Rain, mud and cobbles, oh my!

The Ronde is back. The weather is expected to be very Belgian (cold, wet and nasty), but the fans will be out in full force, clutching their beer and fries with mayonaisse (yum!).

All eyes will be on Tom Boonen (Quick Step) this year. After winning in 2005 and 2007, he lost out to Allesandro Bellan (Lampre) last year. Boonen has been strong this spring, and has been playing it a little safe the past couple of weeks, so expect him to go strong in the last 50km. The word is that Boonen really wants the win this year, but he should expect challenges from Sylvain Chavanel (Cofidis), Phillipe Gilbert (FdJ), Fabian Cancellera (CSC) and Leif Hoste (Silence-Lotto).

The race course will contain 17 climbs this year, many of which are cobbled, and few that are not steep. The rabid fans always come into play. Fans have been running after racers this spring and slapping stickers on them. I’m afraid this may lead to a bad crash.