Tim Merlier's reconnaissance of the course for the European Championships in Munich confirmed what the start list had already suggested.

The course has a total climb of 1,200 meters, but the Belgian champion does not envision any climbs that would overly bother the sprinters.

"Usually not," Mellier told Sporza (open in new tab). 'There is one tough climb, but it will be alright. The road after the hill is always wide, so I'm not worried."

"After this we will explore the urban part of the course. A local circuit like that can always be dangerous, for example, if you crash in the second half of the race. We have to take that into account."

Merlier will lead the Belgians in Germany before departing for the Vuelta a España, his last Grand Tour in the colors of Alpecin Desseuninck. The 29-year-old will ride for the rebranded Soudal-QuickStep in 2023, and one of his rivals in Munich will be his future teammate Fabio Jacobsen of the Netherlands.

The peloton also includes such talented riders as Sam Bennett (Ireland), Arnaud Demaret (France), Alexander Kristoff (Norway), Elia Viviani (Italy), Pascal Ackermann (Germany), and Mads Pedersen (Denmark). There should be no shortage of teams that will be able to set up a group sprint.

"I don't have any extra pressure because I'm one of the favorites to win, and I feel good," said Mellier, who won stages at the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France in 2021.

"If it comes down to a group sprint, when I look at the other contenders for the win, I mainly look at riders like Jacobsen, Christophe, Ackermann, and Pedersen. I expect it to be a duel with my future teammate Fabio Jacobsen."

Elite men's road racing was first introduced to the European Championships in 2016, when Peter Sagan (Slovakia) won the inaugural title; 12 months later, Christophe won in Herning, and since then Italy has had Matteo Trentin, Viviani, Giacomo Nizzolo, and Sonny Colbrelli, among others, have won back-to-back titles.

Belgium, by contrast, won the bronze medal in 2018 with Wout Van Aert, while Yves Lampert (2019) and Remco Evenpole (2021) took silver. Van Aert, Lempel, and Evenpoel were absent this time, and the Belgian team consisted mainly of Mellier's sprints.

"Even if the race had gone differently, we have athletes like Dries de Bont, Emme de Ghent, and Dries Van Gestel, who have already finished in certain circumstances," national coach Sven Van Vanthourenhout told Sporza. Some countries will want to avoid the sprint. Some countries will want to avoid the sprint, but there are fast athletes in many countries, so there is a good chance it will be a sprint."

"Tim Merlier is ready to go. He will be going to the Vuelta soon, so we have confidence in him."