, I'm not going to use that as an excuse.'

Unlike many of his rivals who have scouted the course over the past week, including CCC, Team Ineos, EF Pro Cycling, and UAE team Emirates, Van Aat has not headed to the cobbles in recent days. Van Aat says that this is not a problem for him.

"I didn't have my stuff in advance to run the course. So it was tough to get back to Ghent to scout before Friday morning. I had to make do with the advice of my teammates.

"Anyway, the Omloop is a race where the final comes very quickly, and after 40 km we head to the first cobblestones. Normally it would still be quiet, but with the weather forecast you have to be careful to avoid surprises all day."

Van Aert also commented on the coronavirus crisis that has left the team holed up in a hotel in Abu Dhabi after two Italian staff members fell ill and the UAE tour was canceled. If the virus spreads, it could affect the upcoming European season, and Van Aert revealed that he has alternative race plans in place in the event that his calendar is affected.

"As I read the news about the UAE tour, it becomes more and more real. Every athlete who has a race in their program has to have an alternate plan in place. So do we, but it is impossible to predict that now."