April 2, 2004 – Canadian Ryder Hesjedal, who just finished 16th in the professional Dreidaagse van der Panne in Belgium, has decided not to start in the Tour of Flanders World Cup event this Sunday. Hesjedal was on the United States Postal Service presented by Berry Floor team list for Flanders, but has been suffering from a cold since before the Dreidaagse.

But Hesjedal will have plenty of racing despite this setback: he confirmed that he will race in the semi-classic Ghent-Wevelgem on April 7 and in a race often described as the Queen of the Classics, Paris-Roubaix, on April 11.

Hesjedal and USPS management decided it was not worth making his cold worse by starting in Flanders, which Hesjedal described as “not a race — it’s a battle.”

“Lots of times in the race I was done,” said Hesjedal of the first stage of the Dreidaagse, where he made it into the breakaway that determined the top 20 spots overall. “I just put my head down and rolled through the group.” The effort paid off in the end.

With just three road races in his legs in the 2004 season, the 24-year-old is happy with the progress he has made, although he adds that “there’s definitely improvement to be made.” While it’s tempting to credit his recent success on the Belgian cobbles to his mountain bike background, Hesjedal says it just boils down to the ability to go fast and be aggressive in close quarters.

“I don’t think a lot of people have the slightest idea what it’s like moving at 60 km/h down a road the size of a hallway,” he said. Hesjedal is also scheduled to compete in the Quatre jours de Dunkerque on May 5-9 before returning to MTB competition at the Olympic test event in Athens taking place June 16th.