The Ardennes and cobbled classics get most of the attention in Belgium but the calendar is loaded with big one-day races in one of cycling’s key countries. One of the old races is the Ronde van Limburg which which was once a major classic but now tries to regain some its status after it disappeared from the calendar for more than 15 years.

The economic crisis and doping discussion have forced many organizers to cancel their races. The rich Italian one-day calendar is a shadow of its former self and most of the Spanish one-week stages have disappeared. There’s barely a race left in Germany and lots of races are constantly battling for survival.

In no other country does cycling have the same status as it has in Belgium and this can probably explain why the Belgian calendar has been largely unaffected. All the major stage and one-day races have survived and there’s never much talk about races fighting for survival.

One of the few exceptions is the Ronde van Limburg. First held in 1919, it is one of the oldest races on the calendar but due to a lack of sponsors it disappeared from the calendar between 1995 and 2011. However, the organizers have managed to accomplish the rare feat of bringing a race back after such a long absence and in 2016, it will be held for the fifth year in a row.

As said, the first edition took place in 1919 but the riders had to wait until 1933 to get the chance to do the second edition. Since then, it was held every year until 1994, with 1940, 1971 and 1991 being the only exceptions. Back then, it was always held in the city of Sint-Truiden and was a big race on the Belgian calendar. The list of winners includes names like Eric Vanderaerden, Peter Post, Rik Van Steenbergen and Marcel Kint and even though it was never a big international event, it had lots of prestige in the home country.

Since 2012, the race has been back on the calendar but it is now held in the city of Tongeren. After two years at the 1.2 level, it was moved to the 1.1 category in 2013 and is now able to attract WorldTour teams. The name may indicate that it is held in the Netherlands as Limburg is intimately related to the Amstel Gold Race, the biggest event in the region. However, it is also the name of one of the five Flemish provinces and is located I the Northeastern part of Belgium. This is where the race takes place but the terrain in the Belgian province is flatter than it is in its Dutch counterpart. The Ronde van Limburg still has its climbs but it is not as hard as the Amstel Gold Race and more suited to strong sprinters.

Since it returned to the calendar in 2012, two editions have been decided in reduced bunch sprints, with Kevin Claeys and Mathieu van der Poel being the fastest in 2012 and 2014 respectively. In 2013, Olivier Chevalier won a sprint from a small group that held off the peloton by 14 seconds and last year Björn Leukemans and Dimitri Claeys arrived 11 seconds before the peloton, with the former making a late attack to take the win.

The course

The 2016 edition of the race will be held on a 200km course with start and finish in Tongeren and the riders will have to tackle a total of 13 climbs and six pave sectors in what will be a difficult circuitrace

 The first part of the race is made up of three circuits. The first one is 60km and brings the riders into the hilly terrain on the northwestern outskirts of Tongeren. It includes the climbs of Oude Berg (550m, 5.8%), Glinberg (800m, 7%), Letenberg (500m, 7%) and Keiberg (600m, 4.7%) and the 700m pave of Maastrichterallee.

The second circuit is 70km long and the hardest of the three. It takes the riders into the hard terrain on the eastern outskirts of the city features the climbs of Their Begot (1100, 6.6%), Chavee Arecht (700m, 7.6%), Wonckerberg (500m, 7%), Slingerberg (600m, 4.7%), Letenberg (550m, 5.8%) and Keiberg (900m, 4%) in addition to a second passage of the Maastrichteralle pave.

The third circuit is the shortest and the easiest. It is 38km long and sends the riders into the terrain on the western outskirts of Tongeren. It includes the climbs of Grootloonberg (900m, 4%), Oude Berg (900m, 4%) and Kolmontberg (900m, 4%) in addition to the pave sectors of Weg naar Heks (450m), Manshoven (1300m) and Op de Kriezel (1500m) which come in quick succession in the early part of the circuit.

The final part of the stage consists of three laps of 10km circuit on the western outskirts of Tongeren. Its main challenge is the Kolmontberg (900m, 4%) which already featured on the third circuit. It is located just 5km from the finish. Then the riders will follow a long straight road which has a short descent that leads to the final 2km. Then the road is flat until the riders get to the final 500m which are uphill at a gradient of 5-6%. The long, straight road ends with 180m where there’s a sharp right-hand turn.

Compared to last year’s race, the course has undergone a few minor modifications but it is largely unchanged. Most notably, the finishing circuit is the same.

The favourites

Ronde van Limburg is one of the hardest races to predict as it can both be won from a small group or from a reduced bunch sprint. History shows that the chances are 50-50 and much depends on the weather and the strategy of the big teams. This year it seems that the race will take place in rainy conditions, with a moderate wind blowing from a westerly direction. This means that it will be harder than usual and favours the attackers.

There aren’t many big team at the start and in fact, Etixx-QuickStep is the only WorldTour team here. There are only four pro continental teams and the rest of the peloton is made up of small continental teams. This will make it much harder to control the race and if a group with a few Etixx riders and one or two from Wanty, Topsport and Roompot gets clear in the hilly zone, it is very unlikely that the race will come back together. Hence, we doubt that we will get a bunch sprint.

Etixx-QuickStep have Tom Boonen for a sprint but they will be more comfortable with a hard race than a bunch kick. We expect them to try to blow the race to pieces like they did at Heistse Pijl last weekend. In that race, Boonen was in the early break but in that race the group failed to stay away. He is looking for form for the Belgian Championships so we expect him to ride hard in this race too. He will probably try to attack in the hills like he did at last year’s Rund um Köln and hopes to be joined by a few of his teammates. If that happens, we doubt that the peloton will see them again and then Etixx-QuickStep will be hard to beat. Boonen is one of the best riders in the world when it comes to sprinting at the end of a hard race and he is likely to have the best support in such a group. Furthermore, he will be one of the fastest if it comes down to a bunch sprint so Boonen is our favourite to win the race.

One of the sprinters that can be part of such a strong breakaway is Baptiste Planckaert. The Belgian is enjoying a breakthrough season and must be knocking on the door for a move to a professional team. He has been the most consistent rider in the French one-day races where he has been up there in both sprints and breakaways. Most recently, he did very well at the Belgium Tour where he finished second in the mini Tour of Flanders stage after having made it into a strong group with some of the best classics specialists. Like Boonen he can wait for a sprint but he knows how to stay attentive and join the right moves in a race like this. He is strong enough to do so and has the speed to beat everybody at the end of a hard race.

The in-form sprinter in the race is Kenny Dehaes. The Belgian had an injury-marred start to the year but is now back at his best level. He won two races in May and would probably have won the uphill sprint on the first stage of the Belgium Tour if he hadn’t been slowed down by a crash. In the past, he has showed that he is strong enough to ride aggressively in this kind of race but we doubt that he can match Etixx-QuickStep in this terrain. On the other hand, he showed his power on the climbs at the recent Heistse Pijl where he rode aggressively in the finale and finally sprinted to fourth. If it comes down to a bunch sprint, he will be our favourite as he has the best train but he will also have options in a hard race.

Veranda’s Willems are here with Timothy Dupont and Aidis Kruopis. The Belgian sprinted excellently at the Belgium Tour where he was in the top 5 in both sprints and has been enjoying a bit of a breakthrough season. He has won three smaller races in Belgium during the last moth and proved that he is more than a sprinter when he won the hard final stage of the 3 Days of West-Flanders. Kruopis is more of a pure sprinter but showed his form with a podium spot at the Heistse Pijl last weekend. Dupont is the strongest of the pair and has the best chance in a race like this. He will probably try to follow the attacks while Kruopis will save energy for a bunch sprint.

Boonen is not the only Etixx-QuickStep card as almost every rider in the team can win. Their second best option is Gianni Meersman who loves a hilly race like this. Like Boonen, he will try to follow the attacks and if he makes it into the right group, he is very likely to be the fastest. However, he hasn’t raced for a long time so his form is uncertain.

Mathieu van der Poel is a former winner of this race. Back then he won a reduced bunch sprint but with the high level of sprinters here, he is unlikely to repeat that performance in 2016. His best chance is to ride aggressively and make it into a small group from where he can make use of his fast speed. He has been riding on his mountain bike recently but returned to the road at the Boucles de la Mayenne where he did a good prologue and rode aggressively in the final stage. With four days of racing in his legs, he should be even stronger here.

While Wanty have Dehaes for the sprint, they have Gaetan Bille for the attacks. The Belgian was unfortunate to hit the deck at the GP de la Somme which prevented him from riding the Belgium Tour which was his big goal. However, he showed solid form at the recent Tour de Luxembourg and he should find a hilly race like this to his liking. He is strong on the climbs and fast I a sprint from a small group.

Crelan have Xandro Meurisse who enjoyed a big highlight of his career when he won the queen stage at the 4 Days of Dunkirk. He hasn’t been at the same level since that race but he should be one of the strongest on the climbs. Unfortunately, he is likely to be up against faster guys.

Davide Martinelli, Nikolas Maes and Lukasz Wisniowski are all alternative cards for Etixx-QuickStep as they are all strong enough to attack in this lumpy terrain and have a fast sprint to finish it off. However, if they are there with Boonen or Meersman, they will probably have to play a support role. On the other hand, Etixx-QuickStep want to exploit their strength in numbers and this could give them a chance to attack.

Finally, we will point to Amaury Capiot and Yannis Yssaad who will both take their chance in a sprint. The latter is the fastest but the race could be too tough for him. The former is stronger and should survive the climbs but he probably lacks the speed to win.

***** Tom Boonen

**** Baptiste Planckaert, Kenny Dehaes

*** Timothy Dupont, Gianni Meersman, Mathieu van der Poel

** Aidis Kruopis, Gaetan Bille, Davide Martinelli, Nikolas Maes, Lukasz Wisniowski, Xandro Meurisse, Amaury Yannis Yssaad

* Pieter Serry, Guillaume Van Keirsbulck, Rob Ruijgh, Jerome Baugnies, Alexandr Kolobnev, Joeri Stallaert, Andre Looij, Barry Markus, Tim Merlier, Antoine Warnier, Jetse Bol, Jasper Ockeloen, Yann Guyot, Jelle Mannaerts