SuperPrestige Diegem... LIVE!

Cyclocross at night! What GS said:

It's very easy to remember which one Diegem is: it's the race in the dark. It's in the city village centre of Diegem, and there's a sandpit, stairs, a bridge and you know, general darkness. To make sure our tiny cyclocross peloton isn't decimated on the spot, there's floodlights illuminating the entire scene.

Should be very entertaining, to say the least. It's a festival atmosphere, and the stars are all out... literally. It's cold and clear across Belgium today, making conditions icy and fast. Not a good day for falling. History says Belgian royalty will do well -- Nys won last year, as did Sanne Cant, following a long period of domination by Niels Albert. The races come quickly this week, so part of it will have to do with who feels fresh.

Men: Nys, Pauwels, van der Haar, Walsleben, MvdP, Meeusen and maybe Corne van Kessel will be battling for the win. Klaas Vantournout has been under the weather, and Rob Peeters is skipping altogether for that same reason. Nys isn't promising anything. I'd watch him anyway.

Women: As Marianne Vos comes off her down time, the fields get more and more stacked. She's in Diegem, as are van Paassen, Nash, De Boer, Harris and Wyman, but Cant isn't on the list, nor is Katie F'n Compton.

Start time: Men are at 17:30. Women and U23 in daylight.