The competition, which will take place at the Grote Markt, is the third stop on the 2018 tour, which has already visited Vöcklabruck in Austria and Val di Sole-Trentino in Italy.

Last time out in Italy French riders dominated the 26 inches category, taking all of the top five spots.

Nicolas Vallée took the title ahead of Vincent Hermance and Gilles Coustellier.

The winner in Vöcklabruck, Great Britain’s Jack Carthy did not even make the final, though he still leads the overall standings on 295 points.

Vallée is currently second on 290, with Coustellier third with 280.

In the men’s 20” class it was Spain that dominated, taking four spots in the final including first for Alejandro Montalvo, while in the women’s event, UCI World champion and two-time World Cup winner Nina Reichenbach from Germany continued her domination with another win.

Spain’s Alba Hidalgo is also having a strong season in the women’s competition, having finished third at both World Cup events so far this season.

Carthy, Coustellier and Vallée are all named on the "ones to watch" list for the men’s events in Antwerp, while Reichenbach tops the women’s list.

The event is scheduled to start with the quarter-finals of the men’s competitions and the semi-finals of the women’s.