With the cobbled classics now done and dusted, we face a changing of the guards as the powerful, strong men will take a well-deserved rest while the punchy climbers will enter the scene in the Ardennes classics. The transition is marked perfectly by tomorrow's Brabantse Pijl semi-classic which offers the main actors in the most famous hilly races one final chance to test their legs ahead of the big WorldTour races but shorter climbs and even a few cobbles mean that the race also appeals to some of the Tour of Flanders contenders who may choose to make use of their good condition to give it one final shot in a major race.

 

The professional cycling season is divided into several phases that suit different kinds of riders. After the many preparation races in January and February, Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico gave the stage racers a chance to shine before a special type of classics riders took the spotlight in Milan-Sanremo and the cobbled classics. That part came to an end with Paris-Roubaix andnow the lighter guys are ready take over in the Ardennes classics before we head into the grand tour season.

 

After Mathew Hayman’s win in Roubaix, we are now in one of those transition phases. Hayman will join the likes of Tom Boonen, Alexander Kristoff, Fabian Cancellara and Peter Sagan who all take a well-deserved rest while a whole new crop of riders are putting the final touches to the preparation for their big races, the Ardennes classics, that will kick off with Sunday's Amstel Gold Race. Tomorrow they will get the final chance to warm up their legs for the bigger races to come when some of the key contenders will line up at the Brabantse Pijl semi-classic.

 

Held on the Sunday ahead of the Tour of Flanders, the Brabantse Pijl was for several years a monstrosity in the cobbles season. With almost no pave sections on the hilly course near the city of Leuven and a hard finish on the Alsemberg climb, the race saw a number of Ardennes riders test their legs while most people had their attention firmly focused on De Ronde a week later.

 

In a restructure of the Belgian classics calendar in 2010, the race got a race date in the part of the season to which it really belongs. Replacing the cobbled Scheldeprijs on the Wednesday between Paris-Roubaix and Amstel Gold Race, the race now has its legitimacy as the final and perfect preparation race for the three important classics in Belgium and the Netherlands. At the same time the route was changed to further accommodate its new role.

 

First held in 1961, the race lacks the deep history that characterize the biggest races but it has always been a hotly contested affair. A winners list that includes the likes of Eddy Merckx, Freddy Maertens, Roger De Vlaeminck, and Claude Criquelion in its early years proves that the race is not to be taken lightly. The most successful rider in the race is Edwig Van Hooydonck who took four wins between 1987 and 1995 while in recent years Oscar Freire has been the dominant figure, winning the race thrice in a row from 2005 to 2007 but failing to add that record fourth win to his palmares.

 

Unsurprisingly, the race has gained in stature as a consequence of its new date. After a surprise breakaway victory in 2010, the last five editions have seen a fascinating battle between some of the finest Ardennes specialists all in peak condition. In past years, the riders who could really excel in this race were not yet at their bestand so often skipped the race but in the past few years, it has attracted a star-studded line-up of Ardennes stars. In 2011, the race even signaled the start of Philippe Gilbert's unprecedented run of classics success as the Belgian gobbled up the semi-classic ahead of his all-conquering assault in the Ardennes. The race may not officially belong to the Ardennes classics but in fact the Ardennes week may now be seen as stretching all the way from Brabantse Pijl to Liege-Bastogne-Liege.

 

The race marks the transition from the cobbles to the Ardennes perfectly. Despite only having very few cobbles, the race is a sort of amalgamation between a cobbled and an Ardennes classic. With no less than 26 climbs on the course, climbing legs are clearly the main attribute in any quest for success. However, the race is held just south of Bruxelles and so the long climbs of the Ardennes are absent from the race route. Instead, the race features several short, sharp ascents - some even with cobbles - that are much more comparable to the hellingen tackled in the Tour of Flanders.

 

In that sense, the build-up of the hilly classics schedule now follows a nice progression. Starting with the short ramps in the Brabantse Pijl, the climbs gradually get longer and longer in the Amstel Gold Race and Fleche Wallonne before Liege-Bastogne-Liege will round off the classics season as the race most suited to pure climbers and stage race riders and so it leads the season naturally into the grand tours. Hence, it is no surprise to see a number of the in-form cobbles specialists try to get one last result before they will take a well-deserved rest, and the start list contains a mix of both types of classics riders. This aspect is reflected by the winners list that both include cobbles specialists like Johan Museeuw, Luca Paolini and Sylvain Chavanel and Ardennes riders like Philippe Gilbert, Michele Bartoli and Michael Boogerd.

 

Last year the race was a real test event for the Amstel Gold Race as two of the biggest favourites for the Dutch classic battled it out on the Belgian road. Having taken the two top spots on the podium in 2014, Philippe Gilbert and Michael Matthews were the overwhelming favourites but the race ended up with a surprise winner. BMC had a formidable team at the start and tried to put Orica-GreenEDGE on the defensive by sending an in-form Ben Hermans on the attack. While Gilbert did a perfect job to cover moves from behind, Hermans dropped his companions and soloed to victory, with Matthews beating Gilbert in the sprint for second just 2 seconds later. The race was a perfect indication of what was to come as Matthews and Gilbert went on to be the best on the Cauberg four days later. Hermans will be back to defend his title and Matthews will try to turn two consecutive second places into victory but there will be no return for Philippe Gilbert who fractured his finger in a training altercation last week.

 

The course

The 2010 edition was not only the first one that saw the race being held at a different date, it also marked the introduction of a new, harder course that made it even more suited to its new date. More climbs were added to make the race more similar to the ones that are coming up in the Ardennes.

 

The revision of the course meant that the race abandoned its traditional finish on the Alsemberg and the former landmark climb now only plays a secondary role in the layout of the race. Instead, the key point of the event is a hard finishing circuit in the city of Overijse containing no less than 5 climbs and with the peloton scheduled to tackle three laps, it is a hard end to the race with 15 short ascents inside the final 70km of the race. With a total of 26 small ascents and a few cobbled sections, it has ingredients from both the northern and the Ardennes classics which make it a diverse and tough affair. Compared to last year, the course is almost unchanged.

 

At 205.4km, the race has the length of a classic midweek race in between two major classics. The riders start from its traditional site in the city of Leuven and head in a southwesterly direction for a mostly flat run to the race's former finish location, passing the finishing city of Overijse along the way. In this phase, they will go up the Rue de Hal climb after 57.1km of racing before doing a small lap on a circuit near the previous finish. This section includes the former landmark climbs of the Alsemberg and the Bruineput that come at the 68.4km and 74.0km marks respectively but no longer play any key role in the race.

 

The riders will then turn around and travel along the same route back to the city of Overijse. With 4 climbs -Karbosstraat, Rue de Nivelles, Chaussee de Bruxelles and Rue Francois Dubois - on the menu, the route is slightly more challenging in the opposite direction but the opening part of the race is mostly a rather calm affair. After some early attacking, an early break usually takes the opportunity to enjoy some time in the spotlight while the favourites save their energy for the final battle on the finishing circuit.

 

The pace gradually heats up and the racing gets serious as soon as the peloton hits the finish line for the first time after 135.2km of racing. At this point, they have already done almost a full lap of the finishing circuit, having tackled four of the five climbs that will dominate the finale. The riders now do 3 laps of the same 23.4km finishing circuit that has been the arbiter since 2010. With 5 climbs of which one is cobbled, it is a tricky affair, and attacks usually go thick and fast as soon as the peloton starts the first lap.

 

The first climb, Hagaard, comes just 2.7km after the passage of the line, with Hertstraat following 3.8km further up the road. 6.5km later it is time for the Holstheide while the final two climbs come in quick succession close to the finish. 4.2km from the line, the riders will tackle the cobbled Ijskelderlaan before they go down a technical descent. The final challenge, Schavei, starts just 1.2km from the finish and summits when the riders make a left-hand turn onto a slightly uphill finishing straight just 200m from the line. Most of the finishing circuit is non-technical but the final 5km are a really challenging affair that includes several turns and a tricky descent inside the final 3km. It even includes a few hairpin bends and ends 2.2km from the line. The next flat section includes a few additional turns that make the run-in to the final climb very complicated.

 

The climbs are not very long and to make a difference, the best riders usually have to go hard all the way from the bottom to the top. Individually, they are easy affairs but the combined total of 26 short, sharp climbs make the race a tough event suited to the punchy finishers.

 

History proves that one can get a top result in this race by anticipating the favourites and the racing on the finishing circuit is usually a true festival of attacks, making it one of the most aggressive and entertaining races of the entire season. While the major classics are often pretty controlled, this race is at the opposite end of the spectrum. The race situation is constantly changing, with new groups forming, splitting up and merging. Even some key outsiders often attack from afar and it is always a delicate affair for the favourites to find out when to make their moves. At some point, the best riders usually bridge across to the strongest escapees by which time a small group with a mix of favourites and attackers forms and goes on to decide the race on the Schavei. In 2014, Philippe Gilbert seemed to have made such a move to join the group with Gerrans and Leukemans but it all came back together, proving that the race can also be decided in a sprint from a reduced peloton. That almost happened again in 2015 as only 2 seconds separated Ben Hermans from the peloton. Even though a smaller group usually decides the race, it is certainly not impossible that the peloton is still together at the bottom of the Schavei climb and a punchy sprinter like past winner Oscar Freire has a chance to arrive victorious in Overijse. Even though the climb ends 200m from the line, the group usually splits on the ascent, making the finish more suited to punchy guys than fast finishers and it is usually the Ardennes specialists that excel in this race.

 

 

The weather

In every Belgian classic, the weather conditions can play a huge role. Wind and rain may traditionally had a slightly smaller impact in the hilly races than on the cobbles but in a race like Brabantse Pijl with many narrow roads and tricky descents, most riders will prefer the weather to be good, especially as the roads in Overijse have often been very slippery.

 

They could not have wished for a better weather forecast as Wednesday will be an excellent spring day. It will be bright sunshine all day and a maximum temperature of 16 degrees.

 

There will only be a very light wind from a westerly direction which means that the riders will first have a cross-headwind during their long run in the beginning of the race before they turn into a crosswind as they head to the Alsemberg circuit. Then they will turn into a cross-tailwind as they go back to the finishing circuit in Overijse. Here they will mostly have a tail- or a headwind, with a headwind dominating in the second half.  With 3.5km to go, the riders will turn into a cross-tailwind for the technical descent but 2km from the line, a sharp turn leads them into a headwind. It will be a cross-headwind as they go up Schawei and when they sprint the final 200m to the line on the false flat.

 

The favourites

Heading into the 2013 edition of the Dutch classic, the Amstel Gold Race was billed as a big duel between Philippe Gilbert and Peter Sagan and with both major contenders on the start line, Brabantse Pijl got a lot of attention as a big dress rehearsal of the battle between the two major favourites. It hasn’t had the same status since that year though Last year the race presented both Philippe Gilbert who was the big Amstel favourites, and Michael Matthews who were more of an outsider for the Dutch classic, were the two contenders for Brabantse Pijl and those two riders went on to be the strongest on the Cauberg.

 

Both Gilbert and Matthews featured on the original start list and the organizers were looking forward to another big dress rehearsal between the two riders that were probably the biggest Amstel favourites. However, a strange training altercation has taken Gilbert out of contention and so the field is missing a key component. Nonetheless, the race still offers a great chance to gauge the condition of several Ardennes contenders. Most of the climbers that did the race in the Basque Country may be absent but the field contains most of the real one-day specialists that don't mix it up in both stage races and the classics. Most of these riders either haven't done the Basque race or haven't dug deep day in and day out and now need one final hit-out ahead of Sunday's race. On the other hand, the past trend of cobbled classics contenders ending their spring campaign by including the Belgian race, seems to be fading as Paris-Roubaix winner Mathew Hayman is the only top name from the Hell of the North to be on the start line. Greg Van Avermaet has often done this race but he is out with a broken collarbone. On the other hand, a rider like Dries Devenyns who is usually strong in the Flemish races, skipped Roubaix as he combines the hilly Flemish classics with the races in the Ardennes, making it evident that this race is somewhat of an amalgamation between Ardennes and Flemish races.

 

Brabantse Pijl is a very difficult race to handle for the pre-race favourites. The many climbs and aggressive racing mean that it is very hard to control and so the race has often been won by a strong group that escapes on the final circuit. On the other hand, it is also perfectly possible that the race comes down to a final battle on the Schavei and then it is important not to have burnt the matches too early.

 

The challenges of the race were evident in 2014 when Philippe Gilbert was the red-hot favourite to win. The Belgian suddenly found himself on the back foot when a very dangerous group with the likes of Simon Gerrans and Bjorn Leukemans had escaped and his BMC team seemed to blow up when they tried to chase it down. Gilbert felt that he had missed the winning move and spent more than 10km in lone pursuit of the leaders before he made the junction. At that same moment, however, Giant-Alpecin and CCC Polsat had managed to bring it back together and Gilbert suddenly found himself in a difficult position. In the end, he still had enough left in the tank to win the uphill sprint but the situation proves that it is very difficult to find out how to approach this race: do you have to ride aggressively or the circuit or hope for an uphill sprint on the Schavei?

 

This makes the race an exciting affair that can be won by a wide range of riders. As Thome Voeckler’s 2012 victory and Ben Hermans’ 2015 win prove the race can be won by a lone attacker and in 2010, the early breakaway even made it to the finish. However, the race is usually decided in a final battle on the Schavei among a group of escapees or a bigger peloton and this means that the race suits the puncheurs who have a good kick on a short climb. As the sprint is on a false flat, it is combination of sprinting skills and climbing legs that usually decides the race. This makes it very comparable to Amstel Gold Race whose new finish is pretty similar, with a short climb leading to a flat finale. However, the Cauberg is a lot harder than Schavei and the Ducth classic is longer than Brabantse Pijl, meaning that it is a far tougher race than the Belgian midweek classic.

 

It is hard to say whether this year’s race will be decided in a sprint from a bigger group or whether a break will stay away. The good weather should make the race easier and this should make it easier to bring it back together. On the other hand, Michael Matthews is the big favourite if it comes down to a sprint and no one really wants to bring the Australian to the line. This means that almost every other team will approach the race with an aggressive mindset and it will be mostly up to Orica-GreenEDGE to control the race. They have a relatively young team here as most of their veterans will only arrive later and even though Jack Haig and Damien Howson are great climbing talents, it will be hard for them to control a race with many of the best Ardennes specialists. Jens Keukeleire and Mathew Hayman provide some firepower but both are probably tired after Paris-Roubaix and Daryl Impey has just returned after a break following the birth of his child.

 

Important allies are Bryan Coquard’s Direct Energie and Sonny Colbrelli’s Bardiani but the latter is barely able to make a contribution. Orica-GreenEDGE will hope that key teams miss the important moves in the finale as this will provide them with some assistance. If his team blows up, Matthews may have to move from afar and this could take the sting out of his legs. There is a pretty big chance that a breakaway will make it as Matthews’ status as the favourite means that there is little interest in a sprint finish.

 

Nonetheless, it is hard not to regard Michael Matthews as the favourite. The Australian may be known as a sprinter but he is much more than just a fast finisher. In fact he is one of the best in the business when it comes to the kind of short, steep climbs that characterize Brabantse Pijl. Last year he was the only rider to hang onto Philippe Gilbert on the Cauberg at the Amstel Gold Race while riders like Alejandro Valverde, Dan Martin and Joaquim Rodriguez were left behind. That speaks volumes about his potential in these races and Brabantse Pijl is probably the hilly classic that suits him the most.

 

Matthews has twice finished second in this race. In 2014, he was beaten by Gilbert in a sprint and last year he was the fastest from the bunch behind the lone Ben Hermans. Since 2014, he has become a lot stronger on the climbs and this year he has probably climbed better than ever before. In fact, he was climbing so well that he was even regarded as potential winner of Paris-Nice. It is hard to imagine that anyone will be able to drop Matthews on this course and in this kind of uphill sprint, he is very hard to beat. Bryan Coquard is faster than him in a flat sprint but with a short finishing straight coming at the top of a hard climb, Matthews definitely has the upper hand over all his rivals.

 

The big challenge will be to get the sprint finish. As said, Orica-GreenEDGE don’t have their best team here and their big rivals from Lotto Soudal, BMC and Etixx-QuickStep all want to blow the race to pieces. Matthews is strong enough to go into attacking mode and follow the best but if he has no teammates at his side, he can’t follow every move. If it is everybody fighting against him, it will be very hard to win.

 

On the other hand, the circumstances often favour a sprint finish. If one or two key teams have missed the move, they will start to chase. That could play into the hands of Matthews and he just needs to focus on a few key teams. It won’t be an easy task but the way he has been climbing and sprinting in 2016 naturally makes Matthews the five-star favourite for the race.

 

Etixx-QuickStep are riding on home soil but have rarely had much success in this race. Mostly, their Ardennes captains have skipped the event and this year there will be no Dan Martin either. Nonetheless, the Belgians will be more competitive than usual as co-captain Julian Alaphilippe lines up young sensation Petr Vakoc.

 

While Alaphilippe’s condition is very uncertain, no one will doubt that Vakoc will be extremely competitive. The Czech has had a breakthrough year and has been flying since February. When he rode to an impressive solo win in a brutal stage at last year’s Tour of Britain, it was already clear that he was destined for greatness but it is the 2016 season that has really proved his worth. He became the first rider to win Classic Sud-Ardeche and Drome Classic in the same year, two hilly French one-day races that are held in the same weekend. He rode very well in Strade Bianche and he did an excellent job for Martin in Catalonia.

 

He will be back in a support role in the biggest classics but this race is his chance to lead the team. The hilly course suits him down to the ground as he is very explosive on short, steep climbs and has a very fast sprint, especially at the end of a hard race. It will be hard for him to beat Matthews in a sprint but in a race where attacking is likely to pay off, he will be one of the strongest. Only a select few can hope to beat him in a sprint to the line and this makes him one of the big favourites.

 

Tony Gallopin has a great track record in this race. In fact, he has been third in the sprint behind the Gilbert-Matthews duo two years in a row (in 2015, it was only enough for fourth place) and it is no coincidence that he has had good results here. Being a good climber with a very fast sprint, the course suits him well even though he would have preferred it to be harder.

 

In 2015, Gallopin didn’t really reach his best for the Ardennes but he went on to ride excellently in the summer. The Tour de France proved that his potential in both the high mountains and moderately hilly terrain is much bigger than most expected and if he has the same kind of form here, he will be very dangerous. He only used Vuelta al Pais Vasco as training so it is hard to know how he is going bot this race will provide us with a lots of answers. He won’t beat Matthews in a sprint but he will be one of the best in an attacking race. If he can get rid of the habit of always losing sprints that he should have won, he will be one of the favourites from a late attack.

 

Sonny Colbrelli is the rider with the biggest chance to beat Matthews in a sprint. The Italian has always been very competitive in hilly races but health issues meant that he never showed his full potential in 2015. This year he is back on track and he has been climbing much better. He has been able to match some excellent climbers in the hardest Italian one-day races and if he hadn’t been in an impossible tactical situation, he would definitely have won the Volta Limburg Classic. In that race, he was very impressive in the final kilometre as he almost closed the gap to Floris Gerts by doing a very long sprint and Philippe Gilbert could not even try to come around.

 

Colbrelli is strong on the climbs and he may be good enough to follow the attacks. However, his best chance comes in a sprint finish and there is little doubt that he has the speed to challenge Matthews. In the past, the many climbs would probably take the sting out of his legs but this year he will be a lot fresher at the finish. It won’t be easy to beat Matthews but Colbrelli definitely has a chance in this kind of tough finale.

 

One of the big question marks is Tom Dumoulin. On paper, this race suits the big Dutchman really well but it remains to be seen how he is going. For the first, the Ardennes classics won’t be a goal for him and he will only do Amstel Gold Race on home soil as he gears up for the Giro. This means that he is in the middle of a big training block and not even his own team knows whether he is fresh enough to be competitive. Dumoulin could easily be completely off the pace but you can never count on such a talented bike rider. He is brutally strong in moderately hilly terrain and he is very fast in a sprint. If he has recovered from his training, this is the kind of race that he can win from a small group.

 

Speaking about big question marks, Julian Alaphilippe’s name stands out. The Frenchman suffered from mononucleosis in the winter and so he has had a bad preparation for the Ardennes classics. He has been racing since February but he has not shown any kind of form yet and no one really knows whether he will get ready in time for the biggest races.

 

However, he hasn’t raced since Catalonia so he is likely to have improved a lot during the last two weeks and so it is way too early to rule him out. Etixx-QuickStep have made it clear that Vakoc is the leader for this race which maybe indicates that he is not at 100%. On the other hand, it may be a reflection of the uncertainty regarding Alaphilippe who will probably have a bit more of a free role. His performances in the Ardennes 12 months ago prove that he is the biggest talent for the hilly classics and as this race suits him really well, he definitely has the skills to win a sprint from a breakaway.

 

Enrico Gasparotto has been one of the best riders in the hilly classics but he hasn’t been at his top level in recent years. However, he seems to be on track for great things in 2016. He was riding extremely well in Catalonia where he was up there in the sprints and did surprisingly well in the high mountains. He hasn’t raced since then but there is no reason to suggest that he hasn’t improved for his big objectives. This is a race that suits him well. As an Ardennes specialist, he climbs well and he is fast in this kind of tough sprint. He would have preferred the finish to come at the top of the climb but an in-form Gasparotto will definitely be one of the best in what could be an aggressive Brabantse Pijl.

 

An attacking race is just what Tim Wellens is asking for. The Belgian has always failed to hit peak condition for the Ardennes classics but his potential for these races is huge. He won a brutally hard edition of GP Montreal and he has taken solo wins in the Eneco Tour queen stage twice in a row. His form is a bit uncertain as he used Pais Vasco as training and even though he did well in the breakaway on stage 4, he was not the dominant force in the group that one would have expected. Furthermore, this race is a bit too easy for him and most of the Ardennes specialists are faster than him. On the other hand, he forms a very dangerous duo with Gallopin and if those two riders combine forces in a breakaway, there’s no reason that Wellens can’t make a successful attack in the finale.

 

It will be very interesting to see how Bryan Coquard handles this race. The Frenchman is known as a sprinter but don’t be fooled by his fast legs. He climbs really well too as he proved by taking second behind Alejandro Valverde in the very hard Montjuic stage at the 2015 Volta a Catalunya. He is still getting stronger and in the future he hopes to be competitive at the Amstel Gold Race. This race is a good stepping stone and it will be interesting to see how he handles the climbing. He has been set back by injury but has had a remarkable comeback with excellent performances on the cobbles and a win at Route Adelié Vitré. He won’t be strong enough to follow the attacks but there is a chance that he can hang onto the best for a sprint finish. In a flat finish, he would have been the favourite but it remains to be seen whether he can also be competitive in a sprint at the top of Schavei.

 

Cannondale are here with Tom-Jelte Slagter who is back on track after a poor spring season in 2015. However, the Dutchman is hugely inconsistent and you never know what you will get from him. In 2014, he rode excellently at Liege and Fleche and his potential for these races is huge. However, he hasn’t been at his best in 2015 and he wasn’t really flying in Pais Vasco. He has a devastating uphill sprint but this kind of false flat suits him less. Nonetheless, he is likely to be one of the fastest if he can make it into a strong group in the finale.

 

Defending champion Ben Hermans was expected to play a support role for Philippe Gilbert but now he will suddenly be the BMC leader. The 2015 season revealed the full extent of his overlooked potential as he rode to wins in the queen stage at the Arctic Race of Norway and in a stage of the Tour de Yorkshire. He is very strong in this terrain but most of the favourites are faster than him. He needs to ride an aggressive race and can count a very strong (and young) BMC team to blow the race to pieces. However, he will be much more of a marked man and this will make it harder for him to win.

 

IAM have a three-pronged attack with Jarlinson Pantano, Dries Devenyns and David Tanner. In 2015, the latter was closest to victory but the former two are probably their best cards. Devenyns has had a fantastic year and was on track for a great Tour of Flanders until he fell ill just before the race. Now he has turned his attention to the Ardennes but it remains to be seen whether he still had the same excellent condition he has a few weeks ago. He is very strong on the climbs but most of the favourites are faster which means that he has to ride aggressively. Pantano is the second option. He is faster than Devenyns but hasn’t proved his abilities in the classics yet. On the other hand, he is constantly getting stronger and on paper a hilly race with a sprint from a small group suits him down to the ground.

 

Finally, Silvan Dillier deserves a mention. The Swiss is destined for greatness in both the cobbles and moderately hard hilly classics as he climbs really well and has a fast sprint. Last year he won a very hard stage at the Arctic Race of Norway and this year he will probably be stronger. He will be the protected BMC rider for a sprint but is also strong enough to ride aggressively. The main question is his form. He hasn’t raced a lot as he has a big eye on the track and the Olympics. He has built some form in Pais Vasco and it remains to be seen how he has come out of that race.

 

***** Michael Matthews

**** Petr Vakoc, Tony Gallopin

*** Sonny Colbrelli, Tom Dumoulin, Julian Alaphilippe, Enrico Gasparotto

** Tim Wellens, Bryan Coquard, Tom-Jelte Slagter, Ben Hermans, Jarlinson Pantano, Dries Devenyns, Silvan Dillier

* Gianni Meersman, Davide Rebellin, Maurits Lammertink, Thomas Voeckler, David Tanner, Dylan Teuns, Loic Vliegen, Ramunas Navardauskas, Mads Pedersen, Sam Oomen, Pieter Serry, Nathan Haas, Kristian Sbaragli, Filippo Pozzato, Floris De Tier, Dimitri Claeys