Albenga > Laigueglia 192km Changes are in the air, some with a serious nod to Milano-Sanremo. This year the race starts by climbing Capo Mele, Capo Berta and then the Cipressa, we’ll be back here in two and a half weeks. Juan Ayuso won this race last year; will UAE keep their crown in 2026?

Quaregnon > Dour 204km In previous years, the riders have done a loop before hitting the lap circuit, but not this year. The race now immediately heads for Dour, with the riders doing two laps of a big loop and four laps of a smaller circuit. That means more kilometres of cobbles (16.6km in total), which can only be a good thing for watching fans. The big news is that Van Aert is racing, he’s recovered from the illness which ruled him out of Omloop, Visma will hope he’s competitive. 

Quaregnon > Dour 133km The 15th edition of the race, and there’s been a slight change of route, the riders have a new finish to deal with. It also means a different approach to the first sector in the lap which significantly reduces the length of the cobbles. The rest stays the same, with the women doing 3 full laps of the circuit. 

Étoile-sur-Rhône > Étoile-sur-Rhône 192km Juan Ayuso won this race last year, going solo with 40km to go. The Spaniard isn’t back to defend his title, it’s more than likely going to be a brand-new name winning in 2026, Marc Hirschi is the only rider on the startlist who’s won this race before. Solo winners are a thing in this race, will it happen again this year?

Kortrijk > Kuurne 193km Back in 2022, the organisers decided to significantly change the route of the race by removing the Oude Kwaremont. Since that point, we’ve had two sprint finishes and two editions going the way of the attackers, how’s it going to play out this year?

Guilherand-Granges > Guilherand-Granges 188km Some people might not like this, but this could be the race of the weekend. The climbing fans amongst you will be excited to see Seixas take on Grégoire, Jorgenson, Box Office Christen, Skjelmose, Martinez, Scaroni and Healy. That, ladies and gentlemen, is one hell of a start list. 

Gent > Ninove 138km The 21st edition of the women’s race, last year was an absolute farce. I love to see an underdog take the win, but not in the way she did. For the peloton to look at each other and give the break a ridiculous advantage wasn’t a great look for the sport, hopefully this year is a more conventional race. 

Gent > Ninove 208km The 80th edition of this fine race. It’s a day full of excitement and entertainment, last year was a bit on the meh side, but it’s usually box office stuff. Riders head here full of anticipation for the year ahead, most leave disappointed and questioning their winter preparation, but one man will leave with a mighty win, forever in the history books as a winner of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. The organisers have tweaked the route, looking to try and encourage action before the Muur, but it’s the weather which usually has the biggest impact on the type...

Villefranche-sur-Mer > Biot 155km Just a one day race this year instead of the usual short stage race. This is a race for the climbers, it’s a tough day in the saddle at this time of year. Astana are here with Scaroni, fresh from winning the Tour of Oman, Lenny Martinez makes his season debut for Bahrain and Lidl – Trek, Decathlon, FDJ and Tudor all have riders who can win this race.

La Roda de Andalucía > Lucena 169km The final stage in Andalucía. Iván Romeo holds a 7 second lead over Andreas Leknessund and with three sets of bonus seconds available in the final 27km, this race is still very much alive. The gap to the rest of the challengers is huge, this is now a two horse race.