Team Picnic PostNL

With lots of climbing on the menu throughout the week we should see some exciting battles between the mountain goats when the road goes upwards, while the opportunists hunt out their moments.

Famously named after an old collection of European motorways that connected Lisbon to Stockholm, and which ran close to the start and finish town of Harelbeke, expect this “mini-Flanders” to be exciting.

Backloaded with climbs and cobbles; the direction of the wind on the journey back to Weveglem often decides how big of a group approaches the finish and the type of rider that will compete in the final.

A battle between the classics stars and versatile sprinters is to be expected, as those looking to make the day hard will have to use the climbs and the cobbles to distance those with a fast finish.

With the harder climbs and cobbled sections coming around the halfway mark in the day, the race can often explode early before a battle between the leading groups and chasing peloton ensues.