The tour begins on with a ninekilometre prologue on Saturday, 3 July in the Dutch city of Rotterdam. On Sunday, 4 July, some 223.5 km starts in Rotterdam, passing through Kapellen, Antwerp, Kontich, Mechelen and into Brussels, ending in Boudewijn Stadium. Just before arriving in Brussels, the tour will pass through Meise, the town synomous with tour legend Eddy Merckx, who turned 65 last month.

The next day’s stage, 201 km from Brussels to Spa, takes in Tervuren, Duisburg and Overijse before moving into Wallonia.

However, local hero Tom Boonen will not be part of the tour, thanks to a knee injury. The 29-year-old, injured last month in the Tour of California, was involved in a major crash on the fourth stage of the Tour of Switzerland two weeks ago, damaging his left knee. The Belgian Quick Step team admitted it was a major blow: Boonen has won six stages of the Tour de France and took the green jersey in the 2007 edition.

But fellow Quick Step team member Stijn Devolder had the perfect warm-up for the tour, overcoming searing heat to take his second Belgian national championship title on Sunday, 27 June. Philippe Gilbert, who was in the lead 47 km from the finish, was caught and had to settle for second place, with Frederik Veuchelen coming third.