Klaas Vantornout has been struggling with a bad cold since mid-December and had to skip a lot of races in the Christmas season. Now Vantornout has finally recovered. "I feel healthy again," he says, "but my ambition for the Belgian championships is limited."

In 2013, Vantornout won the Belgian championships at Silvermeer in Mol and in Erpe-Mere, he finds another course that is tailor-made for him. "True. In early September, I won my first race of the season," he told Sporza.

"The Belgian championships has been on my mind for a long time. It was made 100% for my body and I wanted to obtain a good result but unfortunately, the virus has decided otherwise.

"I don't know where I am at the moment. For me it is a big question mark, I do not think I can play a role on Sunday."

In mid-December, Vantornout was hit by a heavy cold. He returned to competition too quickly and had a setback in early January. Last Sunday he had to skip the race in Leuven.

"On Tuesday, I stopped taking antibiotics," he said." I have had a very sore throat and a lot of phlegm. I have never been sick for so long.

"Since Monday I have been back in full training and I feel good, but I'm obviously at a disadvantage. Hopefully I am now recovered from this cold. I'll be happy if I can again have a good feeling at the Belgian championships but I have no ambitions."

Will Vantornout mainly support his teammate Kevin Pauwels in Erpe-Mere? "If the opportunity arises, I will do that, but it's actually a course where you can do little for your teammates and it will mainly be a fight man-against-man."