The parcours starts through mostly flat kilometers in London, but the middle portion of the race features plenty of up-and-down. First there is Leith Hill, then three laps in the Surrey Hills area which includes three KOM opportunities on Ranmore. Following that circuit there is then a Box Hill KOM, and then the race heads toward Wimbledon Village before finally arriving at The Mall for a 500m finishing sprint.

British rider and sprinting legend Mark Cavendish will be at the start, as well as the Colombian Fernando Gaviria making his debut as a stagiaire for Etixx - Quick-Step.

"It's always special for me to race back in Britain," Cavendish said. "The home fans, and the noise they make supporting us, makes this race even more enjoyable to ride than a lot of races. It is a truly iconic finish, which the riders, teams and fans love too. For a British rider this is one piece of road that stirs great emotion for sure. Etixx - Quick-Step also have an exciting young sprinter Gaviria racing who has a big future in the sport. Keep an eye out for him. The team and I are looking forward to hearing that roadside noise again."

Gaviria, Contreras to Ride as Stagiaires in Upcoming Races

Fernando Gaviria, 20, won the Omnium of the 2015 UCI Track World Championships, and also won two stages on the road at Tour de San Luis. He will participate in Prudential RideLondon & Surrey Classic, as well as the Czech Cycling Tour and Tour of Britain with Etixx - Quick-Step as a stagiaire. He will also race Tour de l'Avenir with his national team.

Rodrigo Contreras, 21, is another stagiaire for the team in the next races. The Colombian rider will race Czech Cycling Tour with Etixx - Quick-Step, and then Tour de l'Avenir with the Colombian National Team. He was the Best Young Rider at Tour de San Luis and won the 2014 U23 Time Trial at the Pan American Games.

Both Gaviria and Contreras reached agreements with Etixx - Quick-Step for the next two years.

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The Spanish, UCI WorldTour one-day race is one for the climbers, and the peloton will include some of the top GC contenders of Le Tour de France. The 2015 profile consists of three climbs of 1st Category, three climbs of 2nd Category, and several uncategorized ascents. The big test will be Bordako Tontorra (Category 2), a late race climb of 2.5km of 9% average gradient, with several steep ramps of about 20 percent. There is then 7.1km of descending into a flat finale.

The 2014 edition was won by Alejandro Valverde (Movistar), while Zdenek Stybar finished 10th.

Stybar returns to the race in 2015, along with Julian Alaphilippe, Pieter Serry, Matteo Trentin, Rigoberto Uran, Stijn Vandenbergh, Julien Vermote, and Martin Velits.

"We have a nice team at the start of this race," Sport Director Tom Steels said. "At the start will be riders like Uran and Stybar, that come from the Tour de France and can be protagonists in a race with this kind of profile. With them we can also count on riders like Pietery Serry, who showed his condition in Tour de Wallonie, and a fresh rider like Julian Alaphilippe who comes back into competition after a few weeks off. We will see how far he can go. The rest of the team is strong and compact, and will be able to play a role. Our goal is to be there in the final with as many riders as we can, and try to go for a good result."

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The whole team worked on the front for the Dutch Road Champion in the 167.3km 5th Stage from Chimay to Thuin. They kept him near the front, bringing back a breakaway with 2.7km to go, and controlled the race with a high tempo going into the final ascent of Mur de Thuin so that any gaps would not be enough to threaten the race lead.

Danny van Poppel (Trek Factory Racing) went over the top of an attacking Michael Morkov (Tinkoff-Saxo) on the uphill to the finish, and went on to win solo with a 3" gap over the field. Philippe Gilbert (BMC Racing Team) was 2nd, and Matti Breschel (Tinkoff-Saxo) finished 3rd. Pieter Serry of Etixx - Quick-Step finished 4th, and Terpstra 6th.

The overall victory of Terpstra was far from easy, particularly with a challenging final parcours. The 5th Stage was a flat start, but with plenty of up-and-down in the final kilometers. There was a three-lap, 12km circuit, and it heavily featured Mur de Thuin. Mur de Thuin was climbed four times, including a final time going into an uphill finale.

Terpstra's overall victory is the 39th on the road for Etixx - Quick-Step in 2015, and his 6th victory of the season.

"I'm very happy about this victory because from the day I first put on the yellow jersey until today it wasn't easy," Terpstra said. "There was a final circuit with a cobbled climb in the middle. This made for some hard racing. But I could count on my teammates today, as I could the entire race. They gave me a big hand, really controlling the entire day. My victory is also a result of their job. Of course, my victory the first day was key. I finished with a gap and was able to defend it for four more stages. I am happy and proud about this victory, as it's only the third stage race that I won in my career, after Tour of Qatar this year, and also last season. I'm proud of this, because I won in a completely different parcours compared to Qatar. Qatar is completely flat and windy. Here we had to struggle on the Ardennes climbs. Really it was a different kind of race. So I am really happy I made it at a parcours that, on paper, doesn't typically suit a rider like me. This victory gives me the motivation to continue to perform well in 2015, and be ready at the next race, which for me will be the Eneco Tour."

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Jonas Van Genechten (IAM Cycling) won the stage. Michael Morkov (Tinkoff-Saxo) was 2nd, and Danny Van Poppel (Trek Factory Racing) finished 3rd. 

The stage had a very flat start. However, there were then four climbs close together from kilometer 133 until the 154th kilometer, as part of two local laps. The finish was flat and therefore conducive for the bunch sprint. Four breakaway riders went away, and Tosh Van der Sande (Lotto Soudal) attacked out of that group with 14km remaining. He was caught with 10km to go before the attacks began flying out of the peloton.

Terpstra, who won the opening stage, has been the race leader throughout this edition of Tour de Wallonie. He holds a 16" advantage over Victor Campenaerts (Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise) and 36" over Sergey Lagutin (Katusha) going into the 5th and final stage of the race. 

The 167.3km 5th Stage on Wednesday, from Chimay to Thuin, is another flatter start with plenty of up-and-down in the final kilometers. There is a three-lap, 12km circuit, and it heavily features Mur de Thuin. Mur de Thuin is climbed four times. This is a potential finale for the Classics style riders, with an uphill finish in Thuin.

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The race came back together inside the final kilometer after an original five-rider escape group was down to a solo rider ahead. Philippe Gilbert (BMC Racing Team) won in the finale with a gap over the rest of the field. Serry was 2nd out of the field sprint, with Thomas Sprengers (Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise) 3rd. Niki Terpstra crossed in 8th place, which preserved his race leadership as he won the opening stage from a two rider breakaway. The preservation of the race lead was far from easy on the longest parcours of the stage race, with 10 total climbs. Etixx - Quick-Step and BMC Racing Team both worked hard at the front to controll the gap during the stage.

Etixx - Quick-Step looks next to Stage 4, 164.6km from Waterloo to Quaregnon, on Tuesday. The stage has a very flat start. However, there are then four climbs close together from kilometer 133 until the 154th kilometer, as part of two local laps. The finish is flat, but there is a chance a breakaway stays away or the peloton is reduced.

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