The Tour de France is just around the corner and this weekend several world stars will fine-tune their condition in their national championships road races that take places all over Europe. One of the most interesting battles take place in Belgium where Philippe Gilbert and Tom Boonen battle it out for the honour of wearing one of the most prestigious jerseys in the cycling world: the Drikleur Starting Saturday at 14.50 CEST you can follow the race on CyclingQuotes.com/live.

This weekend offers excellent bike racing as most of Europe hand out their national champion's jerseys on Saturday or Sunday. While it is an important Tour de France test for some, the importance of the races can't be udnerestimated as the national tunics are among the most coveted in the cycling world.

One of the most prestigious of those is the Belgian Drikleur that has been worn by Stijn Devolder during the last year. The holder of the jersey for the coming year will be found on a flat course in Wielsbeke but none of the big favourites expect it to be decided in a bunch sprint. Bad weather has been forecasted and championships races are always unpredictable affair in which the unequal conditions for the big and small teams create a lot of interesting tactical scenarios.

Omega Pharma-Quick Step and Lotto Belisol have some big rosters whose sizes make them able to dominate the race, and the former has done nothing to hide their ambition of putting Tom Boonen back in the jersey he last held after his 2012 victory.

At the same time, the in-form Philippe Gilbert hopes to reclaim the jersey and in 2011 he proved how to deny the sprinters in flat terrain. He is hampered by the lack of teammates as he only has three riders at his side but as they include riders like Greg Van Avermaet and Ben Hermans, nobody can rule out the 2012 world champion. If one adds a small Belkin formation around Sep Vanmarcke and riders like Devolder, Johan Vansummeren, Jasper Stuyven and Jens Keukeleire, the ingredients for a fabulous bike race are definitely there.

Starting at 14.00 CEST you can follow the race here.