One of the world's oldest cycling races will be take place on Saturday in a revamped edition when the Paris-Bruxelles autumn classics is held under the name of Brussels Cycling Classic. A UCI request has forced the organizers to change the format of the race and shorten its distance but it won't change the kind of racing that will be on offer. Known as one of the most important sprint classics, this is a race for the fast finishers and all is set for a big bunch sprint in front of the Atomium in the Heysel Exhibition Park in the Belgian capital

The series of European classics continues on Saturday when the sprinters and classics specialist gather at the start line in Brussels to set out for a 197km ride in the area southeast of the Belgian capital. The autumn is loaded with prestigious one-day races that suit the tough sprinters and following the Vattenfall Cyclassics and GP Ouest France-Plouay, the Brussels Cycling Classic is the third race in the series of late-season classics that suit a certain type of rider.

Held first in 1893, the race known as Paris-Bruxelles is one of the oldest races on the international cycling calendar. Originally an amateur event running over 397km between the two European capitals, the race wasn't held between 1894 and 1905 but returned in 1906 as a two-day event. The following year it was back as a one-day race and until the 1960s, it played a major role as one of the major spring classics with a date towards the end of April, between Paris-Roubaix and Gent-Wevelgem. However, the race was beset by traffic problems and so lost its prestige, ultimately losing its calendar date to the far younger Amstel Gold Race and leading to the cancellation of the race from 1967 to 1972.

The race returned in 1973 as a midweek event in late September, offering perfect preparation for the Paris-Tours. In 1996, it was switched back to being run on a Saturday and is now held in early September. Instead of being an inferior race in an already loaded spring schedule, its long history now turns it into one of the most important autumn classics, being a clear target for most of the best sprinters in the world.

This year, the race will, however, face a makeover. A UCI request to shorten the length has forced the organizers to cut the race's French ties. Due to the shorter distances of modern-day cycling, the race hasn't departed from Paris in recent years, instead starting somewhere in Northern France and finishing in Bruxelles. This won't be the case this year when the race will both start and finish in the Belgian capital, offering the riders a shorter 197km ride in the area close to the major city. As a consequence, the race has been renamed and will now be known as the Brussels Cycling Classic.

However, the new format won't change the characteristics of the race. This has always been a race for the sprinters and will remain so in the future. As in the past, the route includes a number of hellingen - short, Belgian climbs - but they won't be enough to challenge the fast finishers and as the last one is located 30km from the finish, it would be highly unexpected not to see a big bunch sprint in the end.

In that sense, the race fits perfectly into the anatomy of the cycling calendar. While the climbers battle each other in the Spanish mountains, the classics specialists and sprinters race their separate schedule which is loaded with a number of autumn classics that suit them well. It kicks off with the Eneco Tour in the middle of August, continues with the Vattenfall Cyclassics and the GP Ouest France-Plouay and this week it's time for the Brussels Cycling Classic and Sunday's GP Fourmies in France. The remaining part of September and early October is loaded with one-day races in France and Belgium before it all comes to an end with Paris-Tours in France and the Belgian Nationale Sluitingprijs in the middle of October. All races are characterized by aggressive racing and often ends in a final bunch sprint.

That's also what's in store on Saturday. Some years ago, the organizers tried to make the race a bit more selective by including hellingen closer to the finish. That wasn't enough to prevent a bunch sprint and with the new format, the idea seems to be abandoned. The final hellingen are now so far from the finish that the sprinters have plenty of time to get back on.

Hence, it is no surprise that the honours list is dominated by sprinters and the most successful rider in the race's long history is one of the fastest riders of this millennium. Having first won the race in 2002, Robbie McEwen completely dominated the race from 2005 to 2008, taking an impressive 4 victories in a row. An injury prevented him from racing in 2009 and his two final attempts at adding to his tally were both unsuccessful.

Last year, Tom Boonen won one of the few Belgian classics that had so far eluded him. The Belgian champion made it safely over the hellingen before finally unleashing his burst of speed on the slightly uphill finish in Bruxelles, holding off Mark Renshaw and Oscar Freire. The win capped what was an outstanding season that also included wins in the E3 Prijs Vlaanderen, Gent-Wevelgem, Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix and the Belgian road race championships. Due to injury, Boonen won't be back to defend his title and in fact the entire 2012 podium will be missing, Renshaw currently racing in Canada and Freire having brought his successful career to an end.

The course

The new format of the race means a revamped route but it should not make too much of a difference when it comes to the outcome of the race. The shortened 197km course features 9 hellingen and one cobblestone section. The race now takes place in the Brabant region which is more hilly than the areas used for the previous course and so the profile is more undulating than it has been in the past. However, it should do nothing to prevent the expected bunch sprint.

The race starts in the Jubelpark in Bruxelles and heads on slightly rolling roads in a southeastern direction. The Lanestraat will be the day's first climb at the 21km mark and it is followed by Chemin de l'Herbe 20km further up the road. In this part of the race, an early break is likely to be established while the sprint teams will gradually take control, starting to reel in the escapees.

In Thorombais-St-Trond at the 51km mark, the riders turn left to head in a northwestern direction and will tackle the cobblestone sector Chemin des Carriers 20km further  up the road. Due to its location on the course, it won't have any significant impact on the race. After 78km of racing, the riders reach Tienen where they turn left to head back towards Bruxelles.

The finale kicks off with 76km to go when the riders reach Neerijse. 3km further up the road, they will climb Langestraat for the first time. 67km from the finish, they turn around to start two laps on a 21,5km circuit that includes the three hellingen Vossemberg, Smeysberg and Langestraat which come in quick succession. This is the most difficult part of the race where the attackers have to make the selection. At this point, the racing is likely to be very aggressive with numerous attacks being launched.

30km from the finish, the riders climb Langestraat for the final time and the circuits should have caused a reshuffling in the front. The early break is likely to have been caught while a new break could very well have been established. With 24km to go, the riders leave the circuit and continue along slightly rolling roads back towards Bruxelles. This is the time for the sprint teams to get organized and to reel in the break. They aren't safe though as there are a number of smaller hills in the finale that may serve as perfect launch pads for attacks.

The race finishes in the northern part of Bruxelles in front of Atomium in the Heysel Exhibition Park. There's a small hill inside the final 10km and the finishing straight is slightly uphill and will be remembered by some of the riders as the scene of one of Alessandro Petacchi's stage win in the 2010 Tour de France. The sprinters will have to negotiate right-hand turns 1,4km and 0,7km from the finish before getting onto the slightly ascending road that leads to the finish.

The weather

Bruxelles currently enjoys some very warm weather with temperatures exceeding the 30-degree mark but conditions will change for Saturday's race. Instead, the riders face a cloudy day and the temperatures are expected to reach their maximum of 20 degrees towards the end of the race.

There will be a moderate wind from a southwestern direction which means that the riders will have a crosswind for almost the entire race. It is doubtful whether it will be strong enough to split the peloton but it will surely make for a very nervous race and we could very well see a couple of teams try a move in one of the exposed sections, thus spicing things up even further and making for an even more exciting race.

The favourites

Despite the race taking place in the more hilly Brabrant region, it is hard to imagine another outcome than a bunch sprint. Most teams are prepared for that scenario and have lined up teams with a top-level sprinter and a dedicated team to support them. The racing is likely to be aggressive but a bunch sprint is the probable outcome.

Andre Greipel has almost collected 100 wins as a professional but they have mostly been taken in stage races. The big classics victory has so far escaped the fast German but tomorrow could be the day for him to finally add a big one-day race to his palmares. While fellow sprinters Mark Cavendish and Marcel Kittel have been left fatigued by the first part of the season, Greipel finds himself at the other end of the spectrum. The German appears motivated and his condition is splendid. He proved so when he dominated the sprints in the Eneco Tour where he won one stage but would have taken at least another one, had late breaks not slipped away in the sprint finales. On the final stage, he went into a gutsy long-distance move on the hard stage in the Flemish Ardennes and was one of the last riders to be caught on the hard stage.

He missed out on the win in his big home race Vattenfall Cyclassics by the narrowest of margins when he was beaten by John Degenkolb in the final sprint. Most recently, he took a crushing win in the sprint for 2nd on the first stage of the World Ports Classic before going on to show his strength by riding aggressively in the crosswinds one day later.

At his current level, Greipel will have no difficulty surviving the many climbs and there is no doubt that he is the fastest rider in the bunch. From his usual train, Adam Hansen and Greg Henderson are missing but Jurgen Roelandts and Marcel Sieberg will offer the needed experience and speed in the hectic race finale. Kenny Dehaes is likely to slot into the role as final lead-out man and so Greipel will be well supported. We could very well see the Lotto team dominate the final kilometres and if that happens, Greipel will be almost unbeatable.

His biggest challenger could very well be Nacer Bouhanni. Until now, FDJ have put their faith in Arnaud Demare during this block of racing in Northern Europe but tomorrow Bouhanni will get his chance. The Frenchman has an incredible top speed and handles the positioning aspect formidably. If he manages to position himself well in the finale, he has the kick that may surprise Greipel.

He was strong in the Giro d'Italia but had a disappointing Tour de France in which a crash and subsequent back problems forced him to abandon. He was far from his best when he returned to competition in the Tour de l'Ain but his legs have started to come around. He recently dominated the Tour du Poitou-Charentes, winning three stages and four bunch sprints. Compared to his fellow sprinters, he is a strong climber who even plans to target the Ardennes classics in the future. In Poitou-Charentes, he survived the climbing on a very tough stage that left most of the sprinters behind, and so tomorrow's course will be easy to handle for the former French champion. Being ably supported by Yoann Offredo, Matthieu Ladagnous and lead-out man Mickael Delage, Bouhanni is a strong winner candidate.

Europcar line up their young sprint sensation Bryan Coquard. During his debut season, he has already won 6 races and would love to add to his tally in one of the biggest autumn classics. He is in good condition at the moment, having recently won the Chateauroux Classic de l'Indre, and was riding strongly in the crosswinds in the final stage of the World Ports Classic despite a crash on stage one. He hasn't had an awful lot of opportunities to sprint against the fastest sprinters but he proved his speed when he beat Marcel Kittel on the second stage of the Tour de Picardie in May.

His positioning abilities need to be improved but he is one of the fastest sprinters in the peloton. He won't be supported by the strongest and most experienced lead-out guys and so may miss out completely in the finale. If he gets a clear run to the line, he will, however, be a very dangerous opponent.

Cannondale line up one of the fastest sprinters in the peloton. Elia Viviani proved his speed when he went head to head with Mark Cavendish in the Giro d'Italia and went on to win a stage of the Dauphiné. He took a long break over the summer but did his training and has been riding strongly since he returned to competition. He won two stages and the overall at the Tour of Elk Grove before going on to overcome a lack of team support to make some solid top 10 results in the Eneco Tour. He won the Dutch Food Valley Classic and has most recently finished in the top 10 in both Vattenfalls Cyclassics and GP Ouest France - Plouay.

He is a strong climber who made it to the finish with the best on the tough Plouay course and so should not be put into difficulty tomorrow. His main disadvantage is his team which lacks dedicated lead-out riders with the required speed to support their captain in the hectic race finale. This may be his undoing but there is little doubt that Viviani has the speed to win the race.

Last week we put Alexander Kristoff down as our favourite to win in Plouay but the Norwegian had a bad day and abandoned the race. On his website, he has made it clear that he hopes to feel better for tomorrow's race which is one of his late-season targets. Kristoff is not the fastest sprinter in the peloton but he is hugely consistent and strong in the battle for positions. He finished 3rd in the Vattenfall Cyclassics which proves that his level of form is sufficient to mix it up with the best.

Kristoff is best at the end of a very hard race which often leaves him fresher than his faster rivals. It would be no bad idea for him to use his Katusha team to tire out his rivals and their lead-out trains ahead of the finale. However, he will be hampered by the fact that Katusha only lines up 6 riders at the event, leaving him with reduced team support. On the other hand, he usually handles the hectic finales by himself and will be able to do so again tomorrow. If the race is a tough one, look out for Kristoff as a potential winner.

Many doubted that Alessandro Petacchi would be able to return to a competitive level when he announced his comeback after a four-month absence from the sport. Those doubt were put to rest when the veteran Italian finished 9th and 4th in bunch sprints in the Eneco Tour. His most impressive performance was, however, his 5th place in the very tough uphill finish in Brussels on just his second day of high-level racing. He had a bad crash on the penultimate stage and had a disappointing performance in the Vattenfall Cyclassics but he appears to have recovered, having recently mixed it up with Greipel in the sprints in the World Ports Classic.

Petacchi is no longer as fast as he was when he dominated the sprints earlier in his career but he remains a high-quality sprinter. His Omega Pharma-Quick Step team is one of the strongest and if they can time everything right, their veteran sprinter may succeed teammate Boonen as the winner in Brussels.

Ag2r have decided to line up all their sprinters and it may be difficult for them to put down a clear race strategy. On paper, they do, however, only have one rider that should be fast enough to win tomorrow's sprint. Yauheni Hutarovich is one of the fastest sprinters in the peloton but rarely gets the chance to prove his capabilities as he is often too badly positioned in the finales. However, he has a good track record in the sprint classics, having twice finished 2nd in Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne and once on the podium in the Scheldeprijs. He even finished 2nd in the 2011 edition of tomorrow's race.

The Belarusian hasn't had his best season and his recent results have certainly not been outstanding. However, he remains a classy sprinter with a high top speed and if his Ag2r team manages to position him well, he may finally take the elusive big one-day win.

Finally, it's hard not to mention John Degenkolb. The Argos sprinter has had a very difficult year when it comes to sprinting and has been unable to mix it up with the best on numerous occasions. Often he has been well supported but has lost the wheel of his lead-out man, ending far down the rankings in the bunch sprints.

However, he proved that he remains a very fast rider at the end of a long, hard race when he beat Greipel in the Vattenfall Cyclassics. He hopes to repeat the feat tomorrow but that requires the race to be a selective one. It would be a wise decision by Argos to toughen up the race in the hilly zone to wear out his rivals ahead of the sprint. The most important point is, however, the positioning which once again became his undoing when he finished 10th in Plouay last week. If he overcomes those difficulties, Degenkolb has the capability to win when it is least expected.

***** Andre Greipel

**** Nacer Bouhanni, Bryan Coquad

*** Elia Viviani, Alexander Kristoff, Alessandro Petacchi, Yauheni Hutarovich, John Degenkolb

** Matteo Pelucchi, Roberto Ferrari, Danilo Napolitano, Davide Appollonio, Manuel Belletti, Andrea Guardini, Borut Bozic, Daniele Bennati

* Romain Feillu, Gerald Ciolek, Francisco Ventoso, Michael Van Staeyen, Matti Breschel, Samuel Dumoulin, Jon Aberasturi, Jacopo Guarnieri