Greg Van Avermaet and Philippe Gilbert may be the leading lights in Belgium`s team for the World Championships road race, but former winner Tom Boonen has picked out Tim Wellens as his favourite for the rainbow jersey. Van Avermaet and Gilbert have both won Monuments this season but Wellens won the Grand Prix de Wallonnie last weekend with a 15km solo raid that reminded Boonen of another famous Belgian. `There are some Belgians doing very well at the moment. What Tim Wellens did on Wednesday was almost `Merckxian`,` said Boonen, who retired in April, according to Sporza. ADVERTISEMENT `My favourite is Wellens. Bold, but he`s going well.` Wellens, who won a stage and finished second overall at the BinckBank Tour last month, has a penchant for long-range, against-the-odds attacks, which is just one weapon in Belgium`s arsenal. Along with Van Avermaet and Gilbert, they also have national champion Oliver Naesen, Jasper Stuyven, Tiesj Benoot, Jens Keukeleire, Dylan Teuns, and Julien Vermote. Speaking after his GP Wallonnie victory, Wellens said he knew his place in the Belgian hierarchy but wasn`t ruling out his own chances.
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