Ones to Watch: Early Season Classics

This weekend sees the double-header of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne. January and February have seen cycling crossing the globe in search of sunny climes, to Africa, South America, and Australia, then onto the Middle East with the Tours of Qatar and Oman, and finally into southern Europe with races such as the Trofeo Laiguelia, the Volta ao Algarve, the Tour du Med, and the Vuelta a Andalucia. However, finally cycling is returning to its Belgian heartland with two races that will see the first cobbles of 2013.

Although both races are run in Flanders, they are distinctly different in character, with no rider having ever won both events in the same year. We should therefore expect a different cast to be coming to the fore on Saturday and Sunday. Below I’ll outline some of the names you should be keeping an eye on as the Belgian cycling season gets underway.

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad

Of the two races this weekend, the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad is generally the most selective. A challenging mix of tough flat cobble sections and stiff climbs, some of which, such as the Molenberg and Taaienberg will be reappearing in the Tour of Flanders, this race usually sees either a lone rider or a small group approach the slightly uphill finish into Gent. If you’re looking to see who will be in form for Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders, this is the race to pay attention to.

Sep Vanmarcke won this race last year after attacking on the Lange Munte cobble section with 21km, narrowing his opponents down to Flecha and Boonen, before outsprinting both in what was an impressive victory. So far this year the 24 year old has not had the best of times results-wise, but has been on the attack and working for Lars Boom (who will be hoping not to be shoved off the road by Tom Boonen) at the Volta ao Algarve. Still he looks in good shape and I wouldn’t like to bet against him repeating his win this year.

Beaten into second place last year, Tom Boonen, has been struggling with an elbow injury in the early part of this season. However he still managed to get two top ten finishes in the Tour of Oman, but both of these were in bunch sprints and he struggled over the steep climbs of stage 2. My head says that the Belgian champion won’t be in good enough form to challenge for the win in a race which he has yet to add to his palmarès, but I still struggle to write him off.

Juan Antonio Flecha has podiumed at the Het Nieuwsbald five times in the past and has been a winner one occasion. However like Boonen he has struggled a little bit for form so far this year. The Spaniard can rely on a relatively strong Vacansoleil squad, but at the age of 35 he is not getting any younger. However, experience can be all important in these types of races.

As usual, BMC bring a very strong squad to the party, with Adam Blythe, Thor Hushovd, Daniel Oss, and Taylor Phinney all present. However for me it is Greg Van Avermaet who might be the best bet for this race. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, he needs to step up and put in a major challenge at a big classic this season. The Belgian looked good in both Qatar and Oman and will be looking to put in a good performance on Saturday.

Another team with a few cards to play is IAM. Marco Bandiera, Kristoff Goddaert, and Martin Elmiger all looked good in the Middle East, but there is no doubt that Heinrich Haussler is the big fish in the team. Dropping down to a second division team may do the Australian a world of good. Clearly blessed with talent, he struggled for opportunities at Gerolsteiner, Cervelo, and Garmin, but now has the opportunity to step up with a team completely behind him.

It will also be interesting to see how Geraint Thomas gets on after spending most of last year focussing on the track. The Welshman will clearly have his eyes on the Tour of Flanders but will be keen to get a few Flandrian bergs into his legs in Het Nieuwsblad.

Elsewhere, Filippo Pozzato had a decent classics season last year and was looked good taking the win at the Trofeo Laiguelia. Jurgen Roelandts was also looking good getting some good results at the Tour Med, while Beligian veteran Bobbie Traksel seemed to spend the whole of the Tour of Oman off the front and clearly feels he has good legs as he enters his thirteenth season as a pro.

Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne

Like the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne contains a number of testing climbs, with the most famous being the Oude Kwaremont. However, while Het Nieuwsblad has testing sections to the very end of the race, the final climb in Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne, the Nokereberg, coming with over 50km still to go. This has led to many editions of the race coming down to a sprint finish, with Mark Cavendish and Chris Sutton winning from bunch sprints in the previous two years. However this is by no means any easy race, as shown by the 2010 edition, which was run in driving wind and rain, with only 26 finishers out of the 196 who took to the start.

Last year’s winner Mark Cavendish returns again this year, and is supported by a strong squad including Boonen, Terpstra, Stybar, and Keisse. Cav has been in pretty decent form so far this year, taking stage wins in San Luis and Qatar (but missed out in the Volta ao Algarve) and will be keen to defend his title.

This will be the first time this season that we will get to see Cavendish toe-to-toe with Andre Greipel. The German has also been in good form, adding a stage of the Tour Med to his traditional multiple stage wins in the Tour Down Under. Greipel will also be able to rely on his well-drilled lead-out train to deliver him into the final 200m in a good position. The likes of Jurgen Roelandts, Marcel Sieberg and Greg Henderson are becoming increasingly dominant on flat finishes.

Other sprinters will be quick to seize their opportunities if Grepeil and Cavendish falter. Yauheni Hutarovich looked in good shape in Qatar, while Arnaud Demare will be looking to build on a very good first season as a pro, as well match compatriot and teammate Nacer Bouhanni’s good performances in the Middle East.

Away from the sprinters, it looks like Jens Keukeleire is going to be given a chance to lead Greenedge. He’s a rider I was expecting to get decent results in Qatar and Oman. He didn’t really flourish there, but maybe he’ll get on better in his homeland. Ian Stannard is another good rider who is  one of the most reliable domestiques in the peloton. He was 3rd in the brutal 2010 edition of this race, but will probably be riding for Boasson Hagen with calm conditions forecast for Sunday.