Greg Van Avermaat enters Saturday's Omloop Het Nieuwsblad full of confidence after a strong showing in last week's Volta ao Algarve, the CCC team leader had an impressive run on the climbing stages and finished the season in 13th place overall.

Juan Avermaat was in the lead group in both Alto da Foia and Alto do Marhão, finishing 15th in each stage.

The Olympic champion is known for his early season form and has seven top-five finishes in the Omloop throughout his career, including wins in 2016 and 2017.

"I do both races, and I think I've done well in the Omloop the last five or six years," he told Cycling News.

"I'm confident I can have another good race this year. It's a good course for me and hopefully the weather will be good. I'm sure I can get to the top [winning is another thing, and there are a lot of factors involved, but the most important thing is to be able to play my cards right in the final."

This weekend's races have been marred by inclement weather, with Omloop and Sunday's Coulee Brussel-Coulomb likely to be hit by wind and rain. Nevertheless, Van Avermaet has proven that he can deliver results in bad weather, taking second place in the rugged Omloop in 2014.

Regardless of the weather, success in this race would relieve some of the pressure going forward, he said. With the Spring Classics just around the corner, an early win would calm the nerves.

"I always say that if I can win at Nussblad, I already have a chance of winning," he said. 'It's a big race. It's not like Flanders or Roubaix, but it's something.'

"If I can start here, like I did in 2017, I can go into all the big classics with a little less pressure. It would be perfect for me, and once I get something, the rest will be a little easier."

From 20°C and a summit finish in the Algarve to half that temperature and cobbled slopes in Flanders, the changes from weekend to weekend are significant, and the races, while good for the legs, are completely different.

Juan Avermaat said that even if his good performance in the hilltop finish had no direct relationship to his performance in the Berg between Ghent and Ninove on Saturday, the benefit from his good performance was universal.

"I'm in good shape. The conditions are very good and the climbing is going well. I did my best and tried to make Valencia and the Algarve as lively as possible."

"It's a different kind of effort than in the classics, but I think it's a sign of my condition. I think my weight is really good. It's kind of like after the Tour, I tried to focus a little bit on this and see what happens in the Classics, but like I said, the effort in the Classics is a little bit different than the long climbs, so it's hard to measure."

The 34-year-old will be teamed up again this weekend with new CCC Classic leader Matteo Trentin, and while the two have raced together in Valencia and Algarve, the Omloop will be the first test of their new partnership.

Jonas Koch, Michael Schär, Gijs Van Hoecke, Nathan Van Hooydonck, and Guillaume Van Keirsbulck will join them in Omloop.

Trentin, a new addition from Mitchelton Scott earlier this week, said his goal this spring is simply to win. Van Avermaet said the same, adding that joint leadership will be a dynamic partnership going forward.

"I think we are co-leaders and we work for each other.

"It depends on how Parkour fits in. We've already run a few sprints together and we've worked hard to make it as good as possible."

"I think we can benefit from each other in the classics and hopefully win big--that's the team's goal."