On Sunday the WorldTour peloton will race in the Westhoek. Ghent-Wevelgem, nearly 240 kilometres long, starts in Deinze. Then the riders head west to Veurne. Here the peloton crosses the border to France to race there for about fifty kilometres.

In France the first hills turn up. The riders will climb the Casselberg twice and the Catsberg once. Back in Belgium the trio Baneberg, Kemmelberg and Monteberg turns up. The peloton has to cover them twice. After the last ascent of the Monteberg 35 kilometres are left. Via Ieper the riders will head to Waregem.

“Of course it’s still in my mind that I crashed in the final of Ghent-Wevelgem last year, but that won’t have any influence on this year’s race. The weather forecasts show a lot of wind on Sunday, so I expect a lot of echelons. In Ghent-Wevelgem you can always make the difference with echelons," Greipel said.

“We have to be attentive all day long. We have to make sure we are part of the first group and don’t have to waste any energy chasing. That’s especially important in the loop with the Kemmelberg. But because of the wind the Kemmelberg itself won’t be the main obstacle on Sunday.

"Ghent-Wevelgem is a classic I’d really like to win. I could already have won it in the past. I’ll strive for the win again on Sunday. The line-up of Lotto Soudal is really strong, everyone is in excellent shape. We are ready.”