The two Sunweb-Napoleon Games captains, Kevin Pauwels and Klaas Vantornout, have decided not to do a reconnaissaince of the course for the Belgian championships but their team manager Jurgen Mettepenningen did. "I expect that Pauwels and Meeusen will be close to van Aert on Sunday," he said.

"The course is more cooperative than expected," Sunweb manager Jurgen Mettepenningen told Sporza. "At the moment, it is rideable, with small running sections. But those pieces will be minimal. I expect no major differences on Sunday. We'll get more cross than everyone thinks."

Even Sven Nys has made it clear that he fears a race made up mostly of running. Nys has made it clear that he is not really satisfied with the course even though he has not yet checked it out.

"If you haven't seen the course, you should not make a judgement," Mettepenningen said. "It is wrong by Sven to criticize it. The route is well-desgined, but no one can control the weather conditions.

"Hats off to the organizers that they have made this course. It's a nice job. The rain will decide a lot, but it is not too bad. It's tough, but it will not be a cross of running."

What does Mettepenningen expect from his own leaders? "His chances are a little better. He's not the top favorite, but he will compete for the prizes," he said about Kevin Pauwels.

"Klaas Vantornout is again healthy, but we'll see what damage his illness has done to his condition. Klaas is perhaps a bigger question mark than Sven. We have no concrete knowledge. But Klaas can start from scratch. He can get into good condition with very little training.

"But everyone has one clear favourite: Wout van Aert. He must carry the pressure and make the race hard. The others have to remain calm But I expect Kevin Pauwels and Tom Meeusen will be very close."