Having said that about Pogacar and Evenepoel, let's try to analyse the rest of the start list and the possible protagonists of the main nations.

Australia - Watch out for Ben O'Connor, second in the last Vuelta. Michael Matthews, on the other hand, could struggle more on a course like this.

Denmark - Mattias Skjelmose seems to be the designated captain even though he crashed at the recent Tour of Luxembourg. This time Mads Pedersen could do the 'dirty work', perhaps even making the breakaway of the day.

Spain - Probably the most talented team but it is difficult to think of a single captain and the others who work for him. Pello Bilbao seemed the most in form (2nd in Montreal), immediately after we mention the 'usual' Enric Mas and Mikel Landa with Juan Ayuso a possible revelation.

France - Julian Alaphilippe and David Gaudu have looked in good shape in recent outings. The team is well built and there are riders to watch with interest such as Romain Bardet and Pavel Sivakov.

Great Britain - Thomas Pidcock is an unknown quantity as are the Yates twins from whom it is not known what to expect. Stephen Williams could be the captain but above 250 km he is a big question mark.

Netherlands - All for Mathieu Van der Poel . The defending champion has come close to the World Championship but the course seems a bit too demanding for him and running in defense, as we know, is not his strong point. Alongside him we point out Wilco Kelderman and Bart Lemmen.

Switzerland - Marc Hirschi has been winning for almost two months and is the logical expected protagonist in the home race. Will he have maintained the same condition? For the rest of the team there are no guarantees (see Stefan Kung and Mauro Schmid).

United States - Matteo Jorgenson is highly anticipated after an extraordinary 2024 that saw him make a leap in quality. Neilson Powless, who has recovered in recent games, and Brandon McNulty could also do well, but he could be put at the service of the designated captain.

Italy - The hope of a top 10 comes from Antonio Tiberi, recent winner of Luxembourg. Around him a team of good value with the experience of Diego Ulissi and Giulio Ciccone, and the desire for redemption of Andrea Bagioli and Filippo Zana.

The others - Among the various riders at the start, and possible outsiders, we mention Felix Gall, Michael Woods, Santiago Buitrago, Florian Lipowitz, Eddie Dunbar, Toms Skuijins, Tobias Johannessen, George Bennett and Aleksandr Vlasov.

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