After a week of mountainous racing in Burgos and Utah, the sprinters and classics specialists come back into action in this week's Dutch-Belgian WorldTour race Eneco Tour. The one-day riders get a rare chance in the second half of the season to battle it out in the terrain known from the spring classics, the time trial specialists relish the chance to contend for a big stage race win without having to overcome enormous mountains and a host of sprinters look forward to some fierce battles in the first part of the race. Starting at 14.45 you can follow the first, flat stage of the race on CyclingQuotes.com/live.

The organizers of the Eneco Tour have designed the toughest course ever but the race will have a rather calm start. It kicks off today in Belgium and the coastal town of Koksijde that is famously known for its central role in the Three Days of De Panne in the spring. The riders first cover a short circuit around the start city before they leave the coast to start the journey towards the finishing city of Ardooie. The Rodeberg (1,7km, 5%, known from Gent-Wevelgem) is located after 75,6km of the 175,3km but otherwise the course is completely flat.

With 40,8km to go, the riders hit the finishing circuit and they cross the line for the first time when 30,8km still remain. From there, they cover the 15,4km finishing circuit twice before the stage finishes with what is very likely to be a big bunch sprint in Ardooie. The circuit is not overly technical and does not pose any significant difficulties. The sprinters will negotiate a sharp right-hand turn just before the 4km mark and a sharp left-hand turn just before the flamme rouge but from then on, the roads are completely straight and we should see a very fast finish to the opening stage of the race.

The race will kick off under a cloudy sky and the riders may even take to the start line under a light shower in Koksijde. However, that should be the only rain the peloton gets to see but they won't see anything from the sun either. It won't be one of those very hot days that have dominated the European summer as the temperatures will stay around the 18-degree mark for most of the day. At the same time, some riders will be happy to know that there will only a light wind from a western direction, thus giving the riders a tailwind for most of the day. From the 4km to go mark to the final turn just in front of the flamme rouge, there will be a tailwind while the sprinters will have to negotiate a cross-headwind on the finishing straight.

As usual, the field is loaded with sprinters and we should see a fierce contest late in the afternoon. One rider does, however, stand out as the major favourite. Marcel Kittel returns to competition after the Tour de France and the German will be eager to show himself in what is a home race for his team. It is no surprise that the Dutchmen put great emphasis on this race and that is reflected in their line-up which contains the entire lead-out train from the Tour de France.

Only the famous Lotto-Belisol train has more horsepower than the one from Argos-Shimano but the Belgian team has lined up a depleted formation. This means that Kittel is not only the fastest sprinter in the race, with the train Tom Dumoulin-John Degenkolb-Koen De Kort-Tom Veelers he also has the best team support. As the long power sprint suits him perfectly, he is the major favourite to win.

His compatriot Andre Greipel also returns to competition after the Tour de France but the German will find it more difficult than he did in France. From his fabulous lead-out train, Adam Hansen and Greg Henderson are preparing themselves for the Vuelta while Marcel Sieberg is out with a broken collarbone. That leaves just Jurgen Roelants from his usual support crew and while Jens Debusschere and Jonas Vangenechten will do their best to replace their teammates, they will find it difficult to go up against the Argos train. However, Greipel is such a fast sprinter that he still has the speed to take the win, should something go wrong for Kittel in the build-up to the sprint.

Theo Bos is one of the fastest sprinters in the world as he proved when he beat Kittel, Greipel and Mark Cavendish in the Ster ZLM Toer in June and he would love to beat the two Germans again. The Belkin team has a train that may go up against the Argos guys and Bos is a rider who can finish it off. Mark Renshaw will get back into lead-out duties as he prepares to once again join forces with Mark Cavendish next season and Graeme Brown will be another important part of the Belkin formation.

When it comes to solid lead-out support, Tyler Farrar can also be quite confident. Ramunas Navardauskas, Raymond Kreder, Koldo Fernandez and Alex Rasmussen all know how to keep high speed inside the final few kilometres and Robert Hunter is one of the best lead-out men in the world. Farrar may not be the sprinter he once was and everything needs to go his way if he wants to take the win. Positioning is, however, extremely crucial in a field with such a deep sprinting level and when it comes to that aspect, Farrar has an upper hand. Recent performances in the Tour de Wallonie and  the Tour of Denmark have been encouraging for the American who hopes to return to his winning ways this week.

Arnaud Demare recently won the RideLondon Classic and he hopes to take another win today. Not many riders have the same kick as the Frenchman who also has some solid lead-out support with his trusted lead-out man Mickael Delage joining forces with Yoann Offredo, Murilo Fischer, Domique Rollin and Matthieu Ladagnous. Unfortunately, Demare has had problems getting into the right position when the battle is fierce and few sprints will be more heavily contested than today's due to the number of fast finishers. If he gets a clean run to the line, he is, however, one of the riders who could win today.

Elia Viviani was one of Cavendish's closest challengers in the Giro and the Italian is now ready to show that he has taken a further step after completing his second grand tour. He recently dominated the Tour of Elk Grove and appears to be going well after his short break. He is one of the fastest riders in the peloton but may lack a little bit of team support this week. Fabio Sabatini is absent and this leaves him with just Tiziano Dall'Antonia and Guillaume Boivin to support him in the hectic finale.

Finally, we will point to Aidis Kruopis who is a master in these real power sprints. When he finally got his chance in the fourth stage of the Tour de Pologne, he made a really long and impressive kick but was unable to catch lone escapee Taylor Phinney before the line. With Jens Keukeleire, Jens Mouris and Daryl Impey - one of the best lead-out riders around - he has a team that should be able to bring him into position and if they manage to do that well, a Lithuanian win cannot be ruled out.

CyclingQuotes' stage winner pick: Marcel Kittel

Other winner candidates: Andre Greipel, Theo Bos

Outsiders: Tyler Farrar, Arnaud Demare, Elia Viviani, Aidis Kruopis