Things are getting serious for Lotto Belisol who will find themselves under pressure to perform when they line up for the Belgian opening weekend. Jurgen Roelandts will try to shine in Saturday's Omloop Het Nieuwsblad while André Greipel will try to keep his momentum going in Sunday's Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne.

With 6 wins for André Greipel , Lotto Belisol have had an outstanding start to the season but until now their wins have all been taken in races held far from the European cycling heartland. This weekend the Belgian team will be under a considerable pressure when they are under the watchful eyes of the cycling-mad Belgian public in the opening weekend in their home country.

Unsurprisingly, the Belgian team will line up their A teams for their first races on home soil and the team will be hopeful that they can keep their momentum going. The two races in the weekend are of different natures and this is reflected in the compositions of the teams.

Saturday's Omloop Hei Nieuwsblad is a true Belgian classic that is some kind of a mini Tour of Flanders. This is one for the true cobbled specialists and usually develops into a race of attrition for the strong men.

Unsurprisingly, Lotto Belisol will be led by last year's 3rd in the Tour of Flanders Jurgen Roelandts who will be joined by an in-form Lars Bak at the helm of the roster. Roelandts recently finished 2nd in the Tour of Qatar while Bak had an outstanding ride to take 22nd on the Green Mountain in the Tour of Oman.

The team is hopeful that Jens Debusschere can develop into a future star in the cobbled races and he will get his first chance to prove his capabilities on Saturday. Marcel Sieberg will also be on hand to continue his strong early-season form while youngster Stieg Broeckx, Gert Dockx, new signing Pim Ligthart, and  Frederik Willems complete the roster.

Sunday's Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne is a much easier affair that typically comes down to a bunch sprint. Despite numerous attempts, Greipel still hasn't won the Belgian semi-classic but he hopes to carry his momentum into the Belgian race.

He will have his lead-out train of Roelandts and Sieberg at his side, with the duo having delivered him to his six first wins of the season. Despite getting through last week's Vuelta a Andalucia, usual lead-out man Greg Henderson is still not fit enough to take his role in the train.

In addition to Greipel, another fast finisher, Kris Boeckmans, and youngster Vegard Breen will be brought in for Sunday's race. The trio will replace Willems, Broeckx, and Dockx while Bak and Debusschere will both be doing the full program.

Last year's edition of the Kuurne race was cancelled due to bad weather while Roelandts was the best Lotto Belisol rider in the Omloopin in 8th.

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad: Lars Bak, Stig Broeckx, Jens Debusschere, Gert Dockx, Pim Ligthart, Jürgen Roelandts, Marcel Sieberg and Frederik Willems.

Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne: Lars Bak, Kris Boeckmans, Vegard Breen, Jens Debusschere, André Greipel, Pim Ligthart, Jürgen Roelandts and Marcel Sieberg.