Most of the riders finalized their preparations for the national championships at last week’s stage races but the Belgians and Frenchmen always have one final opportunity to stretch their legs in the week leading up to the battle for the prestigious jerseys. The one-day race Halle-Ingooigem is the traditional warm-up race for the Belgian Championships and has often been a great testing ground for the favourites for the Belgian Championships and a great chance for the sprinters to go for glory, and with the likes of Fernando Gaviria, Nacer Bouhanni and Arnaud Demare set to clash a likely bunch sprint, the scene is set for another great bunch sprint in the streets of Ingooigem.

 

The final two weeks before the start of the Tour de France are usually pretty quiet. The fight for the national champions’ jerseys take centre stage while most of the favourites for La Grande Boucle finalize their preparations at training camps in the mountains.

 

However, there’s one big international race on the calendar. Halle-Ingooigem may not be the biggest one-day race on the rich Belgian calendar but it plays a crucial role for most of the local riders. The race is a final chance to get racing speed in the legs before the battle for the Drikleur, one of the most coveted jerseys in cycling. At the same time, it has become a popular event for the best French sprinters who have often used the event as a warm-up for their national championships and a final chance to do an international sprint before their big home race in July.

 

The race was first held in 1945 and was known as Brussel-Ingooigem until 2005. It has been part of the UCI calendar since 2002, first as a smaller event, but since 2005 it has been a 1.1 category with participation from WorldTour teams.

 

The race is held in Flanders and so includes some of the famous hellingen known from the biggest Belgian classics. Climbs like Kanarieberg, Kruisberg, Hotondberg, Knokteberg and Tiegemberg have ofted featured on the course. The latter climb has been part of the finishing circuit for several years and since last year the organizers have added the Hellestraat to make the final part of the race tougher.

 

There may be climbs on the course but they have rarely been enough to challenge the sprinters. Occasionally, the race has split up and suited attackers – most notably loyal domestique Jurgen Van De Walle won twice in a row in 2009 and 2010 – but usually it has been a race for the sprinters. The last four editions have all been decided in bunch sprints, with Nacer Bouhanni winning in 2012 and 2015, Arnaud Demare coming out on top in 2014 and Kenny Dehaes taking the victory in 2013.

 

The recent French domination shows that the race has been a preferred final test for the French sprinters who have used it to gear up for their National Championships. This year is no exception as both Bouhanni and Demare will be at the start, with the former also using it as an important test for the Tour.

 

The Belgians may have had less success in recent years but it’s still an important event on the calendar as most of the biggest names usually use it to get ready for the national championships. Its importance is reflected by the aspect that a strong national team usually gathers several WorldTour riders from teams that are not on the start list in the race. In 2016, the national team is made up purely of riders from the elite division as Edward Theuns, JasperStuyven, Stijn Devolder, Oliver Naesen, Tom Van Asbroeck, Jesn Keukeleire, Bert De Backer and Zico Waeytens will form one of the strongest teams for the event.

 

Last Bouhanni became the third rider in the history to win the race twice as he beat Kris Boeckmans and Edward Theuns in a bunch sprint.

 

The course

The 2016 edition of the race will be held on a very traditional 200.5km course. The first 104.9km will see the riders get from the start in Halle to the finish in Ingooigem. Along the way, they will tackle the Kanarieberg, Kruisberg, Hotondberg, Knokteberg and Tiegemberg.Then they will tackle one lap of a 25km circuit that includes the climbs of Hellestraat, Tiegemberg and Holstraat. The final part of the race consists of four laps of a 17.7km circuit which includes the former two climbs. However, the rest of the course is predominantly flat and the final climb comes 11.3km from the finish. The finale is pretty straightforward as there aren’t many technical challenges, with the final turn coming with 2.6km to go.

 

The favourites

In recent years, Halle-Ingooigem has been a race for sprinters and whenever a race becomes known as a sprint race, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Most of the teams go into the race with dedicated sprint teams and that makes it harder to break up the race. Only the weather can potentially derail things for the fast riders and at this time of the year the conditions are much nicer than they are for similar races in the spring.

 

This year there will again be lots of fast riders at the start. Cofidis and FDJ are here to sprint with Nacer Bouhanni and Arnaud Demare respectively. Lotto Soudal will probably try to split things up but they will be comfortable if it comes down to a sprint as they have Jens Debusschere as a solid card to play. Wanty have Kenny Dehaes and Veranda’s Willems have proved that they are not afraid to support Timothy Dupont even in races with lots of WorldTour teams.

 

Etixx-QuickStep and the Belgian national team have the key to breaking things up. The former  team have proved that they are never content with a defensive approach in these races even though they have Fernando Gaviria at the start. The Belgian team is made up of lots of individuals who are keen to test their legs and they will probably try to make things hard.

 

The race has often been very aggressive and fast as many riders want to test themselves for Sunday’s racebut even those circumstances have not been enough to split the field. It is hard to imagine that it will be any different in 2016. However, thunderstorms are forecasted for the afternoon and that can make things harder. On the other hand, there won’t be much wind as there will just be a light breeze from a southerly direction.

 

It won’t be impossible for a strong group to deny the sprinters if there are riders from the national team, Etixx-QuickStep and Lotto Soudal in the group. However, the most likely outcome is a bunch sprint as Cofidis, FDJ and Wanty will be fully focused on such an outcome.

 

With Nacer Bouhanni, Arnaud Demare and Fernando Gaviria all at the start, the scene is set for a very competitive bunch kick. Cofidis and FDJ have the most well-drilled trains but Etixx-QuickStep probably have the fastest sprinters. That makes it a pretty open and exciting affair.

 

When it comes to pure speed, Gaviria is probably the fastest but the Colombian is not in his best form. He was set back by injury in May and only returned to racing in early June. The Tour de Suisse clearly revealed that he is far from his best. Furthermore, he doesn’t have the best train at his disposal as he hasn’t done much racing with his lead-out men Tom Boonen, Gianni Meersman and Nikolas Maes.

 

That tips the balance and makes Nacer Bouhanni our favourite. By winning a stage at the Dauphiné, the Frenchman proved that he is close to his best after a mid-season break. This is no surprise as the French Championships and the Tour de France are among his biggest goals and he is always flying at this time of the year. It is definitely no coincidence that he a double winner of this race.

 

In addition to his speed, Bouhanni can count on a great train. With Cyril Lemoine, Geoffrey Soupe and Christophe Laporte at his side, he is supported by most of his usual lead-out group. At the Dauphiné, they proved that they could even take on the great Katusha train and this shows how far they have come since their poor showing in Dunkirk in May. Cofidis only have six riders at the start so they have to gauge their effort carefully but if they can time things well, they should dominate the finale. If they manage to do so, it takes a great sprint to beat Bouhanni.

 

As said, Fernando Gaviria is probably faster than Bouhanni but his form is a bit uncertain. He crashed in Switzerland and failed to make much of an impact in the sprints. When he was finally in contention, he backed off to give his teammate Maximilano Richeze the chance to pick up a rare victory.

 

On the other hand, he got through the Swiss race and that must have served him well. He has proved that he doesn’t need much racing to be in good condition and if he has recovered from his effort, he should be stronger here. His train may not have much worked much together but they have plenty of experience. If they can position Gaviria well, he is definitely capable of winning this race.

 

Arnaud Demare is a former winner of this race but it has been evident that he is no longer the sprinter he once was. He may have won Milan-Sanremo but he has had less of an impact in the bunch sprints. However, the main problem is his ability to position himself. When it has come to pure speed, he has always been up there, winning Milan-Sanremo and a stage at Paris-Nice. Furthermore, his train worked very well at the Giro and with the likes of Sebastien Chavanel, Marc Sarreau, Yoann Offredo and Mickael Delage, he is really well-supported here. Unfortunately, they didn’t really shine at the Route du Sud where Direct Energie did much better and here they will be up against stronger teams. Furthermore, Demare was not sprinting excellently last week and as he is not doing the Tour, he is unlikely to be at his best.

 

Kenny Dehaes has been flying in recent months, winning stages in Dunkirk and Picardie and taking the victory at the Ronde van Limburg. He failed to do well in the Ster ZLM Toer but that’s not a major issue as he has never been a very consistent sprinter. For this race, he has fasts guys like Tom Devriendt and Roy Jans to support him and if they can do things well for their fast Belgian, Dehaes should find the slightly uphill finale to his liking.

 

Jens Debusschere crashed at Gent-Wevelgem and missed most of the spring. However, he proved that he has returned to form when he sprinted to second behind Bouhanni in stage 1 at the Dauphiné. The Belgian is set to do the Tour and so is likely to be in peak condition. Furthermore, he can count on one of the best lead-out men in the world as he will have an in-form Jurgen Roelandts at his side. He may not be the fastest here but with a bit of luck, it’s not impossible to win.

 

The big question is how the Belgian national team will handle this race. On paper, all their riders apart from Devolder are really fast riders so they have a great train. On the other hand, they haven’t worked together in the past so they will probably lack the experience. They are most likely to do the sprint for Edward Theuns and Tom Van Asbroeck who have both done very well recently. As the former finished on the podium last year, he is likely to be the protected rider and if his team can cooperate, they have the firepower to deliver him to victory.

 

Tom Van Asbroeck is the back-up plan. The Belgian hasn’t done much sprinting this year and he sprinted pretty poorly at the Tour of Norway. However, he looked like his former self in the Tour de Suisse where he finished fourth in the only real sprint in the race. He is not the fastest rider here but with this kind of firepower to support, it’s not impossible to win.

 

Timothy Dupont has had a bit of a breakthrough season, taking numerous wins and podium spots event in races with strong WorldTour opponents. Most recently, he was third, second and fourth in the sprints at the Ster ZLM Toer so his form is outstanding. With his great positioning skills, he has become one of the most consistent riders in the peloton and he has proved that he can win at this level.

 

Wallonie are here with Baptiste Planckaert who – like Dupont – has had a breakthrough in 2016. Recently, he rode very well at the Belgium Tour where he finished in the top 4 in all road stages, was fifth overall and won the points jersey. However, this race may be a bit too easy for him and his best chance is probably to do what he did on stage 2 in Belgium: go on the attack and try to win the sprint from a small group.

 

That kind of approach can also suit Tom Boonen, Jurgen Roelandts, Tosh van der Sande, Jasper Stuyven, Jens Keukeleire, Pieter Vanspeybrouck, Sebastien Delfosse, and Oliver Naesen. They are all fast from a small group and have proved to be in good form. Riding for Etixx-QuickStep, Lotto Soudal and the national team who all want a hard race, they will all be free to take their chance.

 

If you care looking for more sprinters, keep an eye on Bert Van Lerberghe, Amaury Capiot, Jason Lowndes, Dylan Page, Alberto Cecchin, Anthony Giacoppo, Nicolas Vereecken, Tim Merlier, Joeri Stallaert, Jelle Mannaerts and Justin Jules.

 

***** Nacer Bouhanni

**** Fernando Gaviria, Arnaud Demare

*** Kenny Dehaes, Jens Debusschere, Edward Theuns, Timothy Dupont

** Tom Van Asbroeck, Baptiste Planckaert, Tom Boonen, Jurgen Roelandts, Jens Keukeleire, Jasper Stuyven

* Tosh van der Sande, Pieter Vanspeybrouck, Oliver Naesen, Bert Van Lerberghe, Amaury Capiot, Alberto Cecchin, Tim Merlier, Amaury Capiot