With the cobbled classics now done and dusted, we face a changing of the guards as the powerful, strong men take a well-deserved rest while the punchy climbers enter the scene in the Ardennes classics. The transition is marked perfectly by tomorrow's Brabantse Pijl semi-classic which offers main actors in the most famous hilly races one final chance to test their legs but shorter climbs and even a few cobbles mean that the race also appeals to some of the Tour of Flanders 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 give the stage racers a chance to shine before a special type of classics riders take the spotlight in Milan-Sanremo and the cobbled classics. That part comes to an end with Paris-Roubaix by which time the lighter guys take over in the Ardennes classics before we head into the grand tour season.

 

After Niki Terpstra's win in Roubaix, we are now at one of those transition phases. Terpstra will join the likes of Fabian Cancellara, Tom Boonen, Sep Vanmarcke, 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 kick off with Sunday's Amstel Gold Race. Tomorrow they get the final chance to warm up their legs for the bigger races to come when some of the key contenders line up at the Brabantse Pijl semi-classic.

 

Held on the Sunday ahead of the Tour of Flanders, for several years the Brabantse Pijl was 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 ahead of 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, and 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 prove 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 two 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 in peak condition and 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 signalled 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 the 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 25 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 the Fleche Wallonne before the Liege-Bastogne-Liege rounds off the classics season as the race most suited to pure climbers and stage race riders which again lead 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 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 true dress rehearsal for the Amstel Gold Race as the two biggest favourites for the Dutch classic went head to head on the short, steep climbs in Overijse. Peter Sagan and Philippe Gilbert used the race as one final test ahead of one of their biggest races and the pair lighted up the race with their searing accelerations in the finale. Despite being up against the excellent BMC pairing of Gilbert and Greg Van Avermaet, Sagan proved his strength by comfortably controlling Gilbert on the final climb before easily beating him in the sprint when a small group arrived at the finish. Bjorn Leukemans proved how skilled he is in this race by completing the podium in third. Having changed his schedule to skip Amstel Gold Race in favour of Paris-Roubaix, Sagan put an end to his spring season last Sunday and so won't be back to defend his title but Gilbert and Leukemans will both be back to continue their rivalry in a race where they have finished on the same podium twice.

 

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 race landmark 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.

 

At 203.1km, 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. Along the way they go up the Rue de Hal climb after 57km 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 67km and 73km marks respectively but no longer play any key role in the race.

 

The riders the 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 with an early break taking 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 133km. 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 have to do 3 laps of the same 23.4km finishing circuit that has been the arbiter since 2010 With 5 climbs of which two are 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 the Hertstraat following 3.8km further up the road. 6.5km later it is time for the Holstheide while the final two climbs are both cobbled and come in quick succession close to the finish. 4.2km from the line, the riders tackle the Ijskelderlaan while the final challenge, the 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 that even includes a few hairpin bends and end 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 affair but the combined total of 26 short, sharp climbs make the race a tough affair for 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. The race situation is constantly changing, with new groups forming, splitting up and catching each others. At some point, the best riders usually bridges 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. 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. Even though a smaller group usually decides the race, however, 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 certainly has a chance to arrive victorious in Overijse.

 

The weather

This year's Belgian classics season has been a very unusual affair. With the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad being the major exception, all the major races have taken place under great weather conditions, with plenty of sun, little wind and warm temperatures.

 

At the moment, it seems that it won't change for the Ardennes classics and the riders that arrive in Belgium these days to finalize their preparations for the big battles ahead have been greeted by beautiful weather. Tomorrow they will pin on their numbers under beautiful sunshine that will last for the entire race. The temperature will be rising all day until it peaks at around 15 degrees by the time the race comes to its conclusion in Overijse.

 

There will be a moderate wind form southeasterly direction which means that the riders will have a crosswind for the long opening run towards the Alsemberg before turning into a tailwind that will become a headwind when they turn around. Then it's again a crosswinds back to the finishing circuit where there will mostly be a crosswind. With 3.5km to go, the riders turn into a headwind for the technical descent but 2km from the line, a sharp turn leads them into a tailwind. The wind be directly in their back up the Schawei and when they sprint the final 200m to the line on the false flat.

 

The favourites

Heading into last year's edition of the Dutch classics, the Amstel Gold Race was billed as a big duel between Philippe Gilbert and Peter Sagan and with both major contenders both on the start line, Brabantse Pijl got a lot of attention as a big dress rehearsal of the battle between the two major favourites. This year Alejandro Valverde is widely tipped as the man to beat in the Netherlands on Sunday and as he is now recovering from a hard Vuelta al Pais Vasco, the 2014 edition of the race may lack a bit of attention it had one year ago.

 

This doesn't mean that the organizers cannot present a fabulous line-up for the event. Valverde, Joaquim Rodriguez and 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 Bjorn Leukemans is the only top rider from the Hell of the North to be on the start line, with Greg Van Avermaet skipping the race due to his crash in the final of last Sunday's race. On the other hand, riders like Tony Gallopin and Dries Devenyns who both played a prominent role in the Tour of Flanders, skipped Roubaix as they combine the hilly Flemish classics with the races in the Ardennes.

 

The rider that attracts most attention is obviously Philippe Gilbert. Three years may have passed since his complete domination of the Ardennes classics and it is obvious that he is no longer the rider he once was but he remains one of the main favourites for the biggest one-day races. He won this race in 2011 and finished second 12 months ago and the entire Belgian cycling nation will have their eyes firmly fixed on Overijse on Wednesday afternoon to see if their main hope for Liege has found his best legs.

 

This year Gilbert has had a different preparation than he has had in the past. For the first time, he skipped the entire cobbles season and instead followed the traditional schedule for an Ardennes contenders by doing the Vuelta al Pais Vasco. In 2013 he also did the Basque race but back then it was a last-minute decision to skip Flanders in favour of the stage race as his performances in the first Flemish classics proved that he need more racing under his belt to be ready for the Ardennes.

 

BMC have desperately tried to find out what has gone wrong these past two years and they have tried to put a more singular focus on the Ardennes. This means that Gilbert has no major results yet and all his spring season will depend on the outcome of the races over the next few weeks.

 

At this point Gilbert may have fewer results than he has had in the past but with a changed focus it would be a mistake to compare the different seasons too much. He showed solid condition in Milan-Sanremo where he tried to challenge Peter Sagan in the uphill sprint in Arezzo and he was one of the select few who was brave enough and had enough left in the tank to attack on the Poggio in Milan-Sanremo. He only returned to competition in Pais Vasco and he put in a rather solid performance in the Spanish race.

 

He may have failed to win a stage but he climbed well in terrain that should be a bit too hard for him. In the second stage he was one of the first to join Alberto Contador and Valverde when the superior duo had taken off on a late climb and he went on to make a solid solo attack in pursuit of lone escapee Tony Martin. On stage 5 he did an impressive job to bridge across to a very big and strong breakaway and after getting caught, he fought bravely to stay with the favourites for quite a while. He ended the race by doing a decent time trial.

 

Those performances all prove that his condition is better than it was 12 months ago and BMC performance director Alan Peiper has expressed his clear confidence in Gilbert's level of form. The Brabantse Pijl may mostly be a preparation race for Gilbert but he has always gone all out for the win. In 2011 he won the race and last year he animated the finale with Van Avermaet before going on to take second behind Sagan. This year he again targets a big result to gain confidence and had asked his team to make sure that the bike was delivered to his team hotel one day before his arrival to avoid any unpleasant surprises in his final build-up to the race.

 

With its short, steep climbs the course suits him down to the ground and even though he would have preferred the finish line to be right at the top of the Schavei, a sprint on a false flat just 200m after a hard climb is no bad finish either. With Van Avermaet out of the race due to his Roubaix crash, he won't have the level of support he had one year ago, and this will make it different for him to control things if he finds himself in a small group near the end of the final lap. He may lose out in a tactical battle but if he is still in contention by the time they reach the Schavei for the final time, his solid performances in Pais Vasco prove that he is the man to beat.

 

Orica-GreenEDGE haven't done this race in the past but this year they have decided to include it in their programme to use it as important preparation for the Ardennes. The Australians obviously don't take this race lightly as they field what is probably the strongest roster of all teams with several cards to play.

 

Their strongest weapon is obviously Simon Gerrans who is the designated captain for the Ardennes classics. Unlike most of the other Ardennes contenders, the Australian is mostly focused on Amstel Gold Race as he usually skips Fleche Wallonne which doesn't suit him and regards a Liege-Bastogne-Liege a bit too hard. This means that he needs to be at the very peak of his condition right now and tomorrow's race suits him down to the ground.

 

Tomorrow's climbs are very comparable to the ones found in Amstel and last year Gerrans proved how excellently suited he is to the Dutch race. When Gilbert ripped the group of favourites to pieces on the Cauberg, no one could match him and only to riders managed to bridge across just after the top: Gerrans and Valverde. He excels on this short, steep climbs and among the main favourites for tomorrow's race he has the fastest sprint. It's hard to imagine anyone beating Gerrans if he is still there by the time they take the left-hand turn at the top of the Schavei.

 

A few question marks linger over his heads though. Since his excellent start to the season, he has not shown very great condition. He failed to make an impact in Paris-Nice and missed Milan-Sanremo due to illness. He returned to competition in the Vuelta a la Rioja and Vuelta al Pais Vasco and admitted that he felt the lack of racing kilometres in his legs. It is certainly true that he wasn't too impressive on the Basque climbs and even though he played a key role in Michael Matthews' stage win, it is hard to put too much emphasis on his performance in the easiest stage of the race. Those question marks move him down to second on our list of favourites but if he is feeling at the top of the game, he can count on excellent team support and will be very hard to beat.

 

Lotto Belisol have had so much bad luck in this year's spring season and now hope to turn everything around in the Ardennes. With Jurgen Van Den Broeck, Tony Gallopin, and Jelle Vanendert, they certainly boast a strong team for the hilly classics and tomorrow they should be able to play a prominent role. Vanendert will miss the race but both Van Den Broeck and Gallopin will be at the start.

 

While the course is not hard enough for Van Den Broeck, it suits Gallopin perfectly. The Frenchman is one of the riders who do both the Flemish and the Ardennes classics but skips Paris-Roubaix whose lack of climbs doesn't suit hi punchy riding style. In the Flemish races, however, he was one of the very strongest and wasn't far behind the very best when the selection was made on the hellingen.

 

Last year he proved his excellent skills in the hardest classics when he won the Clasica San Sebastian and tomorrow's course suits him perfectly. He is very hard to drop on these climbs and he has an excellent sprint that is right up there with the likes of Gerrans and Gilbert. He may not be quite as punchy as Gilbert on the climbs but with the finish line coming 200m after the top  of Schavei, it may not be too much of a disadvantage. He hasn't raced since Flanders and so may need a few kilometres to get his racing legs back up to speed but if he manages to do so, Lotto Belisol could have a classic win within their reach.

 

Another rider who does both the Flemish and the Ardennes classics, is Dries Devenyns. While riding for Omega Pharma-Quick Step he focused solely on the Ardennes as he failed to make his way onto the formidable roster for the Flemish classics. After joining Giant-Shimano, he has had the chance to do both and that decision has clearly paid off.

 

In the Flemish classics, Devenyns was clearly one of the very best and he would obviously have taken even better results if he hadn't raced in support of John Degenkolb. In both E3 and the Tour of Flanders, he played a key role at the very end of the race and proved that he has taken a step up. Tomorrow's amalgamation of a Flemish and Ardennes classics suits him perfectly and with the Amstel Gold Race, it offers him the best opportunity to shine over the next few weeks.

 

Like Gallopin, Devenyns hasn't raced since Flanders and so his racing condition may be a bit uncertain but if he has kept up his speed, he will be one of the best. His main disadvantage is his lack of speed in a sprint finish that may prove costly against riders like Gilbert and Gerrans. If he makes it into a group of favourites, however, tactics may play just as much of a role as sprinting legs and if his rivals allow him to go up the road, they may never see him again.

 

Wout Poels excelled in the Vuelta al Pais Vasco where he was clearly number three in the climbing hierarchy, just below the formidable pair of Alberto Contador and Alejandro Valverde. He used a combination of tactics and strong legs to win the queen stage and came away from the race with a top 10 finish. The performance proves that he has now fully recovered from his 2012 Tour de France crash and he is obviously better than ever before.

 

In the past he has had big ambitions for the hilly classics but has always come up a bit short. With his higher level, however, this is set to change in 2014 and he obviously has the skills to excel in these races. Brabantse Pijl and Amstel Gold Race may be a bit too easy to suit him perfectly and he has especially set his sights on Fleche Wallonne but with his current condition, no one can rule the lanky Dutchman out. He won't beat Gilbert and Gerrans in a sprint but if he finds himself in the right group in the finale, he may be the one to launch the decisive move.

 

Bjorn Leukemans is the only rider who is a contender in all classics from E3 Harelbeker to Liege-Bastogne-Liege and he doesn't even skip the midweek races. In fact, he has enjoyed a lot of success in this race in the past, finishing 3rd last year and 2nd behind Gilbert three years ago, and this year he will be eager to finally take that elusive win.

 

Even though he is a very versatile rider, Leukemans is certainly not as strong as he once was.  Last year he never found his best legs for the cobbled classics but by the time, we reached the hillier races, he was much better, taking 3rd in Overijse and 7th at Amstel. This year he has been a lot better and was a key animator in the finale of the Tour of Flanders where he finished 9th before going on to take 15th in Roubaix. The next two races suit him and his climbing skills better than Roubaix and if he is not too fatigued yet, he should be with the best. So far his lack of sprint has not allowed him to win the race and he will again have to make a clever move in the finale if he wants to take the victory.

 

Fabio Felline has had a slow start to his first season at WorldTour level with Trek but now his legs have started to come around. Last week he finished 10th in the Circuit Cycliste Sarthe after taking fourth on the race's queen stage. As he has been riding in Androni colours the last few years, a single participation in the 2010 Amstel Gold Race is his only previous experience in these races. However, he excels on these short, steep climbs and he has an excellent sprint to finish it off. It may be a bit doubtful whether he is strong enough to match the best on the climbs but if he makes it over the top of Schavei in the front group, he is an obvious winner candidate.

 

Gerrans is certainly not Orica-GreenEDGE's only card in the race. Michael Matthews and Daryl Impey also have a chance on this course but it could be young Simon Yates that takes over the reins if Gerrans fails. The young Brit rode an exception Vuelta al Pais Vasco to take 12th overall in one of the hardest races on the calendar.

 

In Wednesday's race, the level and difficulty has gone down a notch and if he is not too fatigued from the past week, he will be there in the finale. He may have to sacrifice himself for Gerrans but if the Australian champion decided to take it easy, he could get his chance. Last year he proved his speed when he won the queen stage of the Tour of Britain and two stages of the Tour de l'Avenir and he certainly has the sprint to win the race.

 

One of the most consistent riders in 2014 has been Mauro Finetto who is the most recent rider to have been revived by Luca Scinto and his team which is now known as Neri Sottoli. He has already won the GP Lugano and taken 2nd at the GP Costa Degli Etruschi and these past few weeks he has been a key animator of the Northern races. He made it into the front group in the hilly first stage in De Panne and went on to bridge across to the strong late breakaway in the Volta Limburg Classic a few days later. After getting caught, he was still strong enough to give his teammate Daniele Colli such a strong lead-out that he ended up taking third ahead of his designated sprinter.

 

With its short, sharp climbs, this race suits him perfectly and he has the fast sprint to finish it off. He will have to carefully gauge his efforts as he will be isolated rather early but if he manages things right, he is strong enough to win this race.

 

The days when Davide Rebellin win a lot of races are certainly over but don't rule out the veteran Italian. Despite his lack of victories, he is one of the most consistent riders of the entire peloton and he usually finishes in the top 10 if the course suits him. As a past winner of the Ardennes triple, he is certainly suited to tomorrow's race. He has realized his dream of getting an invitation for the Amstel Gold Race and there is no doubt that he is trying to reach his peak condition for the Dutch race. He hasn't raced since Volta Limburg Classic but in that race he was one of the key animators and he certainly has the form. He may not be the strongest rider in the race but as he is likely to be there in the finale, a bit of luck and tactics will take him far.

 

Finally, the Garmin-Sharp duo of Nathan Haas and Daniel Martin deserve a mention. Martin is gearing up for the Giro but also hopes to be at a decent level in the Ardennes where he will defend his Liege title. Last year he also used Brabantse Pijl as a warm-up but chose to take it easy as it marked his first race for quite some time. This year we expect him to have a similar approach but if he decides to give it a go, his skills and fast finish make him an obvious winner candidate.

 

If Martin takes it easy, the Garmin leadership role may fall into the hands of Nathan Haas. Much was expected of the talented Australian when he turned professional but he has had a slow start to his career. After taking 5th at the Tour Down Under, he has taken a step up and he has proved that the home result was no fluke. He rode excellently to finish 12th in the Criterium Internation which should have been way too hard for him and in the GP MIguel Indurain and the Circuit de la Sarthe queen stage he animated the finales before supporting his teammates. He excels on shorter climb and has a fast sprint, making him a perfect fit for this race.

 

***** Philippe Gilbert

**** Simon Gerrans, Tony Gallopin

*** Dries Devenyns, Wout Poels, Bjorn Leukemans

** Fabio Felline, Simon Yates, Mauro Finetto, Davide Rebellin, Nathan Haas, Daniel Martin

* Jan Bakelants, Pieter Serry, Michael Matthews, Sonny Colbrelli, Yukiya Arashiro, Daryl Impey, Stefan Denifl, Fabio Duarte, Bartosz Huzarski, Michel Kreder, Franco Pellizotti