National championships can be real tests ahead of the Tour de France and then, for the winner, there will be the opportunity to wear the jersey with the colors of their country in the Grande Boucle, the most important cycling race in the world.

For Belgium, unlike other countries such as Italy, participation in the national road championship is mandatory and if a rider doesn't want to go, to avoid serious trouble with the federation, they must provide a more than credible medical certificate.

Remco Evenepoel will not miss the appointment with his national races and is ready to start the time trial. Certainly, after two world titles and an Olympic gold, the Belgian doesn't need the national champion jersey to enrich his curriculum, but Remco wants to participate for two important reasons: to once again demonstrate that he is the fastest in Belgium and to do a test before the Tour de France.

From Tignes where he was training at altitude, Evenepoel went directly to Brasschaat, where today the time trial will take place. The course is different from the time trial that riders will face in Caen on the fifth day of the Grande Boucle, but after the Dauphiné, which did not go as he had imagined, Evenepoel needs to gain more confidence. This does not directly apply to time trials, because the Olympic champion has already shown he is the strongest in this specialty at the Dauphiné, but he needs to gain confidence because he really did not like his fourth place overall in France.

The time trial in the second week of the Tour, which riders will find in the thirteenth stage at Peyragudes, is a different matter, because it is more related to a mountain stage than a truly technical time trial. Evenepoel wants to give his best especially in the first Tour time trial, with the intention of winning and creating a significant gap from Vingegaard and Pogacar, who will be stronger than him when the climbs become challenging. The course of the Belgian national time trial is a bit longer and less demanding compared to the fifth stage of the Tour, because there will be 40 kilometers in Brasschaat against the 33 in Caen, but the effort will be quite similar, so it will be a test where Remco can assess his level.

Soudal – Quick Step will have three riders racing today and besides Evenepoel, there will also be Lampaert and Van Wilder, UAE Emirates will see the participation of Vermeersch and Herregodts. Lotto and Intermachè will have 4 men each, while Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, Total Energie, and Q36.5 will have only one man, along with other Belgian teams. Team Flanders – Baloise will be the most numerous with 7 men at the start.

If the time trial in Belgium is not mandatory, the road race is a mandatory condition for all professional riders. 184 athletes will be at the start on Sunday and among these are riders of the caliber of Van Aert, Nys, Stuyven, Campenaerts, Benoot, Uijtdebroeks, Merlier, Philipsen, and of course Evenepoel. In short, Belgium will be able to enjoy a truly rich National Championship. As for Vingegaard and Pogacar, they are currently not registered for their national championships and will almost certainly remain at altitude where they are preparing for the yellow race.