Cobble calling: It’s classic season.

For some fans, the real road cycling season doesn’t start until Saturday. For them, the first race kilometres of the year in warmer climes are just a warm-up. Belgium, winding cobbled roads, tough climbs, endless attacks, hundreds of thousands of cheering fans who don’t mind the cold and mud – it’s the combination that traditionalists love about cycling. The opening weekend is just around the corner. Omloop Nieuwsblad and Kuurne – Brussels – Kuurne. Two days, two classics. Omloop is the first European race of the WorldTour season. This year the race is celebrating its 80th anniversary, a small milestone that shows the great history of this Classic. The distance between the start in Ghent and the finish in Ninove is only 30 kilometres as the crow flies. It is the numerous changes of direction and loops, with several climbs and cobblestones, that make the route a 200-kilometre classic. After six cobbled sections and seven ramps, two Flemish icons await the riders in the finale: the Muur in Geraardsbergen and the Bosberg. The first day of March will be a spectacular start to the classics season. This year, the opening weekend will be a special focus for Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe, as the new season sees the return of the one-day races. New talent has joined the team for these races – material tests and recon rides specifically for the classics are now part of the team’s daily routine.Team advantageThe new classics strength is not limited to one individual, but is spread throughout the team. There are four newcomers to the seven-man squad. Jan Tratnik, last year’s Omloop Nieuwsblad winner, will wear number 1 for the first time. Then there are the big guys with their strong physical presence. All around 1.90 meters tall: Jordi Meeus proved his strong classics form with a stage win in the Algarve and will be confident in his first race in his native Belgium. Ryan Mullen has already raced 14 days in Australia and the United Arab Emirates. In contrast, the twins Mick and Tim van Dijke will make their race debut in the Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe jersey on Saturday. They have been preparing intensively for their favorite time of the year in a three-week high altitude training camp. The two Spaniards in the team will also travel to Belgium: Oier Lazkano finished on the podium on Sunday of last year’s opening weekend. On his last day of racing before the classics – the individual time trial of the Tour of the Algarve – he put in a strong performance and showed that he is in good shape. Roger Adrià completes the line-up. This weekend is a premiere for him. The Spaniard prefers the climbs of Wallonia later in the season to the Flemish classics. The Omloop will be an intensive endurance test before the spring tours.  Tension before the first big battleThe deck is stacked, the classics hunters are ready – but who will make the first mark? Can Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe with defending champion Jan Tratnik show their new strength in the first classics of the season? The answer will be revealed on Saturday on the narrow and rough roads of Flanders. One thing is for sure: the opening weekend will not be a warm-up. It will be hard, chaotic, merciless – just the way the traditionalists love cycling.