A year after controversi𒁏al course changes overshadowed the build-up to the 2012 Tour o♛f Flanders, a virtually replica race profile has been kept for this year’s edition, but while the Muur and the Bosberg remain on the side lines, the lap system that remains in place still has plenty to offer.

Last year Tom Boonen, Alessandro Ballan and Filippo Pozzato broke free with 18 kilometres to go and stayed clear until the finish where the Belgian’s turn of speed was enough to seal his third Ronde title and continue his dominance of the Classics.

A year has passed and a lot has changed. Perhaps most importantly teams and riders know a more about the course, tactics will change and ♓the softly, softly approach that was taken on the opening lap of the final circuit may be modified. To draw a comparison, Le Manie was added to the Milan-San Remo course in 2008 but it took a couple of attempts for the peloton to re♎alise that he climb could be used to distance the pure sprinters.

The Contenders

Last year’s winner Tom Boonen is certܫainly not the force he was 12 months ago and with Ballan still recovering from a serious injury and Pozzato out of sorts, it’s highly likely that we’ll see a completely different podium in Oudenaarde come Sunday.

Peter Sagan (Cannondale) and Fabian Cancellara (RadioShack Leopard) are the two red-hot favourites, with Ca꧂ncellara producing an unstoppable ride in E3 Harelbeke and Sagan volleying back with consummate performances in Gent-Wevelgem and the Thre൩e Days of De Panne.

In head-to-heads in Monuments, Cancellara holds a clear advantage in terms of both success and experience but Milan-San Remo showed that the 🐎pair are both relatively even after 250 plus kilometres racining.

But while two riders lead the charge with the bookmakers, there’s far more depth ♐to this year’s Classics pool, and there’s certainly a case to speculate that Cancellara and Sagan may simply cancel each other out.

In 2009 Boonen and Pozzato were head and shoulders ahead of the oppoཧsition but it was Stijn Devolder who capitalised, while not even Nick Nuyens would sugg♏est he was the strongest rider in 2011.

A scenario in which Boonen attacks could conceivably see Cancellara and Sagan watch each other ꦅand although the Belgium is short of form, even a 90 per cent version has a chance. O🅠mega Pharma’s Sylvain Chavanel and Niki Terpstra can’t be counted out either. The Frenchman is flying once again and may well be Lefevere’s saviour this spring. However, the Omega manager will spend the next 48 hours at the team’s base in Kortrijk sweating over the health of his star man Boonen.

BMC are without an underwhelming Philippe Gilbert and the team continues to stress that Thor Hushovd is worthyᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ of team leadership. But with Ballan and Taylor Phinney also out Greg Van Aver🎃maet may never have a better opportunity to finally win a Monument.

Sky’s a𒉰ltitude training hasn’t reaped ♑the rewards they expected but Geraint Thomas is due a big win.

The same can’t be said for Pozzato, who still flatters to deceive in the grandest of races. The Lampre man has been struggling in recent weeks🦩 and looked we𒅌ll short of power in Gent-Wevelgem.

Sebastian Langeveld (Orica-GreenEdge), Borut Bozic (Astan), Sep ꦡVanmarcke (Blanco), Yoann Offredo (FDJ), Luca Paolini (Katusha), Jurgen Roelandts (Lotto Belisol), Björn Leukemans (Vacansoleil-DCM), Heinrich Haussler (IAM Cycling) and Oscar Gatto (Vini Fantini-Selle Italia) head a long list of outsiders.

The Route

The race starts in the centre of Brugge, anꦦd thousands of fans are expected to cram the main square as the atmosphere reaches fever pitch. The steady influx of fans begins the day before with team directors arriving for the teams’ meetings as the public make use of the restaurants and bars that surround the cobbled classics equivalent of Mecca.

Come the morning, the area will be awash with Flemish flags and fans as the riders make their way onto a huge stage for the presentation. The excitement, no matter the conditions, is palpable and a polar opposite ༒from Compiegne for the start of Paris-Roubaix, where the publi🐼c numbers are far lower.

W♓ith the pelotoꦑn clipped in and ready to race, they will swing south and through the towns of Torhout and Roeselare. Early attempts to form a break will be numerous but by Wevelgem at 46 kilometres, as the race heads east, a group could be clear.

At this point the early tactics of Omega Pharma, Cannondale and RadioShack should be clear, and with the Belgian team strong but Boonen&rsq♊uo;s form questionable they may well try and infiltrate the move.

At 91 kilometres the main contenders will already be at the front as they tackle the first climb, the Tiegemberg. Positioning will be key but a mistake here shouldn&rsᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚquo;t be to costly.

The approach to the Taaienberg though at 113 kilometres offers no redemption for mishaps however. The Eikenberg, Molenberg, and Rekelberg, Berendries and Valkenberg all fo🗹llow in quick succession, with the sections in between the climbs just as critical as any possible accelerations on the bergs themselves.

Last year, there was a brief split on the Molenberg with a counter attack involving key domestiques breaking free in an attempt for the te꧂am leaders to try and position riders for later in the race, and there’s every chance of a similar man🃏oeuvre playing out this time around.

The first set 🌺of ascents of the Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg, will be fast but unlikely to be selective but the Kruisberg, where Gilbert launched a move last year could be key. It comes after the Koppenberg and Steengeekdries but🍸 the climbs come in such quick sucesssion that the 9 km between Steengeekdries and the Kruisberg will be crucial. If a favourite has poorly positioned himself or been caught in a crash, the hammer will go down and there might not be any way back.

The second time up the Oude Kwaremont (219km) and Paterberg (223) will be far more selective and given Cancellara’s recent form he way well try a long distance move to catch his rivals off-guard. The sharp corner into the Paterberg is another hotspot and last year saw Sagan and Breschel lose ℱgr𝓡ound behind a crash.

Cancellara andꦯ Sagan’s form may force the hand of others to attack early, in the vain hope that the two men will mark each other out of the race o🌱r at the very least hesitate enough for a gap to be established.

However, if the race is still toꦆgether by the final loop over the Oude Kwaremont (239km) and Paterberg (243) then only those with the most energy left will be able to instigate and follow the attacks because, despite th𒈔e course changes from last year, the Tour of Flanders is invariably a race where only the strongest can survive.