The Classics, along with the grand tours and possibly the world championships, are an undisputable pillar of the sport, and almost as old as bicycle racing itself. Following pioneering events such as Paris-Rouen in 1869 and Paris-Brest-Paris in 1890, the first race that we would now recognise as a 'Classic' came in 1892, when a primitive version of Liege-Bastogne-Liege was held in Belgium. The so-called 'Queen of the Classics', Paris-Roubaix, soon followed with its inauguration in 1896, before Italy's Tour of Lombardy and Milan-San Remo 1905 and 1907 respectively. In 1913 the Tour of Flanders was held for the first time, and with it came the completion of a quintet of races that would come to be known as 'Monuments', and form the backbone of the Classics at large.
Why the Classics are so special
The nature of a Classic can be as varied as their locations throughout Europe, from the cobbled, wintry iterations of Flanders and Nord-Pas de Calais, to the steep pitches of the Ardennes and the sun-kissed climbs of Italy. This of course means that the full spectrum of riders are able to have their shot at winning a monument too, from the 80kg powerhouses to the purest of climbers, and everyone in between.
the Classics also draw some of the biggest, rowdiest crowds
The races are fast paced and action-packed compared to stage racing, and the one day nature of them, where one wrong decision can spell game over, means that they lie on a tactical knife edge. Fans thrive on such drama, which unsurprisingly means that the Classics also draw some of the biggest, rowdiest, most passionate crowds of the entire professional calendar, and it's these combined aspects of theatre that make them so appealing.
Semi-classics
Interspersed between the Monuments, often as as appetite-whetting, tension building precursors, are Semi-Classics. These events don't hold as much prestige, difficulty or length as the Monuments, but most sit along side their elders on the UCI World Tour, and are often used by riders as part of their build up towards a major event. Races like this coming weekend's Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne are two such examples, with E3 Prijs Harelbeke and Gent-Wevelgem being similar cobbled equivalents. Fleche Wallone and the Amstel Gold Race then serve a similar purpose during an action packed week in the Ardennes, before the recognised Classics season is drawn to a close at Liege-Bastogne-Liege in late April.
Between all of these are certain outliers - often newbies - like the gravelled Strada Bianchi in Italy, or even the lesser-known Tro Bro Leon in Brittany, which due to their novelty road surfaces and old-age feel are becoming more and more recognisable as 'classics' with every passing year. Other World Tour events such as the GP Plouay in France, or the GP Montreal and GP Quebec in Canada, offer a similar format and style of race, but to see the fabled 'C' word included in the same sentence as these is nonetheless a rarity: Such is the often unexplainable, emotionally-driven sphere of world cycling.
But the excitement begins now, in Belgium, this weekend, with the 2016 editions of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. The couplet is recognised as the traditional start of the European season after the pros return from their warm weather excursions into Australia, South America and the Arabian Peninsula during the build up months. Significantly, it also acts as the first flirtation with cobblestones of the year too.
Although the more serious affairs of the Tour of Flanders and Paris Roubaix are still well over a month away, preparation for such events will have begun months ago for the riders targeting them, and the Omloop-Kuurne weekend will form a major part of their build up both physically and mentally. The races are a way for riders to gauge where they are physically compared to their competitors, and also allows for a gradual re-introduction to the mayhem of cobbled racing before the pressure is really turned on later in the spring.
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad - formerly known as Het Volk before the name-giving newspaper changed its moniker - is a lumpier affair, containing many of the most infamous and decisive climbs in Flanders. There are 13 climbs on the route, the last of which comes 30km from the finish in Gent, but a couple of flat cobbled sectors on the run in usually prove decisive. If previous editions on similar parcours are anything to go by, we can expect a reduced group - or groups - to enter the finale still in contention, but just how reduced will likely depend on conditions on the day, which at this time of year can be changeable at best.
Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne
Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne is held the next day, and follows a loop out of the nondescript suburb of Kortrijk through the same hills - known as the Vlaams Ardennen, or Flemish Ardennes - as OHN, or any other Flandrian classic for that matter. However with only 11 climbs, and the last of these coming with 50 open, undulating kilometres left to race, it has been notoriously difficult for any attacking moves to stick enough to stop a bunch sprint from deciding the winner.
Riders to watch
Although we at Cyclist can but dream of confidently naming the winners this weekend, we can at least provide a little direction into what names to look out for over the two days.
Peter Sagan (Tinkoff)
Peter Sagan must take the honours of first mention for his sheer ability in these type of races. His relative lack of major classics results belies his innate ability and how active a role he often plays, but with the rainbow bands potentially having boosted his confidence, this weekend could be the springboard to a big year ahead for the Tinkoff man.
Tom Boonen & Niki Terpstra (Etixx-Quickstep)
One of the all-time classics super-teams, Etixx-Quickstep, come with a complement of aces that will no doubt already be cowering under the pressure from team manager and Classics-opath, Patrick Lefevre. You can see any of their riders winning if the circumstances are right, but not-quite-retired Tom Boonen will always head the list. Niki Terpstra and Stijn Vandenbergh, who has already tasted victory this year, were Boonen's accomplices when Ian Stannard outsmarted them all to take victory last year, but the trio will remain key playmakers. With Boonen's lack of consistency as a bunch sprinter in his twilight years, we can expect more visibility from Etixx-Quickstep at Het Nieuwsblad in particular.
Philippe Gilbert & Greg Van Avermaet (BMC)
Perusing the start list further, our eyes are drawn to other big-name riders such as Philippe Gilbert and Greg Van Avermaet of BMC, whose squabbles for team-leadership have, in the last couple of years at least, ended with the latter coming out on top results-wise. Despite having won 'Flandrien of the year' (an award which we assume needs no introduction) for the last three years, Van Avermaet has developed a slight reputation of being a modern day Raymond Poulidor with his collection of winless podiums, but his attacking nature and proven ability is impossible to ignore. Gilbert has historically been a man of the Ardennes, but is no stranger to the cobbles and is another to have already won this year. We'd pick others over the Walloon, but one has to cover one's back.
Luke Rowe (Team Sky)
While the two-time Het Nieuwsblad champion Ian Stannard remains absent from either of the weekend's start lists, Team Sky come with a strong team that will likely be headed by Luke Rowe, whose impressive campaign last year was crowned with 8th place at Paris-Roubaix, which will have firmly cemented his ambitions for improved results this year.
Alexander Kristoff (Katusha)
The last name to jump out of the start sheet is Katusha's Alexander Kristoff, who is no stranger to Classics victory after his efforts in last year's Tour of Flanders, and Milan-San Remo the year before that. But victories aside, a look at Kristoff's accumulated results will show that he is almost always at the business end of proceedings come the spring, and his wins in Qatar and Oman this year only confirm that. He can sprint and ride cobbles, which means seeing Kristoff walk away with at least one victory this weekend entirely plausible.
Notable mentions
Elia Viviani of Team Sky, Caleb Ewan of Orica-Greenedge, Arnaud Demare of FDJ and Nacer Bouhanni of Cofidis are some obvious picks if we see a bunch sprint on Sunday, but Sam Bennett of Bora-Argon, Tom Van Asbroeck and Dylan Groenewegen of Lotto-Jumbo and Gerald Ciolek of Stolting Service Group will be quietly hopeful as well.
Outside bets
Less likely to withdraw a win, but equally as likely to animate proceedings, are a handful of lesser-known riders that have developed a reputation in their short careers. Tiesj Benoot of Lotto-Soudal was 5th at the Tour of Flanders last year, a few weeks after turning 21. He's been on the podium already this year, and given some freedom behind likely team leader Jurgan Roelandts could produce a result. Edward Theuns and Jasper Stuyven of Trek-Segafredo are two more young Belgians who each have a palmares well beyond their years and will be hungry to impress further. Normally we would say that Sylvain Chavanel of Direct Energie and Southeast-Venezuela's new signing Pippo Pozzatto are too old and past it. But it's Sylvain Chavanel and Pippo Pozzatto...
Home grown talent
From a British perspective, there are 11 riders to take interest in over the weekend, and as well as Team Sky, the British Pro-Continental outfit One Pro Cycling also find a place on both start lines. Andy Fenn, Luke Rowe and Alex Peters fly the Sky flag, with Chris Opie, Josh Hunt, Kristian House and Yanto Barker in action for One Pro Cycling. Elsewhere sees Adam Blythe with Tinkoff, Scott Thwaites with Bora-Argon, Dan McClay with Fortuneo-Vital Concept and Mark McNally with Wanty-Groupe Gobert.