From the cobbles and climbs of Flanders to the brutal pavé of Roubaix, these races demand a rare blend of endurance, power, resilience and instinct.

In this roundtable, and ahead of Opening Weekend, three of our number from EF Education-EasyPost who know the classics inside out - former rider turned sports director Andreas Klier, and experienced cobbled specialists Michael Valgren and Kasper Asgreen - reflect on their first memories of the races, what truly defines a great classics rider, and how the evolution of equipment and racing style has reshaped the sport.

From childhood heroes and early wildcard appearances to victories in Flanders and Omloop Nieuwsblad, the trio shares personal stories of crashes, comebacks, team spirit, and the unique intensity that defines racing on the cobbles.

They also look ahead to the ambitions and expectations for the upcoming campaign with EF Education-EasyPost and what it will take to compete in an era that grows ever more competitive.

Andreas Klier: For me, it must have been the mid-1990s when I was on a division two team called Team Nürnberger. I was 18 or 19, and we received a wildcard for Omloop. Back then, it was called Het Volk, and I’d never heard of it. We rented a van, and the sports director had to print out this huge roll of paper for the parcours, and he was pointing at various points in the reel of paper, telling us we had to be at the front at certain points, but back then, there wasn’t so much climbing in the race, and I finished 14th. I think a big group of good riders went up the road, and I was with the leftovers, and because I was quite big and fast, I won the sprint from the bunch. We did a few of the smaller classics, but it was pretty cool for a first experience. Growing up, I had no idea what the spring classics were about because they weren’t on TV at home in Germany, and I may have only raced a couple of times in Holland and Belgium as a junior. I knew the names of some of the riders, like Johan Museeuw, but I didn’t know the races. 

Falling in love with the classics really only started for me when I first moved to Belgium. I had to move there when I signed with TVM-Farm Fritres. I had Belgian friends, a Belgian training group, and that’s when I started to love it. For me, it’s not really just about the races; it’s about the country and the special fans you see on the roadside. The further you get away from being a rider, like I am now, the more you understand that it’s the cycling fans who create the race. So, for a race like the Tour of Flanders, what I love is seeing a country cheer for its own race. It’s the cobbles, it’s the weather, it’s the corners, and all the landmarks, but most of all it’s the special fans. It’s basically their Olympic Games, and it’s the same with the French fans for Roubaix. 

Michael Valgren: For me, I grew up watching the whole era between Cancellara and Boonen. That’s what made me fall in love with cycling and the classics. What those riders did was amazing, and they basically started it off, in terms of what we’re seeing now with attacks from further and further out. I was a massive Cancellara fan, and he was my hero, and back then, when I was growing up, I’d play a lot of Cycling Manager, and that’s how I’d learn about the sport and all the riders. My first ever experience of racing on the cobbles was with Astana, because it was hard to get on the team in those early days for me at Saxo, and when I finally got to do them, it was a real wow moment because for me, they’re what professional cycling is really all about. They’re unpredictable, and so much can happen. When you’re on the start line for a race like the Tour of Flanders, you get goosebumps on your arms and butterflies in your stomach. It’s different to anything else you can experience as a rider. 

Kasper Asgreen: I’m going to have to go with what Michael said and say the battles between Boonen and Cancellara. I’m Danish, and Cancellara was on a Danish team, so I was always rooting for him, and then he was good against the clock, which is something that I’ve always liked. I related to him more than to Boonen. They’re probably my earliest memories from the classics. I must have been about 14. When I was growing up, I always felt like it was in the classics where I could see myself developing as an athlete. Once I started to understand cycling dynamics, I realised the classics were the most challenging and interesting races to ride. 

Michael Valgren: One aspect that I like is that you’re with the team for three weeks together, and that really creates a great environment between everyone on the team. It builds team spirit. Training in between those races doesn’t really feel that inspiring because you’re just riding along the canal, but you’re there as a group, as a unit, and it really creates a special relationship with your teammates, and for me, that just makes me want to give more for the team.

Andreas Klier: For me, that’s a tough question because you have to consider what era we’re talking about. Nowadays, it’s about equipment and tire pressure, which has changed things massively. Can a traditional classics rider from a previous time still win Flanders? I’m not so sure. Can a traditional classics rider still win Paris-Roubaix? I think that they have to hurry up if they want to do so. There are 2,500m of climbing in Flanders, and it’s not spread evenly through the 260km; it’s very compact, so positioning is still important, but for me, now, a lot of it starts with the material. If you have the right material, and if you’re open-minded and listen to someone about how the race will open up, you can grow into being a classics rider. I know that we miss Neilson Powless right now, but he has evolved and is in love with the classics. I wouldn’t call him a traditional classics rider, but he’s much better than most, and he almost won the Roubaix stage in the Tour de France a few years ago, he’s won Dwars door Vlaanderen, and he’s been in the top ten in Flanders. 

Michael Valgren: I think it’s a really tough question, but a good one. As Andreas said, you have to be able to climb well, but you also need endurance because these races are so tough. Theyre the toughest races of the year, and you’ve always got to have a good position, have good power for those short climbs, and then you need your engine to still be fresh in the final. I still think that you need really good bike skills, too. Yes, more climbers are coming, and that puts the traditional classics riders into the hurtbox, because it’s harder for us to recover. But where we can be better is still having that long resistance on the cobbles. The problem, however, is that once the train has gone, it’s gone, and it’s not coming back. 

Kasper Asgreen: Along with being strong physically, I think that you need to have mental toughness, too. You have to concentrate so much, whereas in a lot of other races, especially stage races, you can go through the motions and just eat, drink and stay in the peloton. In the classics, and we’ve seen it before, the race can split in a crosswind section, and if you’re not concentrating, you miss the move, and that’s your race over. And like what Michael and Andreas said, the physical side is so tough too, because it’s some of the highest energy expenditure in a race that you’ll see all season.

Andreas Klier: For me, as a rider, it was my first year with a Belgian team. I think we won the Tour of Flanders, and the next year I won Gent-Wevelgem. I was riding deep into a lot of finals. Later, when I was at my peak around 2005, I really thought I could beat Tom Boonen. I was a bit dumb because he was ten times better than me. I had no chance, but it was still nice to be involved. I think my favorite memory was being introduced to the world of riding in Belgium and all the culture and experience that came with it. As a DS, it’s mostly disappointment, but maybe winning Flanders with Alberto Bettiol a few years ago or winning last year at Dwars with Neilson. That was very cool. 

Kasper Asgreen: Well, of course, I have to choose winning the Tour of Flanders. That was a special day, so fantastic but not without problems, because I had a crash, but I got a bike, my team brought me back, and it was an all-round incredible effort. 

Michael Valgren: I have two. The first, of course, is when I won Omloop in 2018. I was on the back foot the whole day until the final, and also in Flanders that same year. I came back after an earlier crash, made it back to the bunch, and finished fourth, just off the podium. To take that result in such a big race was such a big deal at the time. I was really proud of how I came back after the crash. 

Kasper Asgreen: If you’re having two, then so am I. I’m going to pick my first Tour of Flanders. I was there purely as a domestique, and it wasn’t even certain I would even start the race until just a few days before. Luckily, I was selected, and I did my job as a domestique, and when we got to the Paterberg, I was first. I went as hard as I could, and I had a gap. On the radio, my team were going ‘go, go, go, you have a gap.’ I was out front until the last ascent of the Kwaremont with a small group. Later, Alberto Bettiol took off and won the race. It was clear he was going to win inside the final, but I managed to get a gap on the rest of about 20m, and I went for it and stayed away to get second. Getting second in my first Tour of Flanders was amazing. 

Andreas Klier: For me, it’s less and less important and pure power is key. In the past, you 23mm tires, so if you trained on those roads and knew the cobbles, you knew which side of the road you needed to be on, but now you just take a 32mm tires, you race with 3.2 bar, and you just hammer over the cobbles, left, right, or center. Who cares. Now it’s just about racing earlier with the big teams who hammer it much earlier. Training, talent, and equipment. They’re more important now. You still have these meeting points at various points in the classics, which are important because riders need to be switched on for these positional moment, but by then, the speed is already so high. 

Michael Valgren: I think you’ve still got to know the course. You can see it on VeloViewer, but if you’ve not actually experienced it, it’s a different feeling to when you’re racing. VeloViewer doesn’t tell you where we go really slow, at maybe 10kph on one climb with one team blocking the road, or when the pace goes incredibly high over the top, and it’s all in one line. Your race can be over at that point, and you can’t learn that from a map or a page in a book. You have to learn how to race the classics and know why the tension is there at certain points. I think you can come in with amazing legs, but you still need a year of experience before you’re really comfortable. I also think you need to know when you switch on and off, because if you’re on all day, you’re using too much energy that could be saved. 

Kasper Asgreen: I agree with both of you. I think experience was more important a couple of years ago than it is now. With the races opening up earlier, the race is being decided after four hours rather than six, so the more experienced riders aren’t able to use that knowledge to the same degree in the last hour or so. I still think that experience is super valuable, and you see even the best rider in the world making a couple of mistakes that he wouldn’t have made if he had done Paris-Roubaix before, for example.

Michael Valgren: You’re right. When you talk about the style of racing, the action kicks off so much earlier. I wouldn’t have won Omloop or come back in Flanders in today’s racing because the leaders would have already gone up the road. I think what we’re seeing now is that it’s harder and harder to get into the break because better riders are going into the moves, and the depth in teams is getting stronger and stronger. 

Kasper Asgreen: It’s just so much more explosive and violent early on the races. That’s easily the biggest difference from the last few years. 

Andreas Klier: We’re not the favorites, but I strongly believe that we can be competitive throughout the spring. Of course, we miss Neilson, but if we can stay healthy with our riders, then we can be in some of the decisive moments in the cobbled classics. We have, of course, Kasper and several others, and Luke Lamperti has joined the team, and maybe one or two of the younger riders like Noah Hobbs will have a chance in some races. Colby Simmons is a year older and impressed us last year, so we have some very good cyclists. Of course, we don’t have an engine like Van der Poel; that’s no secret, but no one has that. Last year in the sprint for Omloop Nieuwsblad, we had four riders. I know we didn’t get the result that we wanted, but that demonstrated that we have what it takes to be competitive. 

Michael Valgren: I think that we’ve made some good signings and that we’re well set up for the cobbles. Luke joining our team is great news, as it adds depth, and I think it’ll be good to see how our younger riders are stepping up after another year of learning and growing. Kasper was sick last year, and he’s eager to show that he’s a classics man, and I missed them last year because of sickness and a broken collarbone, so I’m looking forward to being back on the cobbles later in the spring. If you look at a rider like Colby, he was making his debut in a lot races last year, and he came right from EF Education-Aevolo, but he positioned the team so well in races like Flanders, and now he’s coming back. We have more options this year, and we’ve got a few eggs in our basket. I’m really looking forward to seeing Kasper race. He finished last year really well and raced two Grand Tours, and I’m really looking forward to supporting him. 

Kasper Asgreen: I think that we’ve got a really good group for this year. There’s a really strong core with me, Michael, Vincenzo Albanese, Marijn van den Berg, and, as you said, Colby came in. He was positioning me on Flanders and Roubaix, and he was amazing at it last year. I can’t wait to see him in the classics this time around. I think that he’s going to be incredible, and then we have Noah Hobbs possibly coming in for some races, too.

Andreas Klier: I think we can win a big race. Which one, and who with, I really don’t care, but if I were to pick one, it would be Kasper in Roubaix just because he sits nicely on the bike, and it would look good on TV. We’re not in Disneyland, though, so we can’t be picky. In terms of personal ambitions, I don’t have one because I’m there for everyone on the team. I just want to see us perform on the level that we deserve, because we do good work in the background. 

Michael Valgren: I’d love to say I want to win a race, but honestly, I’d love to just be in one of the finals and to support the team to my fullest. I’d like to help make the race.

Kasper Agreen: The simple answer for me is that I want to win some bike races. It’s a simple answer, and not simple to achieve, but that’s what I want. Last year I missed my best shape, and that wasn’t easy for me, so the goal is definitely to win. I know that I’m capable of doing it, and I’ve done it before.