Hincapie: Boonen beatable

"Tom has had an amazing year, he's an amazing cyclist, but he's not unbeatable," Hincapie told www.eurosport.com on the eve of the race.

"We don't go into a race thinking that anybody's unbeatable, so we're just happy with the way the team is riding, and we're going to ride our own race."

While the 12-year-veteran believes he will be riding with the strongest Discovery team in years, Hincapie acknowledges that Boonen is the best sprinter in the world right now.

"We're just to try not to arrive at the finish with him, because he's probably the fastest guy in the world," Hincapie said.

"So the best option is, if you're in a break with him, to have more than one guy from the team there with you, and just attack, that's really the only thing to do."

Discovery Team Manager Dirk Demol says Hincapie is the outright leader, but the 32-year-old Hincapie will have a strong supporting cast.

"George is our biggest guy, on Sunday he's our real leader, and also we're going to protect three other guys," Demol told Eurosport. "Leif Hoste, Stijn Devolder and also [Vladimir] Gusev, because don't forget that Gusev can be also a challenger."

Hoste is coming off of a big victory in the Three Days of De Panne, having won the race and taken the final stage in a Discovery 1-2-3 in front of Hincapie and Devolder.

"The win of the Driedaagse Van de Panne will be a big thing for him, because in the past the problem for him has always been self confidence in the right moments," Demol said. "It looks like now he found that."

Hoste finished second at the Tour of Flanders in 2004, a victory Demol called the biggest "the biggest of the whole season."

Though Hincapie acknowledges the potency of the squad Discovery is sending to Flanders, calling it "our best team ever," George is still the clear leader.

"I'm probably the leader just because I have the most experience, but we have some guys that are riding very well, probably as well as I am," Hincapie said.

"So we've got lots of cards to play."