On Sunday Tom Boonen (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing) and Peter Sagan (Cannondale) will lock horns in the 76th edition of Gent-Wevelgem.
Having switched to Sunday from its previous mid-week slot, the race has become a reliable guide to form ahead of the Tour of Flanders which takes place a week later. It is also a highly coveted race to win in its own right. It typically offers sprinters with a chance of success but in recent years there has been a blend of fast finishers and plucky attackers who have claimed victory. Sagan won alone in 2013 after attacking from a small group.
The race route has been modified for this year to pay respect to those who lost their lives in the First World War but the Kemmelberg remains an integral part of the course with the climbs of the race virtually untouched. It should again make for a finely balanced affair as the likes of Cannonale and Omega Pharma-QuickStep look to isolate the pure sprinters before the finish.
In this exclusive Cyclingnews video, we pick 10 riders to watch out for. Defending champion Peter Sagan makes the cut but the Cannondale rider hasn’t quite hit the form of twelve months ago and with a returning Tom Boonen and a motivated Fabian Cancellara, Gent-Wevelgem could prove to be one of the most exciting one-day races of the season so far.
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