It won’t get any warmer than ten degrees and according to the weather forecast, it will start to rain in Belgium. Especially the E3 Harelbeke includes slippery cobblestone strips and white gravel roads as we know from the Strade Bianche.

Maarten Wynants: "E3 Harelbeke is a super-heavy race which never suited me well in the past. In fact, you could call it a mini Tour of Flanders. I hope I can be of importance deep into the final to support young guys like Timo Roosen and Amund Jansen. Then it’s up to them to get a good result.”

Gent-Wevelgem has been transformed from a sprinters race into an even heavier race, Wynants says. “We have opportunities with Dylan Groenewegen. It comes down to positioning him well for the last climb of the Kemmelberg. We need to stay with him as much as possible to close gaps, if necessary.”

It is one of the few races in which both top sprinters of Team LottoNL-Jumbo participate. Wynants: "The more leaders, the more opportunities. We can take advantage of this.”