Straight through Flanders: Van der Poel and Pogacar top favorites
The Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel and the Slovenian Tadej Pogacar start in Roeselare as the top favorite. The finish is 184 kilometers further on the Connectionsweg in Waregem.
Van der Poel, who already put his name on the honors list in 2019, is the leader at Alpecin-Fenix, which also keeps Jasper Philipsen and former Belgian champion Dries De Bondt behind. Pogacar is supported by road captain Matteo Trentin at UAE Team Emirates. Last year Dylan van Baarle won. That Dutchman therefore pins the jersey number 1 at INEOS Grenadiers, in which the British Thomas Pidcock is also present. Last year’s numbers two and three, the Frenchman Christophe Laporte and Tim Merlier, are not there this time.
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl can again count on the re-enacting Tim Declercq. Yves Lampaert, laureate in 2017 and 2018, the Czech Zdenek Stybar and the Dutchman Fabio Jakobsen are also part of the Wolfpack. Lotto Soudal hopes for Victor Campenaerts, Arnaud De Lie, Florian Vermeersch and Tim Wellens, who will resume after illness. Intermarché-Wanty Gobert starts with the Norwegian Alexander Kristoff and the Italian Andrea Pasqualon as spearheads.
Cofidis has the winner of 2015 with Jelle Wallays in its ranks, B&B Hotels-KTM with Jens Debusschere that of 2016. Sep Vanmarcke collects some competition kilometers at Israel-Premier Tech and also Trek-Segafredo (Mads Pedersen), Jumbo-Visma (Tiesj Benoot), DSM (Sören Kragh Andersen, John Degenkolb), EF Education (Alberto Bettiol, Michael Valgren), Groupama-FDJ (Stefan Küng), AG2R-Citroën (Greg Van Avermaet) and TotalEnergies (Anthony Turgis, Edvald Boasson Hagen, Niki Terpstra) bring candidate winners to the start. Like Yves Lampaert, Terpstra has won twice in Waregem (2012 and 2014) and can only become the record holder.
The course has been thoroughly redesigned. The Stationsberg and the Taaienberg are no longer climbed, but some new slopes were added. In addition to five tough cobblestone sections, there are thirteen obstacles with the Nieuwe Kwaremont, the Zeelstraat, the Knokteberg, the Stooktestraat, the Hotond, the Kortekeer, the Berg ten Houte, the Kanarieberg, a second time at Knokteberg and Hotond, the Ladeuze, Nokereberg and the Holstraat. . The last of these is eight kilometers from the finish.