Team Sunweb's Teessi Benoot has spent the past three weeks training on Mount Teide in Tenerife, Spain, in preparation for the start of the Spring Classic, which opens on February 29 at Omloop Het Niusbrod.

"The last few days I've been itching to start racing," Benoot told Sporza.be on Tuesday. [Preparatory races early in the season are not that important. If you have a good race at the Tour de Mallorca, for example, you don't talk about it a week later. But I want to do something for the Belgian fans."

With only one hotel in Thiede, Benoot said he ran into other racers who were taking advantage of the climb and altitude to prepare for the spring.

"Edward Theuns, Jasper Steuben (both Trek Segafredo), and Laurens de Plus (Jumbo Visma) have already left.

He added that he also saw Van Aert's teammates Primosz Roglic, Steven Kruijswijk, Mike Theunissen, Amund Grondahl Janssen, and NTT's Domenico Pozzovivo.

"There are also riders from Astana, Groupama-FDJ, and Bahrain McLaren. Sometimes we talk a little, but not much about racing."

Benoot revealed that he had originally planned to train in South Africa before the season, but changed his plans when the opportunity arose to head to the Canary Islands.

"When a hotel became available here in Teide, I didn't hesitate. Here we can gain more altitude during our training rides," he explained.

According to "Sporza.be," 25-year-old Benoot averages about 750 km per week, including last weekend's 196 km, 7-hour ride that gained over 4,700 m of altitude.

"I work harder here than I do in Belgium. In Teide, all I can do is concentrate on cycling."

If possible, Benoot said he would like to do a similar high-altitude training camp in the weeks leading up to one of his biggest goals, the Tour de Flanders in early April.

"But the race program doesn't allow me to do that before De Ronde," he said.

The Belgian website also lists Benoot's spring race program, starting with the Omloop at the end of February, the Strade Bianche on March 7 (which Benoot won in 2018), and an Italian stage race from March 11 to 17, Tirreno-Adriatico, to follow.

Then back to Flanders for the E3 Binkbank Classic on April 5 and the Dwars door Hlaanderen just before the Tour of Flanders, before finishing the spring campaign with Amstel Gold (April 19) and Liege-Bastogne-Liege (April 26).