While most of the cycling world will have its eyes firmly on the cobbles in Belgium, another group of riders will be preparing themselves for the upcoming stage races and the Ardennes classics in a pair of French one-day races. The Classic Sud-Ardeche and the Drome Classic offer the riders a perfect chance to test themselves on hilly courses that make them very similar to the later one-day races and provide some of the key contenders with a chance to gauge their form ahead of Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico.

For some of the best riders in the world, the coming weekend is the first really important time on their 2015 race calendar as they aim for their first big classics win in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. For stage race riders and Ardennes specialists, it is important to continue their preparation for their goals and the Belgian cobbles are certainly not the perfect way to get ready for races like Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico.

However, France offers an alternative path as the country plays host to two hard, hilly one-day races. On Saturday, the 15th edition of the Classic Sud-Ardeche is held on a tough course with several climbs and gives the riders to get some hard racing just one week before the start of the Race to the Sun. One day later, the new Drome Classic will offer an even harder course, meaning that riders can now do two days of solid preparation for their bigger goals.

In the past, Classic Sud-Ardeche was a stand-alone event that was an important event for the French teams but very often it failed to attract many foreign stars. With the addition of the Drome Classic, however, it has become much more international and last year teams like BMC, Belkin, Omega Pharma-Quick Step and Trek mixed it up with the local heroes. This year those four teams have been joined by Orica-GreenEDGE to form an even stronger line-up and both races are set to be hotly contested.

Both races take place in Massif Central which is famously known for its tough terrain and so it is no wonder that both races are really tough affairs that are similar to an Ardennes classic. While the Classic Sud-Ardeche often comes down to a sprint from a small group as the distance from the final climb to the finish is a bit longer, the Drome Classic is more selective and the only previous edition of the race has been won by Romain Bardet who managed to take a solo win.

The course

As this is only the second edition of the race, there is no tradition involved in the design of the course for this new event. The organizers are not obliged to honour any kind of history and have been completely free to vary the nature of the race. This has led them to put together a completely new course which has very little in common with the one that was used for the inaugural edition.

Last year’s race started and finished in the city of Valence but this year the center has been moved. For the second edition, the riders will both take off and end in the smaller city of Livron just a few kilometres of last year’s start and finish and the riders will use new roads for a big portion of the race.

The course can be split into two parts. The first part of the race consists of two laps of a northerly 49.75km circuit that includes the climbs of the Cote de Beauvallon, Cote de Monteleger, Cote d’Allex and Cote de Livron. The Beauvallon and the Allex climbs were the ones that played a key role in last year’s race. In general, it’s a hilly affair as there is barely any flat road and lots of short, steep ascents. The categorized climbs are all very short but some of them are pretty steep.

Having finished the second lap, the riders will do almost another full lap of the circuit. At the bottom of the Cote d’Allex, however, they will turn left to tackle one lap of another circuit on the southern outskirts of the city. That part of the race is significantly harder as it includes the much longer climbs of the Cote de Chabrillan (49.4km to go), Col de Tartaguille (41km to go), Col de la Grande Limite(3.6km, 6.8%, 29.8km to go) and Cote de Roberts (17.2km) to go. After the final climb, they will return back to the bottom of the Cote d’Allex where they will complete the original circuit, meaning that they will again tackle the Allex and Livron climbs with 8.4km and 1.9km to go respectively. After the final climb, they head down a fast descent before reaching the final few hundred metres which are flat.

The favourites

As the race doesn’t have a long history, it is hard to use previous editions to find out what to expect from this year’s race. Furthermore, the new course means that last year’s edition can’t be used to find out what kind of race is in store on Sunday. Last year Romain Bardet managed to escape on the final climbs and held off a small 12-rider chase group. Sebastien Delfosse made a late attack to take second while Gianni Meersman won the sprint for third.

There is no doubt that this is a harder race than the Classic Sud-Ardeche and the race should be a lot more selective than the weekend opener. However, it is hard to compare the course with the one that was used 12 months ago. On one hand, there’s a lot more climbing in the finale. On the other hand, the distance from the final long climb has been increased and this gives more time for the fast finishers to get back in contention. The final two climbs are both very short but they are perfect launch pads for attacks. The final ascent is located just 1.9km from the finish and even though it is a very short one, the fact that it is followed by a fast descent and virtually no flat section means that it may put the sprinters on the back foot.

We expect the race to be a lot more selective than the Classic Sud-Ardeche and we should definitely see a much smaller group exit the last hilly zone. It will be much harder for the fast finishers to keep up with the best and they will have less domestiques left to control the race. The strongest climbers will have a much better chance of making it to the finish with a small group and the two late climbs provide them with the perfect chance to take the win.

Gianni Meersman and Daryl Impey are the two fastest finishers in this race and it will be very interesting to see whether they can keep up with the best climbers and control the race sufficiently to bring it back to a sprint finish from a small group. With the two late climbs, it will be a difficult affair and a late move on the Cote du Livron may pay off.

While Meersman and Impey may survive the climbing, it may be too difficult to keep the race under control and so we expect one of the best climbers to escape in the finale and win from a small group. Arthur Vichot had a very bad 2014 season as he was constantly set back by injury and illness but in Paris-Nice and the Canadian races he proved how far he has come. The former French champion is destined for a big future in the Ardennes classics and this race suits him perfectly. He showed solid form in the Ruta del Sol where he finished fourth in the uphill sprint on stage 4 and he will be very hard to drop on these climbs. As he is also very fast in a sprint, he could turn out to be the fastest from a strong group of climbers and so he is our winner pick.

Another in-form climber is Damiano Caruso who rode very strongly for Tejay van Garderen in the Tour of Oman. After a few disappointing seasons, he showed his potential in the Vuelta where he finished in the top 10 and he seems to be back on track. In Oman, he appeared to have the strength to finish in the top 10 but he decided to sacrifice himself for his team leader. He is perfectly suited to this kind of race and will be hard to drop on the climbs. Furthermore, he is an excellent descender and has a fast sprint which means that the tricky finish should suit him well.

It is hard not to mention Gianni Meersman as one of the obvious favourites. The Belgian is clearly in very good form as he won a stage in the Volta ao Algarve and worked hard for his teammates in the hilly stages. Last year he survived the climbs and he is very strong in this kind of terrain. If he is still there at the end, he will be the man to beat but the late climb may take the sting out of his legs for the sprint. On the other hand, he is supported by a very strong Etixx-QuickStep team and they may have the firepower to control the attacks and set up a sprint finish.

In case of a sprint, Meersman’s biggest rival is Daryl Impey. The South African has taken a massive step up and last year he climbed better than ever before in the Canadian WorldTour races. In January, he was among the best on the Old Willunga Hill at the Tour Down Under and his performance at the South African TT Championships proves that he is in excellent condition. It will be tough for him to keep up with the best on the climbs but if he manages to do so, he will be one of the favourites in the sprint.

Bauke Mollema has been in great condition all year and even though illness forced him out of the Ruta del Sol, he has shown several times that he is one of the in-form riders at the moment. The Dutchman could turn out to be the strongest rider on the climbs and it is hard to imagine that anyone will be able to drop him. As an Ardennes specialist, he excels in this kind of terrain and with his fast sprint, he will have chances if he arrives at the finish with a small group.

His Trek teammate Fabio Felline has bounced back from a poor first year with the team and has been climbing really well this year. He was fourth in the very hard Vuelta a Murcia despite working for Mollema and took a fine fifth in Trofeo Laigueglia. The Italian is clearly in great condition and he may be climbing slightly better than the likes of Meersman and Impey. He is not as fast in a sprint but if those two have been left behind, he will be one of the favourites.

Jonathan Hivert has got his time at Bretagne off to an excellent start as he has been a protagonist in all the races he has done so far. Last week he easily beat Philippe Gilbert in an uphill sprint and this speaks volumes about his great condition. To be up there with the best climbers, he has to step up his level but he could make it into a small group that sprints for the win. With his fast finish, he will have a very good chance.

Julian Arredondo rode very strongly in Oman and he excels on this kind of short, steep climbs. He will team up with Felline and Mollema to form a very strong block and he will be hard to follow when he uses his punchy climbing skills to attack in the finale. He is not very strong in a flat sprint but he could be the one to make a strong solo move on one of the late climbs.

Rigoberto Uran has only raced at the Colombian Championships and so his condition is a bit uncertain. However, he performed really strongly in those two races and he is suited to this kind of racing. He is pretty explosive and on paper he is one of the best climbers. Furthermore, he has a fast sprint to finish it off from a small group.

Simon and Adam Yates are making their season debut this weekend and they should both be among the contenders. Both are great climbers and have the punchy skills to excel in this kind of terrain. Furthermore, they are both pretty fast and they will be able to finish it off if they attack in the finale. Last year Adam seemed to be the strongest of the two but on paper Simon has the fastest sprint.

Strong climbers Romain Bardet, Alexis Vuillermoz and Darwin Atapuma all seem to be riding really well at the moment and especially the two Frenchmen will be very hard to drop. To win, however, they will probably have to get rid of the rest and arrive solo at the finish.

Paul Martens and Enrico Gasparotto are among the fastest riders in this field. The course may be a bit too hard for the German though and the Italian is not firing on all cylinders yet. If a bigger group arrives at the finish, however, they will be among the favourites.

***** Arthur Vichot

**** Damiano Caruso, Gianni Meersman

*** Daryl Impey, Bauke Mollema, Fabio Felline, Jonathan Hivert, Rigoberto Uran, Simon Yates, Adam Yates

** Julian Arredondo, Romain Bardet, Alexis Vuillermoz, Paul Martens, Enrico Gasparotto, Darwin Atapuma

* Nicolas Edet, Julien Loubet, Johan Esteban Chaves, Samuel Dumoulin, Pierrre-Roger Latour, Brent Bookwalter, Maxime Bouet, David de la Cruz, Magnus Cort, Pierrick Fedrigo, Julien Simon, Marco Canola, Julien El Fares, Sebastien Delfosse