Double Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel announced on Wednesday that he will take part in the prestigious Tour of Flanders one-day classic this weekend. 

Remco Evenepoel Joins Elite Tour of Flanders Start List

The addition of the 2022 world champion to the start list for one of Belgium's most important races is a boon for organizers, who can already count on a star-studded field including reigning champion Tadej Pogacar, three-time winner Mathieu van der Poel and Belgian hope Wout van Aert.

"Flanders, are you ready?" Evenepoel wrote on his Instagram account to announce the news.

It will be the first time the former Vuelta a España winner tackles the Flanders cobbles.

"If this isn't an April Fool's joke, then it's wonderful news because the Tour of Flanders deserves the best possible line-up," said Van Aert ahead of Wednesday's Across Flanders one-day classic.

Remco Evenepoel Faces First Cobbled Monument Challenge

The Belgian leader of the Red Bull-BORA team is better known for his prowess in the punchy Ardennes classics, such as the Liège-Bastogne-Liège Monument, which he has won twice.

This will be his first participation in a cobbled Monument, having never raced Paris-Roubaix.

Evenepoel, who on Sunday finished the Volta a Catalunya in fifth place overall, had not been due to race again until the Amstel Gold Race, an Ardennes classic that takes place two weeks after Flanders.

While he has never raced a major cobbled classic, Evenepoel is from the village of Schepdaal in Flanders and has spent many hours training on the region's cobbles and short climbs that are a feature of Sunday's 271-kilometer race.