Emma Norsgaard blog: My strategy for the Classics

During the Belgian Classics, GCN will be running an exclusive rider blog from Movistar’s Emma Norsgaard, one of the most consistent riders in the peloton, a Tour de France Femmes stage winner, and a Classics specialist.

After starting her season at the UAE Tour, Norsgaard returned to Europe for the Classics season, picking up fifth in Omloop van het Hageland and seventh in Nokere Koerse. This week, she will race Brugge-De Panne and Gent-Wevelgem, ahead of the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.

I’ve raced four one-day Classics so far, and last week at Nokere Koerse I felt like my best so far. It wasn't my best result of the season, but I was part of the race and it’s better for me to feel useful and like I made a difference. In the end, we didn't get the result we hoped for, but I was happy with my performance.

It's always difficult with the Classics because if I'm not on the podium I always feel super disappointed, but obviously, there is so much more to it than just being in the top three. In these races it's so hard mentally, so I should give myself a little bit more credit. At the moment I'm near the front, and in the right moves, which is something that I'm trying to be proud of and not knock myself for not having a top result yet. There are still so many Classics coming up, and my favourite ones are still ahead of us.

Even though they are my favourite races, there’s an element that I don’t enjoy with Gent-Wevelgem, Flanders and Roubaix. They’re so stressful and so much can happen. I've never been super happy after these races, I always feel disappointed because my expectations are so high and I feel like I can never live up to them, but when you are feeling good and have good legs, it's the best feeling.

• Read more: Spring Classics 2024: Essential guide to the races and riders

Something that’s different for me this year is that I have more chances to race for myself since Annemiek van Vleuten retired. With Annemiek, we always had a safe card to play. For so many years, she was the one winning everything, so obviously we could not have a rider trying to go in an early breakaway or a late attack. I really enjoyed working with her, but I also think this is going to open up opportunities for me to seek victories or success in different ways.

Going up against SD Worx-Protime

I have the mentality of a winner, so it's really hard seeing SD Worx taking all the victories. It's frustrating, and it's something that's not super great for me, but it gives me fuel for my training – I know that I have to be better.

To beat SD Worx, we have to be smarter than them. They obviously have the strength, which is ahead of the rest of us at the moment, so we have to work with other teams and make it harder for them. A lot of the time I think we play into their hands, basically giving Wiebes the victory in almost every race.

• Read more: SD Worx-Protime foiled in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad as Lidl-Trek, Vos play numbers game

I feel like the last two years have been almost a joke sometimes, how teams raced – us included, but we also had Anniemiek, so it was a bit easier for us just playing along because we knew Annemiek would finish it off in the end. But I think this year the mentality has changed, and I see that the tactics are against SD Worx. This is what we have to do because they are, at the moment, unbeatable otherwise.

Big dreams and learning to trust yourself

As for my goals in the next races, Gent-Wevelgem is hopefully going to be a nice chance for me, and I'm aiming at Paris-Roubaix, of course. In Roubaix, you need so much luck, and every time I do it I'm hoping for a nice result.

At Gent-Wevelgem, getting away in a smaller group would be ideal, but the problem is Lorena Wiebes is also going to be there. Being in a smaller group is also easier to anticipate, so it would be ideal for me to be able to eliminate SD Worx, Trek, and all these big teams so they don't have five riders who can sit on the front and close it down. At Movistar we also have Arlenis Sierra, who is so smart and so good in these races, and she'll be a really important card we can play.

There are four riders who I race with a lot during the Classics: Arlenis, Floortje Mackaij and Aude Biannic. I'm always with Aude in every race, and I have a similar thing with Floortje now after a year of being teammates. I fully trust them both, and it's easy to rely on them, because I know they will always be there for me, they'll always be in the front at the right moment. Me and Aude have been teammates for four years, and I trust her with my life. She's also one of my best friends, which makes it even easier to trust each other. It's a great team, and we have so much fun, which for me is really important because it means my head is happy too – happy head, fast legs.

Right now, this Classics block is the most important thing for me, but the Tour de France and the Olympics are really high up on my list for the rest of the year. I've had a taste of what it feels like to win the Tour, and I think it's unmatched. It's a feeling I've never experienced before, the joy we were all feeling in the team was unreal, so this is something I want to achieve again, whether it’s at the Tour or here in the Classics.