Tervuren, near Brussels, hosts the Belgian road race on Sunday 28th June. The riders have to cover fourteen laps of eighteen kilometres, 252 kilometres in total. On the course lies the Horenberg, a short climb which could definitely cause a selection.

Like every year Lotto Soudal starts with many riders. Gert Dockx won’t take part as he crashed in the Dauphiné. Maxime Monfort hasn't fully recovered after his crash in the Tour de Suisse and he will start either. For Stig Broeckx it will be the first race since his crash in the Giro.

With a nice mix of different types of riders the team can make it a hard race. With among other Tiesj Benoot, Kris Boeckmans, Jürgen Roelandts and 2014 winner Jens Debusschere Lotto Soudal will aim for a second victory in a row.

“It’s a tough course in Tervuren, tougher than lots of people think," sports director Herman Frison said. "That could be tricky. The roads are good and I expect they will race at a high speed, especially in the first phase. After the climb there is a part where the wind could play a role. I don’t think it will be a bunch sprint at the end. It will probably be a small group of about ten riders that will fight for the title. Last year such a breakaway was caught, but this year such a group could make it.

“Like every year we start with a large team, but you only need one man to win. There is only one place that counts. Last year we finished it off perfectly, hopefully we can do that again on Sunday. We have several riders that could win. Jens Debusschere, Tiesj Benoot, Kris Boeckmans, Sean De Bie, Jürgen Roelandts and Tim Wellens for example. We have to work well together like last year, that was perfect. We want to see that again.

“On Tuesday, in Ruddervoorde, I had my last race before the Belgian Championships," Debusschere said. "I wanted to win, but I also considered it as a training. I enjoyed the race. I am aware that this could be the last days in the national jersey. I will definitely miss it. It was nice to wear the jersey in the spring classics, lots of people cheered me on, everyone recognized me. I will certainly always remember Ghent-Wevelgem and my stage win in Tirreno-Adriatico.

“I have a chance of winning the title again this weekend. My condition is really good. You need luck as well, but I don’t have less chance than other riders. It’s not an easy course, but not too tough either. A race of 250 kilometres is always hard, even if it’s flat. The last three to four laps the ascent of the Horenberg will get tougher. I consider Tom Boonen, Sep Vanmarcke and Van Avermaet to be the main favourites. We have several cards to play.”