There are many key teams who will look to win the Tour of Flanders with cunning tactics. This preview will see how each team may potentially lead their riders to victory. Luck will play abig factor as mechanicals can ruin the race even for the strongest men. This report will look to see who will compete for the win for each of the "key" teams.

Trek will ride for defending champion Fabian Cancellara. The Swiss star is coming back to form but how well he will actually go is a bit of an unknown. What is for certain is that if he is feeling good, he will attack up the Oude Kwaremont on the final ascent and then drop anyone who is with him on the Paterberg, the day’s final climb before soloing to victory in Oudenaarde. He has a strong team of helpers including Rast and Styuven and Irizar, but Stijn Devolder will be his best asset. The Belgian has won the race twice just like Cancellara and is in even better form just now than his leader. He won his titles whilst riding for Tom Boonen and may be able to do the same this year if Cancellara is not at his best.

Cannondale bring Peter Sagan to the race. He was second last year and will hope to go one better in 2014. He is considerably faster than Cancellara usually in a sprint and will want to go to the line with him rather than drop him. However, Sagan has looked weaker in 2014 than he did last year despite winning in big races, namely a stage in Tirreno-Adriatico and E3. He looked sluggish on the Kwaremont in E3 and although he won, he took his time getting across to Geraint Thomas’ attack. Sagan will have a tough task if he wants to win but for the Slovak sensation, it is possible that he can win due to his immense talent. His biggest weakness is that his team are much weaker than those of his rivals, with Oscar Gatto potentially the only man who will be able to help him in the final 40k.

Once again, OPQS will bring another phenomenal line-up to a classic. Their problem may be that they have so many men to win but not one man is going so well as to deserve outright leadership status. Tom Boonen has looked flat recently due to personal tragedy but his fifth place at Gent-Wevelgem suggests he is getting better. Niki Terpstra is looking the strongest of the lot but he would need to go to the line either on his own or with slow sprinters as he is not the fastest himself and the same can be said for Stijn Vandenbergh. Zdenek Stybar is fast but hasn’t looked like the man he was at the back end of last year but could be saving his from for the race he describes as the best suited to him. As always, OPQS’ strength in numbers makes them hard to rule out as they can always send a strong man up the road to win as well as wait for later in the race, making them hot favourites as they are the best team.

Sky has a few options too but Edvald Boasson Hagen has not looked great since this podium at the Omloop. But he is fast and could never be ruled out in a group sprint but he can’t follow the moves over the climbs. Geraint Thomas is the polar opposite but he can TT and is by far the strongest rider in the team based on form. But as always there is a strong team of helpers and Sky, despite having poor luck in the Classics traditionally and losing Ian Stannard to injury, have a chance at winning.

Lotto-Belisol has two strong men to aim for in last year’s final podium finisher Jurgen Roelandts and Tony Gallopin. They too bring a strong Classics squad but as last year, in order to win they will need to send one of those two men up the road as they are simply not strong enough to win by following the big men on the final climbs. But both look on form and cant be ruled out.

Giant-Shimano also enters with a two-pronged attack. John Degenkolb has been performing exceptionally recently and he won Gent-Wevelgem as well as being one of two men to go with Thomas over the Kwaremont in E3. However he has no experience and could get dropped in the tough final. Dries Devenyns has great experience and is very consistent as he lives in the area and should be there to either help Degenkolb or ride for himself. Degenkolb is quick and no one will want to drag him to the line. However, anything better than a top 10 for Giant would be a resounding success.

BMC has a very experienced team. Thor Hushovd is on his thirteenth Flanders now but is in horrid form and will be domestique for Greg van Avermaet who is very consistent in the classics but has no experience leading a team. But van Avermaet is quick and should rise to the challenge but may be unable to follow the moves in the final. Taylor Phinney makes his debut today. He is strong on the cobbles and can TT but he will be a bit of a wild card but could do a good ride if his leader falters.

Garmin lost 2011 winner Nick Nuyens to injury but they have a strong squad too. Johan Van Summeren has bags of experience and can ride well on the Cobbles but has a virtually invisible sprint. Sebastian Langeveld is very consistent but is probably not strong enough to go with the big men in the climbs. A top 5 would be an acceptable result for the team who are probably more suited to the Ardennes despite their strong team.

Belkin ride only for Sep Vanmarcke in Flanders. He is quick and looks very strong and has placed in the top 5 of every Classic he has raced this year. He is probably good enough to go with Cancellara on the climbs and is quick enough to beat him in a sprint. His team is weak and Lars Boom (set back by an elbow inury) is not as good as he usually is to either help his leader to ride for himself. But in Vanmarcke, Belkin have a genuine winner and they will expect nothing less than a podium from the man who many believe to be the heir to Tom Boonen’s throne.

Katusha have the fast, experienced veteran Luca Paolini to work for. He knows the roads well and looks on form. However, he will struggle to go on the climbs with the best as he lost his best power a while ago but managed to win last year’s Omloop and may surprise a few tomorrow. Alexander Kristoff won Milan-Sanremo and looks good but no one knows really how well go will do. He jumped way to early in Gent-Wevelgem and was passed by many riders in the sprint. However, he is consistent, winning the bunch sprint in every monument he has contested in the last 13 months so ruling him out is fatal.

FDJ have a host of good Classics men to ride for. Offredo, Le Bon and Ladagnous all have good experience and can do at least a top 10. But all three have been quite since the Omloop and Ladagnous has hardly been seen all year so it is difficult to see a podium coming from those three. Arnaud Demare was second in Gent-Wevelgem and was frustrated not to win a stage in the 3 Days of De Panne this week. He is very fast and will not need much of a leadout and was eleventh here last year so he is not to be ruled out.

Who will win Flanders is based as much on luck as it is skill and strength. Come 5 o’clock, we will know who has been the best at combining all three to win Belgium’s biggest race.