Tomorrow will be, for some riders, a particularly special and different day from the others. Although the season has already started two months ago, for several athletes in less than 24 hours, some at the Nokere Koerse and others at the Milano-Torino, the moment will finally arrive to make their debut in this 2026 and leave behind the difficulties and problems of winter.

Among these, the name of Sam Bennett certainly stands out, a sprinter who tomorrow, in Belgium, will display for the first time the colors of Pinarello-Q36.5, a team that, after signing him, has patiently awaited his recovery from the cardiac ablation procedure he underwent last November.

"It's strange to experience the typical excitement of the first race of the season so late, in March, but I'm excited and nervous (in a positive sense) at the same time: I really can't wait to race again. Usually the first races take place further south, while here in Belgium I'll be dealing with a different way of racing, more aggressive and full of many accelerations. It will be really nice to race with my teammates and be an integral part of the team because, although everyone has supported me incredibly during this period, until you train and race together with them, you still feel a bit on the sidelines" the Irishman said through the Swiss team's official channels.

"My overall physical condition is excellent, the parameters of my base training and zone two efforts seem to have returned to normal. What still requires time is repeated intense efforts and moments spent in VO2 max, but on that front we can't accelerate the timeline. This race will be exciting because it will give me the opportunity to understand where I stand, [...] what's going well, what's not going well, and what I still need to work on" concluded the former BORA and Decathlon rider who, on this occasion, will also be accompanied by another rider making his seasonal debut like Joseph Pidcock.

The two won't be the only ones in Belgium breathing the adrenaline of racing for the first time this year, as on the cobblestones of this corner of Flanders, the 2026 season will also begin for Alpecin-Premier Tech's Dutchman Oscar Riesebeek (finally available after being sidelined for several weeks) and the Tudor duo Arvid de Kleijn-Fabian Linehard.

In Italy, meanwhile, the oldest classic on the calendar will mark the return to competition for Movistar's Einer Rubio and Cian Uijtdebroeks, who, out respectively due to the aftermath of the crash at the Tour of Oman and the radius fracture sustained at the Volta Comunitat Valenciana, will regain confidence with race pace after more than a month spent forcibly away from racing.