The second Monument of the year is nearly here and at this year's Tour of Flanders the scene is set for an intriguing battle over the 270km from Antwerp to Oudenaarde.
There has been a reshuffling of the contenders list after the testing of the waters at the run-in races. Some potential favourites have dropped down, or even off, the list while others have made it clear that their rightful place is near the very top. Mads Pedersen and his Lidl-Trek team, for one, delivered a reminder of the power in team strength after an impressive Gent-Wevelgem victory over Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck).
