For racers and fans who love Sven Nys — and are too hung over to get on the trainer early Monday morning — the GP Sven Nys race in Baal is one to look forward to.

If you plan on watching live, have a bottle of water and some aspirin ready, since you’ll likely be getting up obscenely early to watch in the U.S. The race will air for free with login, live on FloBikes. And via replay for subscribers.

(Note: Due to a conflict with a concert, we've learned Sporza will start their live stream midway through the elite women's race at 7:15 AM CST, followed by the elite men's race at 8 AM CST.)

Get Ready For A Mudfest

Baal is typically a mudder, and with rain, rain, and more rain are in the forecast, it likely will be one again this year. It’s often a thick, peanut-butter style mud, so those who excel in crappy conditions will be excited. We’ve seen a few muddy races this season — Zeven and Overijse, for instance — but more often the races have had small mud sections rather than an overall mucky course.

Hopefully, Baal will be something a little different. The race couldn’t be more traditionally Belgian: mid-50s temperatures predicted, plenty of rain, mud, likely the marching band that’s been following the DVV Trofee series (true story), and a hearty fan base enjoying a day off before post-holiday work starts up again.

Sanne Is The Woman to Watch — But There's A Surprise

Unsurprisingly, Sanne Cant is the top contender for the race in Baal. Not only is she enjoying a winning streak now that she’s surpassed 100 career wins, but she was the winner at this race last year as well. 

But don’t discount Katie Compton, either: she’s had a couple of days off, this will likely be her last race before nationals, and she’s currently leading the DVV series, so the incentive to race for the win is strong. And last, but certainly not least, Thalita de Jong is returning to cyclocross. The former world champion has had an even longer off-season than Pauline Ferrand-Prevot or Marianne Vos, and everyone will be waiting to see what she can do.

It’s Another Van Party

Of course, in the men’s race, the ones to watch will be Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel. Van der Poel because with the exception of Friday, he’s been nearly unstoppable this week; and Van Aert because he’s been the only one to beat Van der Poel more than once this season. Van Aert also might have the slight advantage of being Belgian and the crowd favorite.

But keep an eye on the Telenet-Fidea team — run by Sven Nys himself — which will be feeling pressure to perform and might pull out all the stops to get on the top step of the podium.

By Molly Hurford; Photos by Balint Hamvas – Cyclephotos