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The streets of Liège, Belgium, will come alive on Saturday June 30, as the Tour de France kicks off with a frenetic 6.4km individual time trial.
The prologue course is largely flat with some minor undulations – not enough to advantage the climbers in the peloton.
How the riders negotiate the two hairpin turns, which come at roughly the 2.5km and 3.9km marks respectively, is likely to play a deciding role.
It is a time trial of a length and profile that will have the strong men licking their lips, but unlike recent years, it cannot be billed as a one-horse race.
Fabian Cancellara, otherwise known as Spartacus, has taken victory in no fewer than six time-trials at the Tour since 2004, three of them prologues. This history of time-trial dominance at the Tour makes Cancellara a contender regardless of form. But 2012 has been a tumultuous year for the Swiss.
Having fractured his collarbone in a crash at the Ronde van Vlaanderen, Cancellara was absent from Paris-Roubaix, a race he won in 2006 and 2010. He has also been dragged into the Schleck-Schleck-Bruyneel mess at RadioShack-Nissan.
The list of contenders for the Tour’s first yellow jersey is long. Liquigas young gun Peter Sagan will fancy his chances after a stellar season to date, including five stage wins at the Tour of California and four victories (including an individual time-trial) at the Tour de Suisse.
Of the predicted frontrunners in the general classification, Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky), Cadel Evans (BMC Racing) and Denis Menchov (Katusha) are three that could go close in Liège.
Others riders to watch are Omega Pharma-Quick-Step’s German duo Tony Martin and Bert Grabsch, Manuel Quinziato (BMC Racing), British stalwart David Millar (Garmin-Barracuda) and 2012 Giro d’Italia winner Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Barracuda).
But do not write off Spartacus as a potential winner of the prologue. His unique ability to reach and hold a high speed is a lethal weapon in races against the clock.
A consummate professional, Cancellara has pushed through the difficult circumstances surrounding his Tour campaign. He finished second to Sagan in the 7.3km time-trial at the Tour de Suisse earlier this month, and landed his seventh Swiss time-trial title last week.
The forecast for Liège on Saturday reads favourably: partly cloudy weather conditions, light to moderate winds, a top temperature of around 21˚C (70˚F), the chance of rainfall 20%.
The exciting news for cycling fans is that there is a 100% chance of Tour de France, and an unpredictable prologue time-trial.
Tim Renowden is on holidays. Kit Harvey is on hand to fill in and give us his thoughts and opinion on cycling
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