While everybody have their eyes on Italy and the build-up to Milan-Sanremo, the Belgian classics season is slowly getting back into swing after a short break. This week offers two warm-up races for the big races next week. After Wednesday’s Nokere Koerse, it is time for the smaller and less rather new Handzame Classic which should see the sprinters come to the fore on a mostly flat course.

Belgium is one of cycling’s heartland and so most of the UCI races in the country have a long history. It is rare for new events to turn into established races on a calendar that is already loaded but occasionally organizers have success in creating a new race. Handzame Classic is one of the new inventions in Belgium and despite its short history it has already established itself as a fixture in the Milan-Sanremo week.

The race was first held in 2002 when it was one of the stages in the Driedaase van West-Vlaanderen and that was the case until 2010. In 2011, the organizers decided to turn it into a one-day race and since then it has been held every year on the Friday before Milan-Sanremo. It has already found its place and has an important role in the anatomy of the calendar.

The Belgian season kicked off in the opening weekend and the first Walloon race was Le Samyn. After Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen, there has been a small break in the calendar but now the classics season starts for real. From now on, it is a slow progression until it all culminates with the Tour of Flanders.

This week offers two opportunities to warm the legs up. Nokere Koerse and Handzame Classic are chances for some of the less famous riders to lead the team and a chance for the sprinters to shine while the big names are still recovering from Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico. More stars will have arrived for Dwars door Vlaanderen and they all the big names will be present for E3 Harelbeke next Friday. That’s the big dress rehearsal for De Ronde and then Gent-Wevelgem comes as the second most prestigious Flemish classic one week before the Belgian monument.

While Nokere Koerse is characterized by its landmark climb Nokereberg, Handzame Classic is almost completely flat. Hence, it has been decided in a bunch sprit every year since it became a one-day race. With most of the big names preparing for Milan-Sanremo, it has been a great opportunity for some of the younger sprinters or sprinters from the second tier to pick up an important win. That is reflected in the winner’s list which includes Steve Schets, Francesco Chicchi, Kenny Dehaes, Luka Mezgec and Gianni Meersman, with the latter four all sharing the fate of having faster and more famous sprinters in their teams at the time of their win. Meersman won last year’s race in a sprint, with Antoine Demoitie taking second and Tiesj Benoot third.

The course

The 14th edition of Nokere Koerse will be held on a classic 199km course starting in Bredene on the Belgian and coast and finishing in Handzame. The first part of the stage consists of a flay run along the coast closeto the city of Middelkerke and De Panne that are famously known from Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen and Drieddagse van de Panne. Just before they get to the French-Belgian border, the riders will turn left and follow the border as they head inlands. This is classical Gent-Wevelgem terrain but unlike the classic, the race doesn’t feature Kemmelberg or Monteberg. The main challenge will be four paves between the 63.6km and 71.8km marks and another cobbled section before the riders will tackle the climbs of Schomminkelstraat and Scherpenberg after 92 and 98km of racing respectively. Then the riders will leave the border and head in a northeasterly direction towards Handzame and will tackle Stadenberg and Hoogledeberg Steenberg at the 133km and 141km and 158km marks.

After 151.94m of racing, the riders will cross the finish line for the first time. The race ends with 3 laps of a 15.82km finishing circuit. It includes the very small climb of Ruidenberg around 9.5km from the finish but it has never been hard enough to challenge the sprinters. There are no technical challenges in the finale as the final turn comes in a roundabout with 2.4km to go. From there, it is a long straight rod to the finish.

The weather

As it is the case for every Belgian race, the weather plays a huge role in Nokere Koerse. Friday will be cloudy with a maximum temperature of 8 degrees. It will be less windy than it was on Wednesday, with a moderate wind blowing from a northerly direction. This means that there will be mainly be a cross-tailwind and tailwind in the first part and then a cross-headwind in the final part leading to the circuit. Here it will be a headwind in the first half of the circuit and then a tailwind back to the finish.

The favourites

No one has managed to prevent a bunch sprint in Handzame since it became a one-day race and it is very hard to imagine that it will be any different in 2016. In a race with a clear sprint profile, most teams go into the race with a sprinter and will be targeting a sprint finish. To change the outcome in Handzame, you need really bad weather. Friday will be a good day for bike racing and as it won’t be windy and mainly a head- or a tailwind, this is not a day to split the field. With LottoNL-Jumbo as the hardest-working team, we should get a bunch sprint in Handzame after a race that will be less aggressive than Wednesday’s Nokere Koerse.

For both Ronde van Drenthe and Nokere Koerse, we pointed to Dylan Groenewegen as the man to beat but he had to settle for third in both races. He is very eager to get his revenge and this time he has a better chance than he had in the previous races. First of all, Handzame Classic is easier than the previous races so there is less chance that he will be isolated like he was in Drenthe. Secondly, it’s a flat finish which was not the case in Nokere Koerse where the uphill sprint suited him less.

In Nokere, the team had to work very hard to make it a sprint and that left Groenewegen with little support in the finale. This time the team has more manpower as they have a full 8-rider team and have been reinforced by strong riders Bram Tankink and Victor Campenaerts. This should leave Groenewegen which much more support in the finale. Robert Wagner is a very capable lead-out man and Groenewegen is good at positioning. He proved that he is the fastest rider here by coming from far back to take third in Nokere. It will all be about positioning as Groenewegen doesn’t have the strongest train but if he is in a reasonable position, we have little doubt that he will win.

The best train in this race is probably the Wanty team. They have fast riders Kenny Dehaes, Danilo Napolitano and Tom Devriendt to position Roy Jans for the sprint. Things didn’t work out in Nokere but in general they have been doing some very good lead-outs in 2016. Furthermore, Jans has been sprinting really well against some of the fastest riders in the world in the Middle East. He is definitely one of the fastest here and with a great team to support him, he will be Groenewegen’s biggest rival.

Team Sky were very surprised that Danny van Popple was already riding so well in Nokere Koerse which was his first race after a long break due to a knee injury. He showed himself in the front in the hardest moments and even mixed it up in the tough uphill sprint. Before the race in Nokere, he was probably not going to get his own chance in Handzame but now we think that he will be the protected Sky sprinter. On paper, he is one of the fastest here and as he is already in good form, he could already take his first win for Sky here.

Verandas Willems has had some amazing weeks with their two sprinters Timothy Dupont who won a stage in West Flanders and Nokere Koerse, and Aidis Kruopis who won Dorpenomloop Ruchpen. It remains to be seen who will be the protected sprinter here. On Wednesday, the plan was to ride for Kruopis but as they lost each other in the finale, Dupont took his own chance and rode to the win. On paper, Kruopis is probably slightly faster in a flat sprint but Dupont is much better when it comes to positioning. In any case, Verandas Willems were extremely strong in Nokere and they have the firepower to set one of their two sprinters up for the win.

It has been a bad year for defending champion Gianni Meersman who has been far from his best. He was again nowhere to be seen in Nokere but he should be able to do the sprint in this kind of easy race. He is not a pure sprinter and he is definitely not the fastest here but he has the advantage og haing a very strong team to set him up.

Nippo-Vini Fantini are here with Eduard Grosu who is a very big sprint talent. He was in the top 10 in Nokere and should be much stronger in a flat sprint. In last year’s Giro, he probed his competitiveness on the biggest scene and he is supported by Daniele Colli and Pier Paolo De Negri here. This should make him competitive.

Bora-Argon 18 have a very strong train here and Phil Bauhaus has proved that he has a decent turn of speed. He crashed twice in Nokere and will be keen to get his revenge here. Topsport Vlaanderen have Bert Van Lerberghe who achieved a top result in Ruta del Sol. There are faster riders than him but he has proved that he is capable of showing himself at this level.

Kristoffer Halvorsen took a surprise second place in Nokere and everybody will be keen to see what he can do here. He doesn’t describe himself as a sprinter so this flatter finish may be a bit harder for him.

Tinkoff will be giving young Erik Baska the chance like they also did on a few stages in Dubai and Langkawi. Until now he has not had much success but he has one of the best lead-outs. Finally, Lotto Soudal are here with both Tosh van der Sande and Jasper De Buyst. Both can take their chance in a sprint and it remains to be seen who will be the protected rider. None of them are usually fast enough to win a flat sprint but as Lotto Soudal are one of the strongest teams, the support from the teammates could make them competitive.

For more sprinters, keep an eye on Roman Maikin, Gregorz Stepniak, Kevin Ista, JustinJules, Gerry Druyts, Frederique Robert, Benjamin Verraes, Joeri Stallaert, Nicolas Vereecken, Alexander Krieger, Fabio Silvestre and Jelle Mannaerts.

***** Dylan Groenewegen

**** Roy Jans, Danny van Poppel

*** Aidis Kruopis, Timothy Dupont, Gianni Meersman

** Eduard Grosu, Phil Bauhaus, Bert Van Lerberghe, Kristoffer Halvorsen, Erik Baska, Jasper De Buyst, Tosh van der Sande

* Barry Markus, Dylan Page, Alberto Cecchin, Chris Opie, Andrea Pasqualon, Andrew Fenn, Amaury Capiot, Gerald Ciolek, Andre Looij