A billiards surface course in Middelkerke, is that something to look forward to? Naturally! A Belgian championship is always a special race, so it won’t just be a sprint without a fight. Who will be Wout van Aert’s successor? CyclingFlash looks ahead.
History
The Belgian Road Race has been on the calendar since 1894. The very first edition is in the name of the Waal Léon Houa. At the time, the riders raced from Smeermaas in Limburg to Maaseik, a route that would be the same in the next two editions. Houa was not a small name at the time, because he also wrote the first edition of Liège-Bastogne-Liège on his list of achievements.
The victory record was long in the name of Rik Van Steenbergen. Rik I was allowed to wear the tricolore three times. Although we must add that these triumphs took place in the war years, when the title fight was canceled a number of times. In 2004 he was surpassed by the fast Tom Steels, who was donned the Belgian tricolor for the fourth time in Tessenderlo. In the current peloton, Philippe Gilbert is the record holder.
A BK sometimes leads to surprising winners, such as Preben Van Hecke in 2015 – photo: Cor Vos
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Belgian Cycling currently sells the Belgian championships in packages. For example, because of its long-term presence in the Superprestige, Middelkerke was also able to host a championship on the road for the first time, a municipality with a cyclocross tradition. Three years ago, it was awarded the BK trial, cyclo-cross and the championship on the road for 2022. Lombardsijdenaar and champion of 1976 Freddy Maertens is the ambassador.
The nice thing about such a BK on a flatter course is that you often get an open course, and therefore sometimes get surprising winners. Many riders can handle this terrain, they ride in teams that are skewed and unusually divided (twenty riders at Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise, while Jens Keukeleire rides alone), and then there is the rivalry between, for example, Lotto Soudal and the Quick steppers. Reason enough why names such as Preben Van Hecke and Dries De Bondt are also on the honors list.
Last ten winners
2021: 
Wout van Aert
2020: Dries De Bondt
2019: Tim Merlier
2018: Yves Lampaert
2017: Oliver Naesen
2016: Philippe Gilbert
2015: Preben Van Hecke
2014: Jens Debusschere
2013: Stijn Devolder
2012: Tom Boonen
Last year
Last year the battle for the title continued in Waregem, on a fairly flat course, but with the Holstraat a treacherous executioner. Mauri Vansevenant, Kenny Molly and the Lotto Soudal duo Brent Van Moer and Tosh Van der Sande went on to make the most of the beautiful weather after a lightning-fast initial phase. The four were given a six-minute advance on the peloton, but under the impulse of Alpecin-Fenix and Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise they were never dangerous.
At about sixty kilometers before the finish, Dries De Bondt (Alpecin-Fenix) and brand new Belgian time trial champion Yves Lampaert (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) started. The two had to chase for some time, but with 45 kilometers from the finish they made the jump. The cooperation was not ideal, so the peloton was able to get closer and closer. There were still some convulsions, but these proved unsuccessful.
The final was started by Philippe Gilbert, who once pushed through the difficult Holstraat. However, the other favorites quickly followed. They did not do that when Wout van Aert and Remco Evenepoel took off in the descent. Only Theuns was able to drive up to the two great tenors.
Van Aert was just faster than Theuns – photo: Cor Vos
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Despite the blocking work of Deceuninck-Quick-Step and Van Hooydonck, the battle was not over yet. AG2R Citroën and Alpecin-Fenix continued to thrash the pedals, keeping the lead small. Evenepoel tried again on the last passage over the Holstraat, but he couldn’t get away.
An attack under the red rag also brought no solace. Van Aert then started the sprint from the front and Theuns almost missed it, but Van Aert was just a bit faster on the line. Behind them Jordi Meeus won the sprint for fourth place.
Van Aert only made his first race kilometers at the Belgian Championship since the Amstel Gold Race. In between, he had to endure a lot: there was the much-discussed verdict in the case against Nick Nuyens and appendicitis, which had thrown the goldcrest of Jumbo-Visma back in his preparation. He dedicated his win to a recently deceased close friend.
Results BK on the road 2021
1. Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma)
2. Edward Theuns (Trek-Segafredo) in zt
3. Remco Evenepoel (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) on 1s
4. Jordi Meeus (BORA-hansgrohe) on 5s
5. Milan Menten (Bingoal Pauwels Sauces WB) in z.t.
Journey
For this Belgian championship, don’t expect a typical Flemish race with sharp slopes or cobblestone sections. Johan Museeuw, who supported the organization with advice when drawing up the route, indicates that this is a conscious choice. “I have advised, for once, not to do what every organizer is trying to do. Exploring slopes, cobblestones. You can, but not every game. We are by the sea, it is flat. There is nothing wrong with a royal sprint.”
Still plenty of options in the area. After the start on the Camerlinckstraat, the peloton first heads south via Leffinge, Zevekote, Sint-Pieters-Kapelle to Diksmuide, which should undoubtedly please Karl Vannieuwkerke and B&B Hotels rider Jordi Warlop. After that, the riders will pass Oudekapelle and Alveringem and therefore not to the difficult Kemmelberg and Monteberg, which are not very much further on. The motto remains: billiards flat roads.
Well in the course: twice a passage through De Moeren, where the wind can keep ugly. The polder plain is part of a round of about 35 kilometers, with also passages through Adinkerke and Veurne, which has to be covered twice in the initial phase. For the sake of completeness: the passages through De Moeren are 156.2 and 118.7 kilometers from the finish. The chance that we will get definitive differences here is therefore rather small.
All the more so because afterwards it goes at high speed via Avekapelle, Ramskapelle, Mannekensvere and Nieuwpoort towards the local circuit in Middelkerke. After all, there are six local laps of 13.8 kilometers, also without obstacles. The round runs parallel to the beach and also passes through the municipalities of Westende and Lombardsijde, via straight roads. Ideal for the sprinter teams to check and sprint after (barely) 208.7 kilometres.
Sunday 26 June 2022: Middelkerke – Middelkerke (208.7 km)
Start: 12.15 pm
Finish: 17.07 – 17.35
Favorites
One thing is certain: we will have a new Belgian champion one Sunday. Defending champion Wout van Aert would have liked to have been there, but the Kempenaar hit his knee last week. His entourage then decided not to take any risks, to break off his altitude internship and to delete this BK just to be sure. Van Aert will not cycle until Sunday, in the hope of getting ready for the Tour de France.
What does seasonal revelation Arnaud De Lie do? – photo: Cor Vos
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This of course offers extra opportunities for large blocks at the start. Just think of Lotto Soudal, which has sixteen pawns. Of course seasonal revelation Arnaud DeLie their leader if it ended in a sprint, but it would be a shame not to play out the numerical superiority. Riders such as Tim Wellens, Philippe Gilbert and Florian Vermeersch should also be ready for the Tour and are not slow in a smaller group. It is up to their team leader Nikolas Maes to deal with that preponderance.
At Alpecin-Fenix, with a total of 21 riders at the start, the choice may be even more difficult. There you are with the eternally searing choice between Jasper Philipsen in Tim Merlier† Now Merlier hasn’t been doing great lately and will leave the squad at the end of the year for Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl, two factors that make us lean more towards Philipsen. Moreover, the latter fueled confidence with a victory over the Wandelaar. Yet we do not want to completely eliminate Merlier, because his sprint in the Eleven Cities Round was strong.
At Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert they have two fast men. Gerben Thijssen is more the pure sprinter, who also impressed in the Belgium Tour with his pure speed. He already showed that earlier this year with his stage win in the Four Days of Dunkirk. On the other hand, you can’t even out Quinten Hermans. The Limburger put an end to a drought on the road that lasted almost four years in the Belgium Tour, and we assume that his hunger has not yet been sated.
Will Evenepoel avoid the sprint? – photo: Cor Vos
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What do we do with Quick-Step Apha Vinyl? Not a bad word about fast man Stan Van Tricht, who is working on a strong period. But the Vlaams-Brabanter already admitted to us a few times that he is not a pure sprinter, and we don’t see him knocking De Lie and Philipsen and co. The men of Lefevere therefore have to start attacking, and with twelve pawns they will be able to leave their mark on the course. Probably without a specific leader, but with the aim of creating a hard course.
Remco Evenepoel played a role in every recent BK in this way. Even on the billiard-level course in Ghent in 2019, he made it difficult for the sprinter teams for a long time. The Schepdaalnaar therefore has excellent speed driving skills, more than anyone else. And in the fairground race Gullegem Koerse, perhaps the race that most resembles the Belgian Championship, he even finished it. He will probably find a flight buddy in Dries De Bondt (Alpecin-Fenix), who is always dangerous in an escape.
The best prepared team? That is traditionally Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise, which can participate with its full selection of twenty riders. In other countries, for example, you see Uno-X setting itself a limit for the national championship, but for Walter Planckaert this is not the case. Why too? The BC is an excellent opportunity for them, and with Sasha Weemaes they also have a fast man in the ranks. While a Robbe Ghys, Rune Herregodts and Jens Reynders are dangerous in a group.
Timothy Dupont also deserves some luck – photo: Cor Vos
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The fourteen men of Bingoal Pauwels Sauces WB are watching on Sunday Timothy Dupont, who will still sleep badly after his silver medal at the Belgian Championship in Ghent two years ago. He recently experienced a lot of grief on a personal level, but in the ZLM Tour he suddenly beat guys like Elia Viviani and Olav Kooij. So don’t write off the 34-year-old fluorescent yellow sprinter. Just like Milan Menten, who finished in fifth place last year.
With that, Menten did one place less well than Jordi Meeus, who then won the platoon sprint. It may not always be apparent from the results this year, but in terms of speed, the young Limburger should certainly belong to the top 3 in our country. We recently saw a flash in the Dauphiné, when he liked Wout van Aert – except for millimeters – from a stage win. One problem for Meeus: in addition to Cian Uijtdebroecks, the BORA-hansgrohe rider does not have to look for teammates.
More riders have that problem. Jasper Stuyven and Edward Theuns At Trek-Segafredo only Otto Vergaerde, Piet Allegaert at Cofidis and Sep Vanmarcke at Israel-Premier Tech are also only four, and Jens Keukeleire (EF Education-EasyPost) and Dylan Teuns (Bahrain Victorious) even have to do it alone. Finally, we don’t rule out Amaury Capiot (Arkéa-Samsic), Stan Dewulf (AG2R-Citroën), Thibau Nys (Baloise-Trek) and Thimo Willems (Minerva).
Favorites according to WielerFlits
**** Jasper Philipsen
*** Arnaud De Lie, Gerben Thijssen
** Tim Merlier, Remco Evenepoel, Jordi Meeus
* Sasha Weemaes, Dries De Bondt, Timothy Dupont, Edward Theuns
Website organization
Participant list
Weather and TV
The weather promises to be changeable on Sunday. Meteovista expect temperatures of up to 18 degrees Celsius and predict a 70% chance of a shower here and there. The wind, probably the most interesting factor in this BC, blows in Middelkerke at a force of four Beaufort from the west. In De Moeren the wind comes from the southwest.
sporza provides live images on Canvas from 1 p.m., to switch to One after the afternoon news at 1:30 p.m. for the full final.
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