Sylvain Chavanel is optimistic for the Tour of Flanders 2012
Sylvain Chavanel is currently seen in action at the Three Days of De Panne. The cyclist is testing his legs for the coming World Tour event, Tour of Flanders.
He finished the opening stage of the race at the 23rd position and is looking good for the coming races of the season.
The French claimed the 21st overall spot after the stage 2 classifications and is looking ahead to improve his lead for the coming two stages of the event.
Chavanel briefed, "We tried but we didn't have a sprinter in the main group. The only sprinter we have here is Chicchi but it was a bit hard for him today".
"Afterwards we tried to see what we could do, but the finale came down to a sprint," he concluded.
The French is still searching for his first victory of the season. He grabbed the 8th overall spot during the Paris-Nice and occupied the second overall spot at the Dwars door Vlaanderen.
The 32-year-old was unlucky to miss out at the Milan-San Remo because of his health constraints and has now fully recovered to make up for the lost time.
Sylvain made his professional debut back in 2000 with Team Bonjour and stayed with the side for a period of four years.
He accepted an offer from Team Cofidis in 2005 and helped the side with his spectacular form for four consecutive seasons.
Chavanel joined the Belgian side Team Quick Step in 2009 and has continued his fourth consecutive season with the team.
He briefed that De Panne requires great energy and the fact that it ends just before the start of the Tour of Flanders is the main reason behind the fewer number of cyclists in the peloton.
"You use up quite a bit of energy that way but then last year, I was fourth in De Panne and then second at Flanders after that, so why not ride? It's hard to know what is the best preparation. You just try to do your best".
It will be interesting to see if Sylvain can find the right momentum at the 2012 version of the Belgian race as the cyclist is pretty much in need of a win.
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