On Sunday, the riders will face the last classic of the season: Paris-Tours. Traditionally this autumn classic will be a battle against the wind. The riders start their race on Sunday morning in Chartres and will head south to finish 231 kilometres later at the Avenue de Grammont in Tours. Last year, Jelle Wallays won a sprint with two in front of Thomas Voeckler. Jens Debusschere was third.

As usual, this classic is one of the last races of the season and riders want to show themselves one last time before going into their rest period. With a distance of 231 kilometres, this edition is comparable to the previous ones. After the start in Chartres at 11h30, the riders follow roads that will lead them through the Loir-et-Cher region before heading to the final climbs.

The apotheoses of the race will be the last three climbs: Côtes de Crochu, Beau Soleil and L’Epan at respectively 29, 10 and 7 kilometres from the finish line. The riders are expected to finish around 17h on the Avenue de Grammont.

Last year, an early breakaway made it to the finish. A group of riders attacked in the first part of the race and the peloton never saw them again. The future Lotto Soudal rider Jelle Wallays won the sprint with two others; Thomas Voeckler finished second, Jens Debusschere won twelve seconds later the sprint of the chasing group and joined them on the podium.

“Also in this last classic race of the season we start with a strong team. Benoot, Debusschere, Gallopin and Roelandts are four riders who have the ability to win. If the race finishes in a sprint, we will pull the card of Jens. He’s in great shape and at the moment one of the strongest riders in the peloton," Lotto Soudal sports director Bart Leysen said.

"Everyone will have to pay attention in the last thirty kilometres. In this zone, the climbs follow each other quickly and the roads are very narrow. At that point we need to be in the front, because something important happens there each year. At 3.5 kilometres from the finish, the peloton faces the last climb, but this won’t be a big problem.

"Our most important task is not to be put in a defensive situation. We have to take the initiative and ride an attacking race. The wind can play its role, but the weather forecast predicts a rather calm breeze."

The selection of Lotto Soudal:

Tiesj Benoot, Stig Broeckx, Jens Debusschere, Pim Ligthart, Frederik Frison, Tony Gallopin, Jurgen Roelandts and Tosh Van der Sande.