George is unsure of whether he should back Haymen or Hamilton. I haven’t the heart to tell him that one’s retired and the other isn’t here…

The Course

Back to under 200k and the different dynamics that brings. Less climbing and more pave but it shouldn’t change the make up of the parcours too much. The only thing of real note is taking a climb out of the lap and running it in the opposite direction. Last year we saw the winning group launch from 70k to go. Don’t be surprised if this year the same thing is attempted but maybe without the success.

The Favourites

We’ve a mixture of sprinters, puncheurs and attackers. Most of the bigs are sitting it out for Sunday whilst the likes of Pidders need the race after his enforced lay off. There’s only one stand out for me and he’ll enjoy any magic roundabouts. The bookies have it different though with the sprinters and quick men like Mads at the top of the tree. Last Wednesday Jasper P looked in fine form and with less climbing and 70k fewer, this race is actually more suited to the fast men than Sunday.

Jumbo come with Carp but plenty of other options. Dare I say Ala is in service of Timmy? Who knows with the Steppers at the moment but their main back up should be Dancers so expect him to be working on the front with 80k to go! I think Mads had the best chance but don’t rule out Caleb and De Lie. The latter showed in Omloop that he can handle the climbs. Kung and Madouas give FDJ a strong chance as do Pidders and Sheffield for Ineos (unsure at this point whether Ganna will start) and of course Benoot gives Jumbo another option outside of the two already mentioned. It would be remiss of me not to mention Sep after Sunday too! Outsider of the day? Well as no one would be stupid enough to follow my tips, I’ll let you in on Neilands for a top 6 finish.

Here's your startlist and good luck.

The Rules

In this game, only the race results matter. You're not committed to keeping the same riders throughout the series, you make fresh picks before every race. Our overall competition is just the sum of individual race scores. You're eligible for the overall even if you miss some races.

Pick 4 riders for the upcoming race. The order of your picks doesn't matter. All of your riders can score.

Riders score points down to 10th place. Less popular riders score more points than heavily-picked favourites. See below for scoring details.

The strict entry deadline is the official start time of the race, the neutralized roll-out or Départ Fictif. Be warned - if your post is timestamped one minute late your entry won't count! So do remember that there's no disadvantage to getting an entry in early, even the day before, because you may always change your picks up until the deadline. Feel free to rethink your picks when it emerges which riders are more or less popular with other players. If you make changes, post your revised 4 picks in a reply to your original post.

The Scoring