The Tour de France may be over but many riders who were not part of the world's biggest race, have already started to build up some form for a very hectic autumn season. For many the best way to do that is by participating in the Belgian Tour de Wallonie whose hilly terrain has allowed it to obtain a reputation as the perfect preparation towards bigger goals and a status as the race that really kicks off the second part of the season. Starting at 14.15 you can follow the queen stage of the race on CyclingQuotes.com/live.

Wallonia is known for its many climbs and it is no wonder that the Tour de Wallonie is a race for the riders that excel in the Ardennes classics as the race passes many of the places that are known from the Liege-Bastogne-Liege. Hence, the race serves as the perfect warm-up for the Clasica San Sebastian which is the first highlight on the cycling calendar in the post-Tour season.

The race kicked off on Saturday and the first two stages have been decided in bunch sprints which were won by Jens Debusschere and Giacomo Nizzolo. The final three stages, however, are very hilly and especially Wednesday’s final stage has the potential to do some real damage as the finale is the same as in Liege-Bastogne-Liege, meaning that the riders will tackle famous climbs like the Cote de Roche-Aux-Faucons and Cote Saint-Nicolas.

The two big Belgian stars Tom Boonen and Philippe Gilbert both had to withdraw from the race but the start list is still a very strong one. WorldTour teams BMC, Tinkoff-Saxo, Trek, FDJ, Ag2r, Katusha, Belkin, Lotto, Movistar, Europcar and Omega Pharma-Quick Step all field powerful rosters that are ready to tackle the remaining three hard stages and battle for the honour of succeeding Greg Van Avermaet as the race winner. As the Belgian has been racing the Tour, the double winner is not at the start, meaning that the title is up for grabs for a new rider.

Starting on Wednesday at 14.15 CEST you can follow the queen stage here.