Belgium cyclist Tom Boonen has described one of the climbs on the men's road race course as "nasty", ahead of Sunday's event at the European Games in Baku.
The 2005 world champion, who is a former green jersey winner in the Tour de France, is part of Belgium's five-man team for the race.
The Etixx-Quickstep rider, who specialises in one-day classics, told reporters: "The course is beautiful [but] the heat is going to be decisive. There will be a lot of victims in the final lap. The climb is nasty because there is a small cobblestone climb first, in which you have to be in a good position.
"If you are not in the front there, you'll be in trouble for the next five to six kilometres. The cobblestones are a bit slippery. It does not rain too often in this city so the surface is quite greasy. Then follows a descent on the cobbles, a sharp corner left and then the asphalt starts.
"It's steep in the beginning, nine to 10%, and then it flattens out. After that it's a superfast section. It's the repetition which is going to make for a tough race."
Boonen is also a two-time Belgian road race champion.
Sian Cowper
