Just over 70 kilometres into Sunday’s Tour of Flanders, 54 riders jumped a red light at a railway crossing. Now the Belgian prosecutors office is investigating the incident, which violates one of the country's most severe traffic offences.

Amongst the riders involved were race-leaders Tadej Pogačar and Remco Evenepoel, who jumped the red light before the barriers came down. The peloton was divided on either side of the railway tracks, with Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert among the group caught behind the barriers.

"It was not nice," Pogačar said in the post-race press conference. "We were riding, and suddenly three guys jumped into the middle of the road and started waving to stop. How can you stop in one second?"

Nevertheless, jumping a red light comes under the most serious of Belgian traffic offences, and those found in breach of the rule could be summoned to appear in front of a police court, and could face a fine and driving ban.

“The risks to both riders and third parties are significant," the prosecutor’s office stated. “Such violations will therefore be dealt with strictly. This is unacceptable, even in a sporting context.”

The move also violates UCI rules, which state that ‘it shall be strictly forbidden to cross level crossings when the barrier is down or closing, the warning signal ringing or flashing.’ Riders who break this rule could face sanctions, a suspension of up to one month and a fine of between CHF 200 to 5,000. However, the race organisers chose not to disqualify the riders who crossed, instead slowing the following four kilometres to allow the second group to catch up.

In an interview with Wielerflits, Soudal Quick-Step's sports director, Sep Vanmarcke, emphasised Pogačar's frustration, saying: “Riders approach those crossings at around 55 kilometres per hour in a peloton. The first riders may see what’s happening, but those behind are looking at the wheel in front of them. Not everyone realises immediately that the light has turned red.

“Everyone involved, from the organisers to the authorities, knows exactly when a train is coming," he continued. "You cannot expect riders to know that. There is a shared responsibility to intervene in time and ensure safety.”

While no fines have yet been issued by the prosecutor's office, both Pogačar and Evenepoel were forced to pay up 500 and 200 Swiss Francs respectively, for littering and a 'sticky bottle' incident.

An out of court settlement may also be possible for the riders, as they await confirmation of penalties.

The Tour of Flanders always delivers. The favourites in both the women’s and men’s races might have run out winners - suggesting it was all a bit predictable - , but only after epic battles. There is no doubt Demi Vollering and Tadej Pogačar were deserving winners. In the days after, however, I’m left feeling a little sad that I have to wait a whole year , not just for Flanders, but for the build-up, the hype, and the action itself. At least we still have Paris-Roubaix to come.

There was something different about this year’s race, too, which would have been missed by most – it was the first time I wasn’t at the race since 2021, either as a fan or as a journalist. While this meant I missed out on the incredible atmosphere which comes with the event, a cross between Glastonbury and the FA Cup Final, it did give me the chance to actually watch the races live. This is a much harder task on the ground than you might imagine. The most I saw of Pogačar and Lotte Kopecky winning in 2023 was a blur from the side of the Oude Kwaremont, and in 2025 glimpsed on a phone screen from the mix zone where the press have to wait.

The Classics are great in person, with the noise of the convoy and the fans, the beer and the smell of frites in the air, but they are also an almost-perfect television event. This isn’t unique to the Tour of Flanders, but I really enjoyed putting the time in to watch almost the whole thing, from Antwerp to Oudenaarde. The slow burn rising to a crescendo by the time the peloton reaches the Koppenberg, and into the extended, brutal, finale.

You might miss out on vibes, but you can see all the important moments, and all the less exciting things too, giving you a full picture of the race. The spider cam on the Kwaremont is a highlight, but the drone shot of Vollering, in particular, descending off the back of the Paterberg, was art in itself.

Watching on television, I was there when Pogačar put in his repeated digs to distance Wout van Aert, Remco Evenepoel, and then eventually Mathieu van der Poel. Then later I was there to see Franzi Koch soften the bunch up before Vollering was launched on the Kwaremont. It was gripping stuff, and a nice reminder of why I love cycling so much. It was the ideal way to spend Easter Sunday.

As happy as I was to be watching these races, however, and the feats of the riders, I was also reminded how sad it is that cycling, these days, is locked away behind an expensive paywall. Just two years ago, someone in the UK could have flicked on Eurosport and been treated to the spectacle, and discovered a whole new sport. It’s how I got into cycling in the first place.

Now, someone would have to go out of their way to either pay to watch, or to find another workaround. There’s no easy way of sorting out TV rights, or broadcast deals, but it feels like things have gone backwards, not forwards.

Obviously, we have a part to play, and events like Sunday re-energised me to continue to crow about how good a sport cycling is, but it feels like I’m speaking to a smaller audience now. Anyway, it’s time to get excited about Roubaix now – could Zoe Bäckstedt win?

This piece is part of The Leadout, the offering of newsletters from Cycling Weekly and Cyclingnews. To get this in your inbox, subscribe here.

If you want to get in touch with Adam, email adam.becket@futurenet.com.

After numerous attempts over the last few editions, Demi Vollering finally claimed an elusive win at the Tour of Flanders, as she soloed to victory after a decisive move on the Oude Kwaremont. It marks just the third Monument win of her career, after her two victories at Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

The European Champion managed to distance all of the other contenders on the penultimate climb, with nobody able to follow her seated acceleration. She then continued to extend her advantage over those behind her on the Paterberg before time trialling her way to the finish in Oudenaarde.

“It was super hard. My only thought was ‘I need to go as fast as possible and then the suffering is finally over,’ because it was painful,” Vollering said in her post-race interview.

“I really tried to find some calmness in the suffering, tried to stay super focused and then in the end I did it, but I also had to because the team did an amazing job again. It’s not every year that you’re healthy and come in the position [to win], so then you really have to enjoy the moment and give it your all.”

On the work of her team throughout the race, Vollering said, “I think sometimes people don’t really see how important teammates are, but in the end they make sure you come in as fresh as possible to the final. For everybody in the team, it’s just so important winning here.”

The only rider able to even get close to Vollering when she accelerated on the Oude Kwaremont was Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, but the French rider did not have the power to match her Dutch rival and was forced to settle for second place once again, having also finished runner-up at last year’s race.

She beat Puck Pieterse in a two-up sprint to decide the lower steps of the podium, whilst in the group behind, Zoe Bäckstedt just missed out on fourth place after a strong performance, as she was narrowly beaten by last year’s winner Lotte Kopecky in the sprint for the minor placings.

How It Happened

A four-rider breakaway went up the road at the start of the day, with two other riders then bridging across from a chasing group later on. The peloton were content in giving them a sizeable advantage of nearly six minutes, as they were confident that they could reel them in before they entered the decisive phase of the race.

Crashes marred the race, as several riders hit the deck over the course of the day. There were two major pile-ups in the bunch, the second of which came just before the ascent of the Koppenberg with 47km to go. Kim Le Court (AG Insurance-Soudal) was among those to go down and was forced to abandon the race due to a fractured wrist, with her team later confirming that she will undergo surgery in the coming days.

Marlen Reusser (Movistar) also abandoned the race as a result of the same crash after having shown great form to win Dwars door Vlaanderen earlier in the week. The Swiss rider suffered a broken vertebra, having only just come back from injuries to her knee and shoulder.

Those unaffected by the crash continued to race on and as they went onto the Koppenberg, the last rider from the early breakaway was caught, with Franziska Koch (FDJ United-SUEZ) coming to the front to set an infernal pace on the steep cobbled climb.

Demi Vollering (FDJ United-SUEZ) was sat firmly in the wheel of her German teammate as they drew a group of nine riders clear over the top of the climb, with Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ), Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Premier Tech), Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma-Lease a Bike) among those to make the selection at the head of the race.

They were then rejoined by a group of eleven riders as they approached the cobbled sector of the Mariaborrestraat, with FDJ United-SUEZ pushing on once again after being reinforced by the return of Elise Chabbey and Célia Gery. They helped to whittle down the group further as they went onto the Taaienberg, helping to keep Vollering right at the front of the lead group.

Koch would then take over on the Oude Kruisberg, as Chabbey and Gery were finally dropped for good with 29km to go. The German rider then proceeded to create yet more splits on the cobbles, with only Vollering, Ferrand-Prévot, Pieterse and Kopecky able to follow her over the top of the climb.

Longo Borghini then made a massive effort to bring her UAE Team ADQ teammates, Karlijn Swinkels and Silvia Persico, back into contention along with the rest of the chasing group, as they rejoined the leading group in the approach to the final ascent of the Oude Kwaremont.

Going onto the penultimate climb with 18km to go, Koch made one final effort to lead out Vollering, before the European Champion then made her move as they went onto the cobbles. Ferrand-Prévot was able to respond initially, with Kopecky and Pieterse not too far behind, but a gap quickly began to open up as Vollering pressed on again.

Over the top of the climb, the Dutch rider had a nineteen-second advantage over Pieterse and Ferrand-Prévot, with over half a minute to a group containing Kopecky, Longo Borghini, Swinkels, Persico and Zoe Bäckstedt (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto), who had been quietly riding a brilliant race.

Vollering then began the fast descent towards the Paterberg and was not relenting in her attempt to extend her advantage, as she looked to carry as much speed as possible onto the final climb of the race.

A few more seconds had gone her way as she went over the top of the climb and began the run-in towards Oudenaarde. It was here that she began to time trial her way to the finish, with those behind struggling to make any inroads into her advantage, despite good cooperation in the chasing groups.

Vollering was ultimately too strong for the rest of her competitors though, as she soloed to the finish to take the victory, lifting her bike above her head in celebration after she crossed the line.

Ferrand-Prévot just had enough to hold off Pieterse in a tired sprint for second place behind, whilst Kopecky just pipped Bäckstedt on the line to take fourth place in the sprint for the minor placings ahead of the UAE Team ADQ trio of Swinkels, Persico and Longo Borghini.

Results

Tour of Flanders Women 2026: Oudenaarde > Oudenaarde (164km)

1. Demi Vollering (Ned) FDJ United-SUEZ, in 4:16:37
2. Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Fra) Visma-Lease a Bike, +42s
3. Puck Pieterse (Ned) Fenix-Premier Tech, at same time
4. Lotte Kopecky (Bel) SD Worx-Protime, +1:04
5. Zoe Bäckstedt (GBr) Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto
6. Karlijn Swinkels (Ned) UAE Team ADQ, all at same time
7. Silvia Persico (Ita) UAE Team ADQ, +1:07
8. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) UAE Team ADQ, at same time
9. Mischa Bredewold (Ned) SD Worx-Protime, +1:58
10. Franziska Koch (Ger) FDJ United-SUEZ, at same time

A decisive move on the final ascent of the Oude Kwaremont saw Tadej Pogačar triumph once again at the Tour of Flanders, as he claimed a record-equalling third victory at the race and the twelfth Monument win of his career.

The World Champion managed to drop Mathieu van der Poel on the penultimate climb of the race, before going solo to the finish in Oudenaarde, with the Dutchman forced to settle for second place, as he continued his impressive run of seven-consecutive podium finishes at this race.

“It was a really crazy race today,” said Pogačar in his post-race interview. “It was super hard and then it was a little bit of a waiting game. Still, it was an effort, pulling on the pedals all the time. When the group formed, I was happy that we kind of cooperated a bit and it was in good favour for me.”

It was an impressive Tour of Flanders debut for Remco Evenepoel, as the Olympic Champion managed to hang on for third place after being dropped by Pogačar on the Paterberg. Wout van Aert also continued his return to the top in the Classics with another fourth place finish for the third-consecutive year.

“For sure I didn’t want Remco back into the group,” Pogačar stated. “I know how much endurance he has as a rider. He can always overcome in the end and beat you, so I really tried to make a gap and it was good.”

Pogačar has taken the victory in all three races that he has so far ridden this season, two of which have been Monuments. He has also now won four-consecutive Monuments, with Paris-Roubaix being the only one that he is yet to win.

“I don’t race too much, so when I race there is pressure to win. So far everything has gone perfectly for me, so I can be more than happy. Coming next week to Roubaix, I can be motivated and try to enjoy the cobbles,” Pogačar concluded.

How It Happened

A thirteen-rider breakaway went up the road at the beginning of the day, with Connor Swift (Ineos Grenadiers) and Silvan Dillier (Alpecin-Premier Tech) among those at the head of the race.

Their gap was kept at around three minutes by the peloton, until a level crossing came down with 213km to go and effectively split the bunch in half. The commissaires then neutralised the main group, forcing the riders in the front half of the split to wait for those behind, which allowed the gap to the breakaway to expand to over five minutes.

With Dillier up the road, Alpecin-Premier Tech left the other teams to do the vast majority of the work in the peloton during the early part of the race. The fight for position then began as they approached the first cobbled sectors, which saw the gap to the breakaway come down rapidly.

After the first ascent of the Oude Kwaremont, the favourites’ teams all came to the fore once again in the run-in to the Molenberg, with Florian Vermeersch (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) leading the group as they made the left turn onto the climb with 103km to go. The Belgian rider then made a massive effort to split the race, as he drew a group of sixteen riders clear as they went over the top of the climb.

All of the main pre-race favourites had made the split, with Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech), Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike), Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) and Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe) all in attendance, and they quickly built advantage, as those behind struggled to organise a chase.

The group of favourites then caught the early breakaway with 78km to go, with some of the riders able to offer up support to their teammates who had joined them at the head of the race, before Pogačar and Evenepoel began to press on again on the Berg Ten Houte. Both riders keen to drop any dead weight from the newly enlarged group, but it was far from enough to unsettle any of the other contenders.

Pogačar then made his first major attack on the second ascent of the Oude Kwaremont with 57km to go, with Van Aert, Pedersen and Evenepoel immediately in the wheel, whilst Van der Poel was caught slightly out of position as they began the climb and had to force his way through to the front of the group.

Approaching the top of the climb, Pedersen began to lose contact as Pogačar continued to push on, with Van Aert also then buckling under the pressure being applied by the World Champion, as he was distanced as they turned off the cobbled sector.

The leading trio were then quickly onto the Paterberg, with Evenepoel going to the front as they hit the bottom of the climb in an attempt to press on. However, that effort would ultimately be his undoing, as Pogačar and Van der Poel gradually came around him and began to open up a gap to the Olympic champion.

He was still within sight of the two at the front over the top of the climb, but every time it looked as though he would catch back on, the Pogačar stamped on the pedals once more and put a bit more distance into the gap, as the World Champion was clearly keen to keep his Belgian rival behind.

Van der Poel made a half-hearted attempt to put Pogačar under pressure on the Taaienberg with 38km to go, before the Slovenian rider then returned the favour on the Oude Kruisberg. However, both riders knew that the race would ultimately be decided on the final ascent of the Oude Kwaremont.

Onto the penultimate climb of the race, Pogačar wasted no time in going to the front, as he made one of his typical seated accelerations and instantly began to distance Van der Poel. The Dutchman managed to keep the gap in check at first, but then gradually began to slip backwards as they neared the top of the climb.

As they turned off the cobbles, Pogačar had a six-second gap to Van der Poel, which had only grown as they hit the Paterberg, where the sole leader then pressed on once again to further extend his advantage.

Over the top of the final climb with 13km to go, Pogačar began time trialling his way to the finish, with Van der Poel unable to reduce his deficit, which only continued to grow as they approached Oudenaarde.

The long straight road to the finish gave Pogačar plenty of time to sit up and celebrate his third victory at the Tour of Flanders, punching the air in celebration as he crossed the line, whilst Van der Poel and Evenepoel rolled in to complete the podium. Behind them, Van Aert had dropped Pedersen on the final ascent of the Oude Kwaremont and ultimately finished more than forty seconds ahead of him to take fourth place, whilst the Dane settled for fifth.

Results

Tour of Flanders Men 2026: Antwerp > Oudenaarde (278km)

1. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, in 6:20:07
2. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Premier Tech, +34s
3. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, +1:11
4. Wout van Aert (Bel) Visma-Lease a Bike, +2:04
5. Mads Pedersen (Den) Lidl-Trek, +2:48
6. Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step, +4:28
7. Florian Vermeersch (Bel) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, at same time
8. Matej Mohorič (Slo) Bahrain Victorious, +4:30
9. Christophe Laporte (Fra) Visma-Lease a Bike, +5:22
10. Gianni Vermeersch (Bel) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, at same time

There is a slew of names given to Belgium's biggest cycling race: The Ronde; Flanders' Finest; Ronde van Vlaanderen; the Tour of Flanders. With narrow cobbled climbs and rough spring weather, the spring Classic is a season-favourite for riders and fans alike.

The 110th edition of the cobbled one-day race starts in Antwerp on Sunday. Riders will race over 270km over 16 cobbled climbs (or 'hellingen') and seven flat cobbled sections, while the women's race tackles a shorter 170km course into Oudenaarde an hour after the men's.

The current defending champion of the Tour of Flanders is Tadej Pogačar, who in 2025, clinched his second victory in the Belgian race after soloing ahead of Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) and Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech). All three are set to line up again on Sunday, alongside Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) and a surprise sign-on by Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) in what will be his debut at this home race.

Three-time Tour of Flanders winner, Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) will race to defend her title this weekend. But she will have ferocious competition to contend with, including Tour de France winner, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, Demi Vollering (FDJ United-SUEZ) and two-time race winner Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ).

Below, Cycling Weekly has compiled everything you need to know about broadcasters and live streams, so you can watch the Tour of Flanders wherever you are in the world with a VPN.

Quick guide to watching the Tour of Flanders

Can I watch the Tour of Flanders for free?

Fans in Australia, the Netherlands, France and Belgium can watch Tour of Flanders 2026 for free thanks to broadcasters in their regions.

Fans in the host country of Belgium can watch the Tour of Flanders free of charge via the country's public broadcaster VRT and its VRT Max free streaming platform. The same stream will also be hosted on Sporza's website.

In Australia you can watch for free with English commentary on SBS on Demand. In the Netherlands and France you can watch at no cost on NOS and France TV respectively.

Coverage is geo-restricted, so if you're away from home at the time of the race, you'll need a VPN to get your typical coverage while abroad – more on that below.

How to watch the Tour of Flanders while abroad

Most streaming platforms have geo-restrictions these days, which means they only work in certain countries. But being locked out of the races is a thing of the past thanks to a VPN.

A Virtual Private Network is a piece of internet security software that can alter your device's location, so you can unblock your usual streaming services, even when you're abroad.

Want to know more? We have an explainer on the benefits, costs, and considerations...
– Should I use a VPN to watch cycling?

How to watch the Tour of Flanders in the UK

In the UK, the men's Tour of Flanders will be broadcast on TV on TNT Sports 3 and online on HBO Max from 08:30 UK time. The women's race will be shown on TNT Sports 4 from 14:00, as well as on HBO Max.

Both platforms are owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and require a subscription.

Packages for HBO Max begin at £36.98 with TNT Sports and standard ads, with a premium package costing £45.98 per month. TNT Sports is also £30.99 a month, but is cheaper with certain TV packages. BT customers, for example, can add it to their bundle for an additional £25 a month. Sky TV customers can do the same for an extra £22 a month.

How to watch the Tour of Flanders in the US and Canada

Flobikes has the rights to broadcast the Tour of Flanders in both the US and Canada.

Subscriptions for US customers cost $29.99 a month, or $150 a year. In Canada, the platform is CA$39.99 a month, with big savings for long-term plans.

The Flobikes TV app is available on Roku, Fire TV, Chromecast and Apple TV, as well as on iOS and Android.

How to watch Tour of Flanders in Australia

In Australia, Tour of Flanders will be available to watch for free on SBS.

The platform offers free coverage of cycling events and will also be showing Paris-Roubaix, Giro D'Italia and Tour de France coverage at no cost.

Outside Australia today? Use a VPN to access the free coverage of Tour of Flanders on SBS.

What time is the Tour of Flanders on?

UK coverage of the men's race begins at 08:30 UK time on TNT Sports 3, with coverage of the women's shown on TNT Sports 4 at 14:00.

In the US, FloBikes' live broadcast of the men's starts at 03:30 EST. The women's race will be begin at 09:00 EST.

► Cycling TV and streaming guide

What to expect at the Tour of Flanders

Sandwiched 15 days after Milan-San Remo and a fortnight before Paris-Roubaix, this cobbled Classic is the highlight of the Belgian calendar, and boasts a stacked start list across both the men's and the women's races.

Last year, Tadej Pogačar attacked on the final climb at 19 kilometres to go to snatch the title from Mathieu van der Poel, who had been caught in a mid-race crash behind the dominant Slovenian.

In the women's, Lotte Kopecky finished ahead of Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma-Lease a Bike), Liane Lippert (Movistar), and Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto) in a sprint-finish in a race also mired with crashes from the outset.

Traversing cobbled climbs and technical sections, the men's race is likely to lead to a showdown between Mathieu van der Poel (one of only six riders to have won the Monument three times) and reigning champion, Pogačar. However, the presence of Wout van Aert, revved up after finishing a frustrating second place in Wednesday's Dwars door Vlaanderen, and the surprise debut of Remco Evenepoel might may prove an electric combination.

If we needed more proof of Lotte Kopecky's cycling prowess, she took her fifth Monument win at Milan-San Remo last month. Coupled with three existing victories in Flanders' Monument, she looks to be the best placed to defend her title. However, other Ronde winners, Demi Vollering and Elisa Longo Borghini, will also be in attendance.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Last spring, Flanders Classics CEO Tomas Van Den Spiegel made a bet with the Unibet Rose Rockets: if their sprinter Lukáš Kubiš finished in the top 10 at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, he’d give the team a wildcard for the Tour of Flanders.

The Rockets’ owners had already been asking for an invite for years. They knew it was far-fetched – the team was only founded in 2023 as the fruit of three friends’ YouTube channel – but they made a joke of it every time they saw the event organiser. Omloop was only their third WorldTour race. Van Den Spiegel probably felt safe that his deal would go unfulfilled; so safe, in fact, that he closed his offer with a hearty laugh. But when Kubiš went out and finished sixth, on his WorldTour debut, Van Den Spiegel suddenly had to take things more seriously.

A year on, and the promise has been kept. This Sunday, the Rockets will make their first outing at the Tour of Flanders, owing in part to Kubiš’s result, but mostly to their whirlwind rise through the ranks. The day will bring a new milestone for the team; since stepping up to ProTeam status in 2024, the Rockets have already ticked off their first WorldTour event in the Amstel Gold Race, their first Monument in last year’s Paris-Roubaix, and next month will make their Grand Tour debut as a wildcard at the Giro d’Italia.

For Bas Tietema, Rockets co-owner, Sunday’s race couldn’t come quicker. “I’m really excited, already for years,” he told Cycling Weekly. “It’s one of the most crazy races in terms of people. It’s like a national holiday here in Flanders. I think it will be an insane feeling.”

Back in 2020, then only a year into his ‘Tour de Tietema’ YouTube venture, Tietema and his channel co-hosts Josse Wester and Devin van der Wiel made a seven-part video series of them preparing to ride the 240km Flanders course. Their goal was simply to finish – which they did – and the final video now has almost 600,000 views. Today, all three are co-owners of a multi-million euro budget team that will be on the official start line.

“The progress has been really steep,” says Tietema. Last month the Rockets won four races in 10 days, including a first WorldTour scalp at the Ronde van Brugge thanks to new signing Dylan Groenewegen.

And yet, even though his riders are now competing with, and in some cases beating, WorldTour squads, Tietema still sees his team as spirited underdogs.

“I don’t think it’s fair to compare us with teams that are punching way above our level in terms of budget, but also [in terms of] the depth of their team,” he says. “But I do think that, with a limited fund, and a lot of passion and smart choices, you can be super competitive in certain areas.”

So what should we expect from the Rockets on their Tour of Flanders debut? None of the team’s seven riders have any experience riding the race. “We don’t have a Remco [Evenepoel] or a Wout [van Aert] or Tadej Pogačar or Mathieu [van der Poel], so we need to do it in a smart way,” Tietema says.

“We started the team racing offensively, aggressively – that suits us – but that sometimes doesn’t work out in a result. For example, Niklas [Larsen] yesterday rode an incredible race [at Dwars door Vlaanderen], but it’s not maybe visible in the result.

“In terms of a result, a top 10 would be already insane. Therefore we need to see an opportunity during the race to find the right moment to get into the race there… For people to see us riding deep in the final, in the same way as in the first race we started, I think that would be really cool.”

‘From amateur team to Ronde van Vlaanderen in SIX years’ read the title of a Rockets YouTube video released earlier this week. It’s a remarkable story, one even they struggle to believe at times, but come Sunday, the dream will become reality. It's all thanks to passion, belief, and a playful top-10 bet.

Tour of Flanders
Sunday 5 April
Distance: 278km (men's), 164.1km (women)
Finish: 15:30 (men's), 16:35 (women's) BST

The biggest Belgian race of the year is here, potentially the biggest Monument of the year, with the men's and women's Tour of Flanders. The cobbles and bergs come into play on a lumpy route which saps the legs and creates epic finishes.

Tadej Pogačar is the defending champion of the men's race, and he will go up against Mathieu van der Poel in a continuation of their rivalry; they will also have to get past Wout van Aert and Mads Pedersen. Surprise addition is Remco Evenepoel, who will be making his debut.

In the women's race, Lotte Kopecky, defending champion, and Demi Vollering will go up against Marlen Reusser, Kasia Niewiadoma and Puck Pieterse.

The 110th edition of the men's cobbled one-day race starts in Antwerp on Sunday. Riders will race over 270km over 16 cobbled climbs (or 'hellingen') and seven flat cobbled sections. The women's race tackles a shorter 170km course into Oudenaarde an hour after the men's, after nine cobbled climbs, and five more cobbled sectors.

Remember, TNT Sports is the home of live cycling in the UK on HBO Max, so make sure you're across how to watch cycling there, and the rest of the world too.

Six things to look out for at the Tour of Flanders

Kwaremont-Paterberg time

The Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg double punch has become one of the most iconic locations in cycling, with the Tour of Flanders’ organisers turning the two climbs into an arena. The men do the Kwaremont three times and the Paterberg twice, with the women doing both once. It often provides the launch pad for decisive attacks, and is where many of the VIPs hang out too, hence the repeated passes of the same climbs.

Records to fall?

Mathieu van der Poel or Lotte Kopecky could become the record holder for wins with a fourth victory at De Ronde, men’s or women’s, rather than tied on three with Johan Museeuw, Fabian Cancellara, Tom Boonen, and a few more. If Tadej Pogačar wins, then he will join Van der Poel, and possibly Kopecky et al, on three.

Equal prizes

Flanders Classics, the organisers, give equal prize money out at all their road events, with €50,000 in prize money for the men and the women at the Tour of Flanders; the winner gets €20,000. This might be a drop in the ocean compared to the differing salaries, but it is a step in the right direction. Also to note, the women’s race follows the men’s, with research showing there are more viewers and fans sticking around that way.

Festival time

The Ronde is a bit like a cross between the FA Cup Final and Glastonbury for Belgium. There are beers and frites for sale everywhere, along with a lot of Europop blaring out. The Kwaremont beer itself - 6.6% - is readily available, as is the bog-standard lager Jupiler. However, get your other Belgian beers in, whether that’s the amusingly-named Bolleke, Orval, or a Westvleteren.

Antwerpen party

The start of the men’s Tour of Flanders flips between Antwerp and Bruges every year, and this year it’s the turn of the former, home to one of the biggest ports in Europe, and also the heart of the diamond trade. It’s a properly big city, but the riders roll out in the picturesque Grote Markt. The women’s race begins in Oudenaarde, south of Ghent.

Remco chaos

Just days before the race, it was announced that Remco Evenepoel will be taking part in his first ever Tour of Flanders. It remains to be seen whether the Belgian can make a mark on debut at the biggest Belgian race of them all, but even just his presence will raise the roof in Flanders. He couldn't, could he?

Focus on: the Koppenberg

It might be just 550 metres long, but it averages over 11%, and it features some of the most horrific cobbles in the whole of the Tour of Flanders. Rainy editions often see some of the best riders in the world walking up it in their cleats, because as soon as one person stops, there is quite the domino effect. It comes very far out in both races, but often thins the pack down.

Where to watch Tour of Flanders

It is on TNT Sports in the UK and Ireland, accessible via a TV package or a HBO Max subscription. Read more in our in-depth guide on how to watch Tour of Flanders.

In the US and Canada, it's on Flobikes.

Last year's Tour of Flanders podiums

Men’s

1. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)
2. Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek)
3. Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck)

Women’s

1. Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime)
2. Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma-Lease a Bike)
3. Liane Lippert (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto)

Riders to watch at the Tour of Flanders

Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) *****

The Slovenian has ridden Flanders three times and won twice, and is the defending champion. If he decides to blast off on the Oude Kwaremont, as he has done before, it could be game over for everyone else. It seems a race suited to his characteristics.

Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) *****

The queen of Flanders, it is hard to look past Kopecky in the women’s race. Deals with the weight of a nation expertly, and knows these roads incredibly well. A record fourth title is not beyond her, and she looked good at Milan-San Remo in March; with Lorena Wiebes behind her in the bunch, hard to beat.

Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) *****

On the cusp of history with a fourth win. The Dutchman has proved that he can beat Pogačar, as he did last year, but will he be able to stick with him on the climbs? This will be key if he wants to break the record. The great Classics rider of his generation.

Demi Vollering (FDJ United-SUEZ) *****

The Dutchwoman skipped Milan-San Remo, but will be back in action in Belgium this week. Surprisingly, she has only finished on the podium once at the Ronde in five attempts, despite seeming to have the perfect skillset for the race. Her victory at Omloop looks like the blueprint for success here.

Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) ****

Six tilts at Flanders, six heartbreaks for Belgium, including that sprint loss to Van der Poel in 2020. This year, though, Van Aert is looking good, even if he hasn’t got that win yet. He was 10th at Strade Bianche and third at Milan-San Remo, so is in form, and surely has to deliver on home soil eventually.

Marlen Reusser (Movistar) ****

The Swiss rider has only raced one Classic this season, Dwars door Vlaanderen, and she won it. Her record at De Ronde isn't the best, but she has finished in the top 10 four times. If she can escape, it will be difficult to bring her back.

The hype around Remco Evenepoel riding the Tour of Flanders is very real. The Belgian press has gone into overdrive, with sports behemoth Sporza dedicating a whole section of their website to news about the dramatic debut. The biggest male Belgian cyclist at the moment is finally riding the biggest Belgian race of them all. It is a big deal.

The announcement came, quite oddly, before midday on April Fools' Day, leading multiple people to doubt its veracity, even hours after it was fully confirmed by Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe. However, this is no joke, and it does make sense; Evenepoel is a former world champion, the Olympic road race champion and a two-time winner of Liège-Bastogne-Liège, hardly a novice when it comes to one-day racing.

The plan did not come from nowhere, although it was repeatedly denied by Red Bull that Evenepoel would be taking part in Flanders.

"The connection between Remco and the Tour of Flanders is deep and emotional," team boss Ralph Denk said in a statement. "A plan like this does not come together overnight. We deliberately kept it under the radar to create a special moment for the fans – revealing it as a surprise on April 1. The fact that we were able to keep this internal for more than 100 days speaks to the cohesion and unity of this team."

Under the radar, though, in this sense, was more about denying the plan than keeping it completely secret. And it worked – even this week, different Belgian media outlets had opposing views on whether Evenepoel would be riding or not.

This is why it has been such a surprise for fans, for journalists, and the riders at Flanders too. The script might not be ripped up completely, but it will definitely need to be adjusted in order to account for the Belgian. Like Tadej Pogačar, he is someone who can attack from a long way out and solo to victory, and every move will need to be marked.

It is of course possible that Evenepoel could win on debut, with his skills suiting one-day racing much more than stage racing, and the Flemish bergs provide perfect launchpads for a long-range attack. However, he will be coming up against not just riders with similar skillsets, in Pogačar and Mathieu van der Poel, both of whom are theoretically better on short, sharp, climbs, but riders who have raced Flanders before, who have won Flanders before, who know where they need to be positioned before and during each sector.

Before he lined up at Flanders for the first time in 2022, Pogačar sought experience at Dwars door Vlaanderen, and days later went on to finished fourth in the Monument, having somehow messed up a two-up sprint with Van der Poel. Evenepoel has never raced a cobbled Classic at professional level, expectations should be mollified.

Of course, the Belgian does have to race Flanders for the first time at some point, so why not now? It is fantastic that one of the best races of the season will now have another star added to it, one that could shake the race up. It's conceivable that Evenepoel has even been training specifically for this race – perhaps that's why he dropped away in the mountains at the Volta a Catalunya? – which only adds to the hype. Let's hope he delivers.

You could hear Wout van Aert coming before you saw him at Visma-Lease a Bike’s team presentation on Tuesday afternoon. He clomped around in a grey protective boot, resting his fractured right ankle on a cushion during the ceremony.

Here we go again, he must have thought after his 2 January crash in Zilvermeercross. It was the latest setback in a misfortune-strewn two years, following a fractured collarbone, rib and sternum at the 2024 Dwars door Vlaanderen and a 2024 Vuelta knee injury which still bears a gruesome scar.

Having been ready and raring to go for the forthcoming season, the shoe is literally on the other foot for Van Aert. It would be understandable for him to be frustrated.

“Sometimes you get really tired of it and it’s also okay to be done with it for a few days,” Van Aert told the media in a round-table chat on Tuesday in La Nucia, Spain. “But there’s still a lot to win and there’s also even moments, just a few weeks [ago], riding between amazing crowds and meeting a lot of your fans: it still motivates you. It’s more natural to look ahead of me and what’s still possible than to get down.”

While Van Aert remarked that he was “not as consistent as he wanted” in 2025, he has had thrills to go with the spills. Last year, he showed his quality and sense of occasion with a barnstorming ride to Giro d’Italia stage victory in Siena and success through the Montmartre fever pitch in the Tour de France's swan song.

“Those wins really helped me to believe, even when not everything is going well. For example, now I’m still one of the best bike riders in the world and there will be moments where I can show it,” he said.

Van Aert’s race against time 

Although the ankle fracture is locked with a screw, Van Aert can ride his bike. However, he cannot build intensity in training until he is pain-free. It leaves him in a race against time to be fully fit and on-form for a busy spring calendar, culminating in the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. His debut is expected to be at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on February 28. 

“I’m not fully confident [the ankle won’t be a problem], of course not,” he said. “It’s a complicated injury, a fracture and also ripped-off ligaments. If I was a runner or anything else, I would be out for months. Hopefully as a cyclist, it will still be good enough.”

Calling the injury blow that forced him to curtail his cyclo-cross season “mentally quite significant”, Van Aert was comforted by how quickly he could get back on the bike without losing fitness. The 31-year-old went for a gentle road ride on Monday, a mere ten days after his crash.

2026 brings his eye-catching return to Strade Bianche and Milan-San Remo for the first time in five and three years, respectively. “These are really beautiful races that I don’t want to miss for the rest of my career,” the 2020 winner of ‘La Primavera’ said. “Always in my head, even the moment when I was choosing to do differently, I knew it would raise my inspiration again.”

A return to the spring’s Monuments will also bring him head-to-head again with his long-time sparring partner, Mathieu van der Poel. “There’s still a rivalry between us, but the rivalry has always been bigger for you guys, for the outside than for us, for the outside,” Van Aert said, adding moments later: “It’s still there but of course Mathieu’s palmarès is a bit bigger than mine.”

He has won three successive editions of Paris-Roubaix. The race still casts a magic spell on Van Aert, even if he has suffered misfortune there, perhaps no more so than a heartbreaking puncture on the Carrefour de l’Arbre sector in 2023, which saw his Dutch adversary ride away to his first victory there. 

“It’s probably the only race where you wake up the next day feeling completely broken and get up on Tuesday still feeling the same,” Van Aert says. “There’s so much impact on your body going over these cobbles. The last hour of this race is more like survival than a real race. So much can happen, bad luck and stuff like that, it’s a race where you really have your head full. Arguably, it’s the best race in the calendar.”

A Swiss army knife of a rider, comfortable on cobbles and hors catégorie climbs, Van Aert is not short of goals. The Tour de France’s opening 19.7 km team time trial around Barcelona is another big objective for the Belgian and the squad. “In my head, I’m also dreaming of wearing yellow,” he says.

He is also set to go line up at August’s Vuelta a España as part of a stage-hunting Visma-Lease a Bike line-up, with British super-talent Matthew Brennan expected to make his grand tour debut alongside him. 

Van Aert had kind words for the 20-year-old super-talent while discussing how they will divide their ambitions: “Matthew is for sure faster in the other completely flat sprints. Even when the stage is hard, the sprint is probably more suitable for him. And there is the fact it will be his first grand tour so nobody knows how he will go after ten days. So we should not put pressure on him and let him experience it.”

“The most important thing is we go really well together and we understand each other. I’m even proud that he’s showing that he learns from me, that’s pretty cool.”

Matthew Brennan will take aim at the “big Classics” and make his Grand Tour debut in 2026, he and his Visma-Lease a Bike team have announced.

The 20-year-old, who won a staggering 14 times in his first pro season last year, is down to ride three Monuments this year – Milan San-Remo, the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix – before starting the Vuelta a España in August.

Brennan was one of the standout talents of 2025, and earned Cycling Weekly’s Male Rider of the Year award. His win tally was bettered by just four other male pros: Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step), Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step), and the world champion Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG).

“I hope to reach the same level as last season, and ideally push even higher,” Brennan said in a Visma-Lease a Bike press release announcing his race calendar. “From there, I hope to make my mark more and more in the bigger races, where I can hopefully play a meaningful role.

“This year I’m focusing on the big classics, such as Milan-San Remo, Paris-Roubaix, and the Tour of Flanders. I hope to play a significant role in these races and gain experience in such big events.”

Brennan made his WorldTour Classics debut at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad last year, a race that is once again on his calendar in 2026. He was also called up late to ride Paris-Roubaix in his first pro season, and impressed on the cobbles, riding in the company of Mathieu van der Poel and Pogačar at the front of the race.

“It would be nice to go a little bit further than last year, hopefully into the velodrome with the front group,” he said.

The Brit will have to wait until August for his Grand Tour debut, planned for the Vuelta a España. “I’m really looking forward to it and curious to see how I’ll handle it,” he said.

“It’s amazing to start in several major classics, but I’m especially looking forward to La Vuelta. Riding three weeks of stages will be tough, and I don’t yet know how my body will respond, but with good preparation and a strong team, I hope to achieve a lot.”

Visma-Lease a Bike won the Vuelta through Jonas Vingegaard last year. The Dane will not defend his title in 2026, and will turn his attention instead to the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France.

Brennan will open his season next week at the Tour Down Under in Australia, the first WorldTour event of the calendar.

When I’m not out on the road covering bike races, then chances are you'll find me at a football match somewhere around the UK watching my team, Oxford United. That's exactly what I was doing on Saturday while my colleagues were out in France covering Paris-Roubaix Femmes. It was a hot afternoon, so I bought myself a bottle of water at half time and took it back out into the stand for the second half.

The second 45 minutes didn't initially go our way, it was frustrating and difficult to watch. Now, if I had allowed those feelings to boil over and opted to throw my bottle at one of the opposition players, then I am certain that I would have been collared by nearby stewards and thrown out of the match, before being handed over to the local police.

It's well documented that an action like that at a football match would probably result in a banning order and potential criminal charges. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to ban someone in a similar way from a bike race on the open road, but Mathieu van der Poel was absolutely right when he said that legal action should be pursued against the man who threw a bottle into his face at Paris-Roubaix on Sunday. It was appalling to see and could have had catastrophic consequences for the eventual race winner.

It should be said that events like this are still rare, considering how big cycling is and how much un-policed roadsides professional riders pass by, but it is still notable.

Van der Poel has been the victim of behaviour like this before at races, but nothing this blatant - an aggressive and deliberate attempt to force him to lose control of his bike.

The alleged aggressor handed himself into police on Monday. But the sad reality is that this could happen again, such is the nature of the sport being open to all. That is one of the beauties and main attractions of cycling - it is easily accessible and free to watch. However, this is extremely problematic when incidents like this occur.

But what is the answer? How do we stop people from carrying out this sort of unwelcome behaviour at a bike race? A difficult question with not a lot of clear answers. Perhaps starting with serious consequences for this person, but thought needs to go into what could help, given the difficult circumstances. There are adverts on French TV, but a culture change clearly needs to occur.

Van der Poel has been the subject of abuse from crowds when competing in a variety of races in recent years, and has had beer thrown at him while competing in the E3 Saxo Classic and the Tour of Flanders.

It is hard to think of immediate solutions as it is nothing new - Eddy Merckx was once assaulted by a fan during the 1975 Tour de France on the Puy de Dôme, and Chris Froome had urine thrown over him during the Tour in 2015. However, there has to be some sort of deterrent to underline to spectators thinking of behaving similarly to what we saw on Sunday that they will be caught and tracked down by police.

Legal action from cycling's authorities, like the CPA riders' union and UCI, to ensure that these people get the message does seem to be a start, before thought about what next occurs.

This is what Alpecin-Deceuninck want. On Friday afternoon, a spokesperson said in a statement: "We are calling for dialogue and cooperation among all involved parties - riders, teams, federations, organizers, and government authorities - to implement measures that prevent individuals with bad intentions from infiltrating cycling events and to take proactive steps at known critical points."

In case it wasn't plain, then my message is this: don’t bother coming out to races if you’re going to assault or abuse riders, it is as simple as that.

British Continental team Hess Cycling has been blocked from competing in the Amstel Gold Race later this month.

An official statement from the race organiser stated the team had been turned down due to the late granting of their UCI licence, however, insiders told Cycling Weekly that controversy around the team - whose owner is under investigation over allegations of fraud, which the team has denied - also had an impact.

Cycling Weekly understands that The Cyclists Alliance - which represents female cyclists - has raised concerns with the UCI over the team, which reportedly left riders waiting into April for March payments. The team says it did meet UCI deadlines to make payment, by the 5th of the following month.

Several riders have departed the team in recent weeks. Esther Wong and Laura Lizette Sander both joined new teams, with Kate Richardson also leaving. The latter signed for the Scotland-based Alba Road Team last Monday.

A spokesperson for the Amstel Gold Race confirmed to Cycling Weekly that the team would not be permitted to compete at the event held in the Netherlands on 20 April.

"We were aware of the problems Hess had in receiving the final license from the UCI for the 2025 season," they said. "We gave Hess several deadlines, but in the end we had to decide not to grant Hess starting rights in the Amstel Gold Race. Unfortunately for the team, a few days later they did receive the green light from the UCI to race at WorldTour level in 2025. However, that was too late to start in the Amstel Gold Race."

Sources close to the situation informed Cycling Weekly that the decision was also influenced by the external controversy surrounding the team and its owner, Swiss businessman Rolf Hess.

Cycling Weekly understands that Hess was also in line to receive a wildcard invite to the recent Tour of Flanders after a WorldTour squad, Roland Cycling, withdrew from the event. Due to the doubt surrounding the team’s licence, the wildcard was subsequently issued to another team.

Founded in 2023 under a licence from the Luxembourg cycling federation, Hess registered as a British squad one year later and vowed to become "Britain's leading professional women's team" with the aim of competing in the Tour de France Femmes.

Earlier this year, a report in Swiss publication Inside Parade Platz revealed details of fraud allegations against the team's owner and his associates and explained that Rolf Hess was under investigation by authorities in Spain. This was denied by his spokesperson who insisted that it was a "smear campaign" when approached by Cycling Weekly.

It has now emerged that Hess did not pay rider fees at the end of last month. A recent email from Hess Enterprises CFO Wayne Gordon, seen by Cycling Weekly, shows that riders were left waiting into April for March fees.

Gordon stated in his message that the team’s financier, Rolf Hess, had told him that owed fees "will be paid at the latest by 3rd April".

Cycling Weekly understands that The Cyclists Alliance (TCA) - which supports professional female cyclists - has shared concerns regarding the team's viability with the UCI. A case relating to the team is understood to have been opened, although the TCA declined to comment when asked to confirm this on Monday evening. The UCI also declined to provide a response.

The team competed at last Wednesday’s Dwars door Vlaanderen in Belgium, its first race of the year after being handed a UCI licence.

Hess Cycling were approached for comment. A spokesperson said: "Under the UCI regulations, teams are required to pay riders their fixed remuneration in equal monthly installments, with each payment due no later than the fifth of the following month which was met by us."

They stated that the email informing riders of the payment date was sent "out of courtesy", and added "we did miss out on Amstel Gold Race as we were not able to get the license on time for their cut-off. We are, however, happy and excited to take part in many other races in the coming months."

Tadej Pogačar took a handful of major Strava KOMs on his way to his second-ever Tour of Flanders victory on Sunday, setting record times on the verified Oude Kruisberg, Oude Kwaremont (kasseien) and Koppenberg segments.

And unlike two years ago when he last won the Ronde, he wasn’t flagged for his efforts this time as he took his eighth Monument title and second major victory of the 2024 season.

His second ascent of the famous Oude Kwaremont cobbled climb earned him a time of 2:49, smashing the KOM previously set by EF Education EastPost's Kasper Asgreen by ten seconds. Visma-Lease a bike duo Wout van Aert and Matteo Jorgenson both earned the same time after attempting to stay with the Slovenian, later paying for their efforts.

The Koppenberg climb has a fearsome reputation and is considered one of the toughest parts of the entire Flanders course. Pogačar, however, put the hammer down on the steep slopes and tore up the verified segment in a time of 1:38. He also took the KOM on the full climb segment of the Koppenberg with a time of 3:09.

One of his most notable KOMs came in the segment which relates to the final 38 kilometres of the race. Pogačar tore through that segment on the run into Oudenaarde, averaging a speed of 44 kilometres per hour as he completed it a whole 30 seconds faster than Asgreen and Mathieu van der Poel in 2021.

Other notable KOMs from the World Champion included the 10.91 kilometre long Taaienberg-Hotond sector, which the Slovenian completed in a time of 15:31 at 42.2 kilometres per hour, beating the time set by Wout van Aert in 2020 by three seconds. He also now holds the best time (1:32) on the verified Oude Kruisberg segment.

"The plan was to make it a hard race, to attack on the second time on the Kwaremont, and we executed that plan," he explained.

Pogačar will next be in action at Paris-Roubaix next Sunday as he makes his debut at the race known as the Hell of the North.

It was hard to escape Lotte Kopecky in Belgium on Sunday. The world champion was followed everywhere by one chant - “ohhhh Lotte Kopecky” - there were hats handed out with her name on them, she was tracked by adoring fans. She was on national news, still in her kit, two hours on from her victory.

"It was enormous,” she said post-race on Sporza. “Sometimes I think the other riders can't hear my name anymore. But it's fantastic."

The world champion delivered what the people wanted on Sunday, winning her third Tour of Flanders, a record at three, and proving once again that she’s the woman to beat in the Classics.

She stuck with the attacks on the Oude Kwaremont, forming a group of four Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma-Lease a Bike), Liane Lippert (Movistar), and Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto), before out-sprinting the three inside the final 300m to make history.

“That [the record] doesn't mean that much,” Kopecky said post-race, however. “I am super happy that I was able to win today in the white jersey and white shorts. That means more to me than that third time."

Despite all her prowess, this was the SD Worx-Protime rider’s first win of the season, one which followed disappointment at Dwars door Vlaanderen last week, and leadout duties at both San Remo Women and Gent-Wevelgem, where her teammate Lorena Wiebes won.

Of Dwars, she said: That wasn't a nice feeling. That plays in your head and I had doubts. But I trusted my experience."

"Last year I also had a bad feeling in the Tour and I won Paris-Roubaix the week after,” she continued. Now I hope that there are more great races to come."

Kopecky is a champion, the winner of so many races, but it took a while for her to warm into the race. It was not a particularly attacking affair, with it taking a long time for the break to come back, with very few teams wanting to take charge. However, the Belgian was tenacious, and stuck with it, to taste victory again.

“This feels really good,” she said. “It was a crazy race, with a lot of crashes in the opening phase. That was really nervous. At first I didn’t have the best feeling, but I stayed calm and my legs started to feel better. Then I knew I had a good chance. Once we were four up, I was really confident about winning.”

“Mentally, the Kruisberg was a crucial moment, I felt that the group was getting thinner and thinner,” she continued, explaining her perfect race. “When we were four after the Kwaremont, I knew that I only had to survive the Paterberg. Then we could go to the finish with four. Then I knew that I could win again.”

Next up is Paris-Roubaix Femmes, and another shot at history, as the Belgian could become the first to win both races in the same season. No pressure.

It wasn't if Tadej Pogačar would attack on his own at the Tour of Flanders, but when. The world champion has a habit of going solo to famous wins, and so it proved on Sunday at the Tour of Flanders, his second, but it was not simple.

Just as in 2023, it was the third and final time at the Oude Kwaremont with 17km to go that proved decisive, the UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider escaping to victory after a brutal attack, and he ended up winning by a minute.

Pogačar was tested by his rivals, however, despite that decisive gap in the end. He first attacked on the second time on the Kwaremont, aiming to break up the race, which he did, but it took 30km for the Slovenian to shake Mads Pedersen and Jasper Stuyven (Lidl-Trek), Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike. This was not an easy win for the 26-year-old.

"The guys were so strong, the first time I attacked, and many climbs after as well," he said post-race. "It was a tough one to figure out as well, if I can do it. I had to try on every climb to do my best, to make this race hard, and I tried to give it all the last time and it worked.

"I was not certain [in his final attack] because I could also have run out of energy at that moment, but I didn't give up. I knew what I had to do and I did it my best."

That does not make it any less impressive. Pogačar has raced the Tour of Flanders three times, and finished fourth, first, and first. It is difficult for his rivals to countenance how to beat him, when he can just fly away like that.

"The plan was to make it a hard race, to attack on the second time on the Kwaremont, and we executed that plan," he explained.

That first attack on the Kwaremont, Pogačar essentially swept up all before him, blasting past the day's break, including Ineos Grenadiers' Connor Swift, who appeared to smile - it may have been a grimace. Teams had tried to place riders up the road to help their efforts, but it wasn't enough to contend with the eventual winner.

"I think it's quite crazy to see," Lidl-Trek's Daan Hoole, a member of one of those moves, said post-race. "If you see how easy Pogačar came across, it's quite impressive. You cannot do more than we did, and in the end he's just so much better that it's hard to beat him. It's scary to see how much better he is. With the headwind in the end, he stayed in front of four world class riders who worked together and tried to close it, it's quite crazy."

His team leader, Pedersen, echoed this: "Tadej, the way he rides... he's just on a completely different level than the rest. We didn't get any closer to him today. As a team, we just have to be happy with the way we rode at the moment, we got to the final with two riders. We had to wait a few years for that."

UAE had tried to set up Pogačar, which was no clearer than when Mikkel Bjerg asked his team leader whether the pace was right 100km out - a nod was the reply - but in the end it came down to one man, and his power on the climbs and on the flat.

"In this kind of race not everything goes perfectly," the Slovenian said. "I'm really happy with the team, to be in this team is a dream come true, and I enjoy racing with them so much. They gave more than 100% to today's plan. Sadly we lost Jonny [Narváez] and Tim [Wellens] in the crash, and Florian [Vermeersch] was chasing back the whole race. It didn't go perfectly, but in the end, because everyone gave so much, it worked. I have to thank everybody, because they did a phenomenal job today."

Pogačar, resplendent in the rainbow bands, was proffered a microphone on the podium, and even he seemed speechless - "what do I say?"

"Thank you everybody for coming, it was an amazing day," he said of his exhibition. "It was a beautiful atmosphere throughout the whole day, on all the climbs."

It is surely easier to enjoy the atmosphere when you're the fastest man at the Tour of Flanders, again. It's good that the best cyclist in the world is having fun.

"I think we have a really nice generation of cyclists," he said. "The bunch, the top competitors, I like to race against them, they are big champions, good guys. Today was amazing because of them, because of the fans, and because of my team. It was a perfect day."

If Tadej Pogačar is going to cross the finish line first in Oudenaarde at the Tour of Flanders on Sunday, then avoiding a sprint finish with Mathieu van der Poel or any of his faster rivals is key. The only way to achieve a second victory will be to distance the Dutchman on the Oude Kwaremont or elsewhere on the course. He simply can’t afford to drag his main rival to the line, and he knows this too.

Two years ago he went solo on the Kwaremont with one of the most unanswerable attacks that the race has ever seen. It was brutal, calculated and simply devastating. Van der Poel was in fine form but could not live with the Slovenian's punishing acceleration, before he then disappeared and carried on the assault over the Paterberg.

Pogačar's memorable victory banished any recollections of the moment he came unstuck in 2022, somehow finishing fourth in a reduced sprint for the line. Van der Poel was the man that came out on top that year, with Pogačar visibly furious at the finish at his inability to successfully dispatch the Dutchman despite the course, on paper, favouring the bigger and more powerful rider.

When he returned to Flanders 12 months later it was clear that he had learned from that scenario. There was simply no way he was going to allow that same situation to develop again. A huge attack and all in on the Kwaremont or risk it on the drag into Oudenaarde; the answer was always the former of the two.

The same situation must play out this time around if he is going to strike even with his main rival this spring and add an eighth Monument to his collection.

"In San Remo, he beat me quite good, but this is a different race," Pogačar said this week as he looked ahead to Sunday’s race across the cobbles. "Flanders is a little bit more tiring, and it's going to be harder throughout the day. But I'm here to race for the victory, so I will give my best to try and win.

"Maybe I can be better after six hours, but he's in super good shape," he added. "I just try to get a little bit of a gap at some point in the race and try to use that. But there are so many opportunities, and options that can happen on Sunday, I just need to grab one and hope for the best."

Typically, the Slovenian gave little away with modest and unassuming answers when assessing his chances of getting one back over the Dutchman. Pogačar, though, is not out for revenge, he simply doesn’t operate like that. He uses his own will to win and hunger to be the best to drive him on. He does not consider being beaten by a rider of the calibre of Van der Poel - who in his own right is arguably one of the greatest Classics riders of all time - as a reason to feel bitter.

"I don't know why I would be looking for revenge when nobody did anything bad to me," he said of their most recent duel at San Remo. "It just needs to be a hard race, and maybe he's tired in the end."

A hard race, something Pogačar is capable of ensuring Flanders becomes in an instant. Expect endless explosive attacks once the likes of the Koppenberg, Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg climbs arrive. Pogačar won’t fancy a sprint after the mauling he received on the Via Roma just a fortnight ago. It's all in or nothing, attack on the climbs and go from range.

Pogačar won't have it all his own way, with Van der Poel at the front of a long queue of riders looking to prevent him from winning. But if he can create that situation for himself out on the road, then he will be well on the way to potential victory.

See also: How to watch Tour of Flanders 2025

Mathieu van der Poel stormed to a second successive victory at the E3 Saxo Classic on Friday after dropping Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) and Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) on the Oude Kwaremont.

Pedersen fought valiantly in his attempts to close down the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider, although the Dane faded as Van der Poel powered on in the grey drizzle of West Flanders and continued his fine early season form after winning Milan-San Remo.

Van der Poel took the win by more than a minute over Pedersen with Ganna securing third, a further minute back on the Dutchman.

Speaking at the finish, the former road world champion hailed the huge effort from his teammates after Alpecin had to dig deep in the early stages in order to keep their key man in the race. “I’m very very happy,” Van der Poel said. “We had quite a tough race for the team, I have to thank my whole team for the amazing job they did today. I was really motivated to finish it off.” An early crash caused chaos in the peloton with Alpecin one of several teams caught out as splits formed.

Van der Poel tracked a move on the Taaienberg from Pedersen with 80km to go, before they were joined by Ganna. Along with the two riders up the road - Aimé De Gendt and Casper Pedersen - they surged on, with little chance of the win coming from behind. The Oude Kwaremont then proved decisive.

“He’s just incredible,” Pedersen said at the finish, describing Van der Poel and his attack on the cobbled climb. “The gap kept extending. It’s impossible to come back from that. On the Kwaremont he made the difference and showed his class again. We wanted to open up the race on the Taaienberg, we talked to the DSes there and decided not to follow but to try it ourselves. It was nice to open up the race, with a smaller group. The shape is there. It was proper racing today, so I’m happy.”

Meanwhile Ganna admitted that his heavier build meant that he simply couldn’t follow when Van der Poel and Pedersen pushed on. “My weight is too high for this climb with these guys. I’m really happy with my performance in the last kilometres (though). I had a fire in the legs and then we were at the top and saw 30km to go, I thought ‘fuck’. It was a really hard race, but I’m happy, the shape is here. I’m not the best rider for the steep climbs.”

How it happened

An early crash sparked panic in the field as splits formed in the race as a result. Wout van Aert and Visma-Lease a Bike and Mathieu van der Poel and Alpecin-Deceuninck were caught out as the race splintered, with the opening 40 kilometres completed in just 45 minutes as Groupama FDJ and Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe set an infernal pace at the head of the peloton.

Once the race hit the Kanarieberg the two groups were within touching distance of one another and eventually made contact as the climb progressed. Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) launched an attack over the summit of the climb and took Groupama-FDJ’s Stefan Küng with him. Jorgenson’s move didn’t amount into anything with the real action still to come.

With 80 kilometres to go, the speed suddenly ramped up at the front of the peloton, with Lidl-Trek and Ineos Grenadiers driving the tempo into the Taaienberg as rain began to fall. Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) used the increased aggression to launch an attack on the cobbles and Van der Poel was the first man able to follow. Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) then bridged across, and the trio then joined the last men standing from an earlier move, Casper Pedersen (Soudal Quick-Step) and Aimé De Gendt (Cofidis), at the sharp end of proceedings.

A six-man chase group soon formed between the five riders up front and the remnants of the main field. Jorgenson was present for Visma alongside Josh Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers), Jasper Stuyven (Lidl-Trek), Tim Wellens (UAE Emirates), Matteo Trentin (Tudor Pro Cycling) and Küng.

On the Paterberg, Pedersen accelerated hard with the aim of cutting the lead five down; Ganna and Van der Poel were the only men able to keep up. The Oude Kwaremont soon followed, and it was Ganna that began the climb first. Van der Poel took over and caused a split as the cobbles began. The former world champion soon crested the summit and was out of sight, with Pedersen 17 seconds down on him and Ganna a further 13 seconds back.

As the rain continued to fall in West Flanders, Van der Poel tore over the Karnemelkbeekstraat and under the 30 kilometre to go banner with 25 seconds over Pedersen back down the road. The slick roads began to become an issue with the Dutchman nearly losing his back wheel on a wet corner.

Van der Poel, however, held on and won by more than a minute in Harelbeke, with Pedersen taking second and Ganna completing the podium.

Results

E3 Saxo Classic 2025 (208km)

1. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Deceuninck, in 4:39:14
2. Mads Pedersen (Den) Lidl-Trek, +1:05
3. Filippo Ganna (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers, +2:04
4. Casper Pedersen (Den) Soudal Quick-Step, +2:33
5. Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Lidl-Trek
6. Stefan Küng (Sui) Groupama-FDJ
7. Aimé De Gendt (Bel) Cofidis, all at same time
8. Tim Wellens (Bel) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, +2:35
9. Matteo Jorgenson (USA) Visma-Lease a Bike, +2:38
10. Mike Teunissen (Ned) XDS Astana, +2:43

Neilson Powless is aiming for a Tour of Flanders victory next month and says being a "complete cyclist" can help him achieve his main ambitions of the spring.

The American's best result at the cobbled Monument was fifth in 2023, but he believes the addition of former winner Kasper Asgreen to his team will put him in an even better position this time round to improve on that result.

In an interview released by EF Education-EasyPost, Powless says that he believes he has all of the characteristics needed to pull off a surprise victory in April.

"Flanders is a race that demands a complete cyclist," he said. "That is the best way I could describe myself. I'm not the best climber and I'm not the best sprinter and I am not the best time trialist, but I'm pretty good at all of them, so I feel like I'm very complete. That is a blessing and a curse, but at Flanders, I think it is a blessing."

Asgreen and the American are likely to both share EF leadership when the Tour of Flanders gets underway. Powless said that bringing the Dane into the team has significantly strengthened their chances of successfully going toe to toe with some of the bigger classics teams in the weeks ahead.

"Our ambition is to win," Powless added. "Having a few cards to play is really key to success in that race. I mean, I'd love to win, but if there are two of us up there, it's even better. That means two chances for the team to get a win."

Powless suffered with a bout of pneumonia that kept him side lined at the start of the season but returned to finish sixth overall at the Volta ao Algarve. The 28-year-old Florida native is due to ride Paris-Nice before turning his attention to the likes of Milan-San Remo, Dwars door Vlaanderen and the Tour of Flanders itself.

"I'm really excited for Paris-Nice," he said. "I just hope that I have the legs I want so that I can be at the front of that race, because it is a fun one to race from the front. I'd like to fight for the podium. If I have the legs that I had in the TT on the last day in Portugal, I'm pretty sure I can be competitive on GC and go for the win on one of the stages."

Powless is based in the Nice area, something he hopes will help him in his attempt to finish high on the general classification.

"It is an intense race and that last stage is especially intense," he added "but it gives me a lot of confidence to know what's around every corner, which corners you need to be in position for and for which corners it's fine to relax. I know every climb down there and I am really excited for it."

Nine years after she first won the race, Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek) returned to the top step of the Tour of Flanders on Sunday, this time resplendent in the Italian tricolore. 

The 32-year-old, who struggled with injury and illness last season, looked back to her best, sprinting beyond Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-Sram) in the final meters to seal the win for Lidl-Trek. 

Longo Borghini was set up in the finale by her team-mate, Shirin van Anrooij, who broke free with 21km to go, but was caught and turned selflessly to help the Italian. The Dutchwoman's reward was the final podium place, her best Monument result to date. 

"It's just amazing," Longo Borghini said afterwards. "Shirin was a motorbike. In the end, we can be proud. First and third in a race like this is a huge team performance." 

Lidl-Trek's success came at the expense of SD Worx-Protime, whose leader Lotte Kopecky, the winner of the previous two editions, struggled to stay in front. On the Koppenberg, with 45km to go, the world champion was one of a number of riders who had to dismount and walk, so tough was the rain-soaked climb. 

"My back wheel was slipping," said Longo Borghini. "I knew from doing some mountain bike in the winter that I needed to keep the traction. I just took my own speed, and I saw that Kopecky was not there and we could do it."

The victory, then, looked poised for Van Anrooij, who led solo onto the Oude Kwaremont and the Paterberg, the final two climbs. Over the crest of the latter, Longo Borghini attacked with Niewiadoma, closing the gap to her team-mate and working with her towards the line. 

"This was a team move," the Italian explained. It was one that paid off, too. 

How it happened

A crash after just 10km, involving a handful of the key riders, shook the race up early on Sunday afternoon. The pile-up brought an abrupt end to the day for former Tour of Flanders champion Lizzie Deignan (Lidl-Trek) and Marlen Reusser (SD Worx-Protime), who both hit their heads and were forced to abandon. Deignan was later diagnosed with a broken arm, Reusser with a broken jaw.

Race favourite Kopecky was also held up by the crash, but did not come down. Still, having avoided the early scrape, misfortune would come for the world champion. 

On the Koppenberg, the seventh of 12 hellingen climbs, she was forced to climb off her bike and push, victim to the slippery double-figure gradients. The Belgian was then distanced shortly afterwards, falling over 30 seconds behind the race leaders, and struggling to keep the pace in the chasing group. 

Ahead, her SD Worx-Protime team-mate Demi Vollering also became unstuck. When Niewiadoma launched a characteristic long-range attack, 27km from the line, the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift champion struggled to chase. 

The front of the race was then blown apart by Van Anrooij. The diminutive Dutchwoman, known for her cyclo-cross abilities, stormed clear with 21km to go and put daylight into her rivals on the approach to the Oude Kwaremont. Once there, she rode solo up the 2km slog, battling horizontal rain, cheered on by the masses. Fellow cyclo-cross stars Puck Pieterse (Fenix Deceuninck) and Karlijn Swinkels (UAE Team ADQ) chased in tandem pursuit. 

Van Anrooij took a slender 16-second advantage into the foot of the Paterberg, the final climb of the day. By the top, her gap was only a handful of seconds. Then it was gone. The 22-year-old was joined on the run-in to Oudenaarde by her team-mate Elisa Longo Borghini and Niewiadoma, and the trio began swapping through turns. 

With the finish line just 200m before them, Van Anrooij opened her sprint first. The move forced Niewiadoma to launch hers too, allowing Longo Borghini to come out of the Polish rider's slipstream and round her on the line. "We know that our strength is in the team," the Italian said afterwards. "I was just a kid when I won the race back in 2015. I think I can realise it a bit more, I'm more conscious of what I've been achieving."

Many expected the tactical masterclass would come from SD Worx-Protime, the most dominant team of recent years. Instead, the victory was stamped with the Lidl-Trek seal. 

Results

Tour of Flanders 2024: Antwerp > Oudenaarde (163km)

1. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Lidl-Trek, in 4-16-04
2. Kasia Niewiadoma (Pol) Canyon-Sram
3. Shirin van Anrooij (Ned) Lidl-Trek, both at same time
4. Marianne Vos (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike, +9s
5. Lotte Kopecky (Bel) SD Worx-Protime
6. Puck Pieterse (Ned) Fenix-Deceuninck
7. Silvia Persico (Ita) UAE Team ADQ, all at same time
8. Demi Vollering (Ned) SD Worx-Protime, +15s
9. Letizia Paternoster (Ita) Liv AlUla Jaco, +1-40
10. Karlijn Swinkels (Ned) UAE Team ADQ, at same time

The scene on the Koppenberg was mayhem, riders strewn across the narrow hill, both feet on the floor, slipping on its rain-soaked cobbles. They gripped their bikes and pushed in a panic. The race was getting away from them. With 45km to go, this was the decisive moment. 

Ahead, the blur of the world champion’s rainbow bands grew fainter and smaller. His number one dossard, too. Where mortals were forced to walk, Mathieu van der Poel flew. The Dutchman, born on Belgian soil, vanished over the crest of the climb, not to be seen again until the podium ceremony over an hour later. 

“I was slipping and sliding all the way to the top,” Van der Poel said post-race. Crucially, though, he remained seated in the saddle. Only a handful of riders did. It was a show of handling prowess, characteristic of the six-time cyclo-cross world champion, that set him up to solo clear, onto victory, and into the history books.

Prior to Sunday, only six men had won the Tour Flanders three times. Van der Poel became the seventh. 

“My season is already a success now,” he smiled. "Winning the Tour of Flanders in the world champion’s jersey is a dream come true. I just need a few moments to let it sink in.”

As his advantage grew in the race, stretching from seven seconds to over a minute, so did the lactic acid in his legs. The rain fell in Flanders, dealing the world champion a test of the hardest endurance, one that asked for mental strength as much as physical. 

“I was really completely empty in the last 10km to the finish line,” the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider said. “I just closed my eyes and tried to get there as soon as possible.” 

When he finally reached it, he had time to savour the moment. Having pedalled for over six hours straight, Van der Poel eased off in the final meters, and swung his leg over his bike frame across the line. He then stood, in the middle of a usually non-descript carriageway outside Oudenaarde, and lifted his bike above his head. 

The breathlessness in his winner’s interview was telling. “It’s one of the hardest races I’ve ever done,” the world champion said. Can he repeat the feat at Paris-Roubaix in a week’s time? “I cannot think about Roubaix yet,” he stared back at the interviewer. In an honest tone, he added:  “I’m really, really f*cked at the moment.” 

Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) took a record-equalling victory at the Tour of Flanders on Sunday, joining an exclusive club of riders who have won the race three times. 

The world champion launched his winning move on the Koppenberg, the twelfth of 17 rain-soaked hellingen climbs, with 45km to go. There, as his competitors unclipped and scaled the 20% slope by foot, the Dutchman sailed clear. 

He then soloed over the Oude Kwaremont and the Paterberg, on to the line in Oudenaarde. Over a minute later, Luca Mozzato (Arkéa - B&B Hotels) pipped Michael Matthews (Jayco-AlUla) to second in a photo finish. The Australian was then relegated, with Nils Politt (UAE Team Emirates) rounding out the podium. 

Only seven men in history have won the Tour of Flanders three times, among them Tom Boonen, Fabian Cancellara and Johan Museeuw. 

Van der Poel's victory came in the absence of his career-long rival, Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike), who suffered “several fractures” in a crash at Dwars door Vlaanderen on Wednesday and pulled out of the Monument. 

How it happened

One of the biggest races in the calendar, attacks for the victory started from 100km to go. The first meaningful move came courtesy of Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), who accelerated on the 400m-long Molenberg, agitating the bunch, and pulling away a select group of the race favourites, save for Van der Poel, who bided his time in the group behind. 

When the Dutchman zipped across the gap 10km later, Pedersen attacked again off the front. Van der Poel would not earn his third win easily, it became clear. His Alpecin-Deceuninck team-mate Gianni Vermeersch followed Pedersen to police the move. 

With 55km to go, on the second of three ascents of the Oude Kwaremont, Van der Poel caught and passed the leading duo. Would he go solo? Not just yet. The group reassembled a few kilometres later, and scaled the Paterberg as one.

Ivan García Cortina (Movistar) led onto the Koppenberg, the steepest of the hellingen in the race, but fell victim to a mechanical and stepped off onto the cobbles. 

As the Spaniard tinkered frantically with his bike, Van der Poel flew over his shoulder. One bike length, two bike lengths. The gap to his rivals behind grew on the slippery, double-figure gradients. Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) chased, while almost every other rider unclipped and walked up the cobbles. A peculiar sight,  befitting of the sportive held the day before, but telling of the difficulty of the pitch.

For the six-time cyclo-cross world champion, the Koppenberg was light work. His seven-second advantage to Jorgenson stretched out on the descent. Within moments, he was almost two minutes clear, and cruising over the famous finale pairing of the Oude Kwaremont and the Paterberg. 

With the finish line in sight, Van der Poel slowed to freewheel and soak in the moment. He then lifted his bike above his head, a Belgian-born Dutchman, triumphant in Flanders once again.

"It's one of the hardest races I've ever done," Van der Poel said afterwards. It was also one of his most spectacular victories. 

Results

Tour of Flanders 2024: Antwerp > Oudenaarde (270.8km)

1. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Deceuninck, in 6-05-17
2. Luca Mozzato (Ita) Arkéa - B&B Hotels, +1-02
3. Nils Politt (Ger) UAE Team Emirates
4. Mikkel Bjerg (Den) UAE Team Emirates
5. António Morgado (Por) UAE Team Emirates
6. Magnus Sheffield (USA) Ineos Grenadiers
7. Oliver Naesen (Bel) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale
8. Dylan Teuns (Bel) Israel-Premier Tech
9. Alberto Bettiol (Ita) EF Education-EasyPost
10. Toms Skujiņš (Lat) Lidl-Trek, all at same time

It happened in a heartbeat. One moment Wout van Aert was locked into the wheel of his teammate, Tiesj Benoot, as the pace ramped up at Dwars door Vlaanderen. The next, he was in a heap on the asphalt with his jersey in tatters, along with his Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix dreams for another year. 

Cycling has shown time and time again that while it can be breathtakingly beautiful, it can also be staggeringly cruel. That was no more evident than in the sight of the Belgian on the tarmac, his back visibly bruised and battered as the pain of all of his preparation being laid to waste overwhelmed him. This will no doubt have hurt more than the broken collarbone, multiple broken ribs and broken sternum which his team later confirmed he had suffered in the crash. 

What can often go unnoticed is the amount of personal sacrifice that professional bike riders make year on year when tailoring their individual seasons towards particular goals. Family birthdays missed, friends' weddings, holidays and other events all skipped in order to fine tune preparation for the likes of Flanders and Roubaix. 

Before Wednesday’s appearance at Dwars door Vlaanderen, Van Aert had spent weeks at altitude on Mount Teide, training hard in order to be at his best for his main targets of the year. According to his Strava account, he racked up more than 75 hours of training in Tenerife and climbed more than 50,000 metres of elevation, all with the aim of building up top physical condition for Flemish Holy Week. 

And in just a handful of seconds, that all went up in smoke. 

Still, despite the loss of their talisman, there was a beacon of hope for Visma-Lease a Bike at Dwars door Vlaanderen. Making the best of a bad situation, Matteo Jorgenson rode aggressively to victory, replicating the success he felt in winning Paris-Nice earlier this month. 

The Dutch team were already missing the injured Christophe Laporte and sick Dylan van Baarle, but the American stepped up when his stricken teammates needed him. 

Post-race, Jorgenson spoke at length about witnessing the crash, explaining that he narrowly escaped being involved himself. On social media, where some users allegedly criticised him for pressing on, the 24-year-old sought to explain his actions.

“After a few seconds of shock having barely escaped myself, I tried as hard as I could to bring myself out of it. As we got onto the foot of the Kanarieberg I felt some responsibility to honor what has gone into this,” Jorgenson wrote. 

“The sheer man-hours, planning, late nights and early mornings put in by our staff and of course all the teammates that had spent 150k dying in the wind to bring us there in the front… Why would I let all of that go to waste? We already lost our leader, our strongest rider and the heart of our classics team, should we then just throw in the towel?”

“I am proud of how Tiesj Benoot and I continued to fight and I hope we honored the display that Wout van Aert was planning to put on. Anyway, see you all Sunday where all of Visma-Lease a Bike will try to do him proud.” 

With the young American in form, and Van Baarle and Laporte potentially back available soon, Visma-Lease a Bike look to be in safe hands for the upcoming Monuments. Don't be surprised to see them honour their fallen leader once again.

Wout van Aert’s target of winning the Tour of Flanders or Paris-Roubaix in the coming fortnight will not be impacted by Visma-Lease a Bike’s illness and injury issues, according to the team's DS, Grischa Niermann.

It was announced earlier this week that the team would be without Christophe Laporte and Dylan van Baarle for Dwars door Vlaanderen on Wednesday. Laporte is suffering from a saddle sore as well as a stomach bug and has also been ruled out of the Tour of Flanders on Easter Sunday. 

Niermann told Cycling Weekly on Tuesday that the loss of Laporte and Van Baarle would be felt but backed the likes of Matteo Jorgenson and Jan Tratnik to fill in for the duo when crunch time in the two Monuments arrives. 

"It’s a big blow, it's not what we planned or what we hoped for but we have to live with it," Niermann said. "We also have Tiesj Benoot, Per Strand Hagenes and Jan Tratnik, who crashed hard recently. For sure the last days absolutely didn’t go according to plan but we have to deal with it. 

"It's also part of life and especially part of cycling. We still have a very strong team and we still believe in the guys who are on the start line. 

"Hopefully Dylan will be ok for Flanders and Christophe will at least be ok for Roubaix but of course, this is not how we mapped it out when we were all sitting together in the winter and when we planned these particular few weeks of the Classics."

Laporte in particular proved himself to be a huge asset for the Dutch team in last year’s Classics winning both Gent-Wevelgem and Dwars. Van Baarle won Omloop Het Nieuwsblad in 2023 and is also himself a former Paris-Roubaix winner. 

Despite being potentially two key allies down on Sunday, Niermann insisted that Van Aert was still in a good place and ready to challenge for victory.

He said: "He’s in a good place, he’s mentally in a good place and he’s feeling fresh and fit. With Wout, we are right in the place that we want to be and we’ll see if that’s enough.

"In the end if Van der Poel ends up being a lot stronger and rides away, then there’s not a lot you can do either with Wout or as a team. But we believe he [Van Aert] is in absolute top shape approaching these races now."

"We have a strong team and have shown that," Niermann added. "Jan Tratnik won Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and we’ve got Matteo Jorgenson who won Paris-Nice and Tiesj Benoot who is always good in these races. 

"We also have a few youngsters like the Van Dijke brothers who have to come in now, at least for tomorrow. There are multiple riders who can still play a role for us in the final next to Wout van Aert in Flanders. 

"But yes, there is no secret that we would rather this was different and have the seven riders that we planned to go to Flanders with in December in top shape and not injured or sick."

As the Classics season rolls on, it has appeared that Lidl-Trek are rapidly becoming a force to be reckoned with. Niermann piled praise onto the American team, who won Gent-Wevelgem last weekend through Mads Pedersen, and said he sees them having a major part to play in the weeks ahead.

"Trek did great in E3 and also, of course, in Gent-Wevelgem," he said. "It was really impressive and they will for sure be a team to look at. Maybe they will be next to us or even be above us as the strongest team.

"So we will see how the race on Sunday plays out,” he added. “A lot of times at the Tour of Flanders it’s the strongest guy that wins but, for sure, Lidl-Trek made a big impression on us.

"They’re a super strong team with a lot of guys in super top shape right now. Chapeau to them with how they played it out at Gent-Wevelgem, it was really nice to see."

After his display of supreme dominance at the E3 Classic on Friday, much of the talk going into Gent-Wevelgem was around whether or not Mathieu van der Poel was beatable. Last year, the question was how do you disrupt the winning machine that was Visma-Lease a Bike. This year, it's the Classics winning double act of Jasper Philipsen and the reigning world champion. 

Mads Pedersen and his teammates answered that question in some style last weekend. It had been evident that Lidl-Trek had a battle plan in place for the Classics. Signs of it coming to life were clear at Milan-San Remo, it was fine tuned at E3, and it came together perfectly on Sunday. 

One rider's, or team’s, dominance in any field of racing can make for a somewhat dull affair for those watching on. Fortunately, Lidl-Trek seem to have grabbed their newfound status with both hands and look capable of upsetting the proverbial apple cart in both the men’s and women’s pelotons in the weeks and races to come. 

Elisa Balsamo has already underlined her status as chief SD Worx disruptor and it looks like Pedersen and Jasper Stuyven are set to follow suit in the men’s field in the coming weeks too. 

As well as this, we have picked out some other plotlines to follow in the coming fortnight once the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix arrive. 

Visma-Lease a Bike weakened by Laporte absence

The reigning European champion, Christophe Laporte, proved himself to be instrumental in much of his team’s Classic success last year. Since joining from Cofidis, Laporte has become a vital cog in the Visma-Lease a Bike machine and a key ally to the likes of Wout van Aert as they go in search of Flanders and Roubaix victory. 

The team announced on Monday that Laporte has been ruled out of Dwars door Vlaanderen, a race he won last year, and the Tour of Flanders this week in what will come as a hammer blow to Van Aert’s big plans. 

According to Visma-Lease a Bike, Laporte is suffering with a stomach bug as well as a problematic saddle sore. 

Since winning Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on Opening Weekend, the team has struggled to reassert its dominance in the races that followed. A spate of illness and injury affecting key riders has been the main issue and Laporte’s condition will only add to their woes. 

The Frenchman will have been one rider earmarked to be last man standing alongside Van Aert in terms of teammates when the sharp end of both upcoming Monuments arrives. 

Laporte’s absence will only add to the expectation already on the shoulders of recently crowned Paris-Nice champion, Matteo Jorgenson. He’s the man that we predict will be highlighted as Van Aert's potential right hand man instead. 

Lidl-Trek continue to flex their tactical muscles

Numbers is the key, according to Lidl-Trek, combined with experience if you want to isolate and ultimately beat Van der Poel in his own backyard this Spring. 

The American team had both in abundance last weekend and the core of the squad will almost certainly stay the same for both Flanders and Roubaix. 

In Stuyven and Pedersen, Trek have two riders as in sync as Alpecin-Deceuninck's Van der Poel and Philipsen and who are both just as willing as the Alpecin duo to bury themselves for one another, a quality not all teams are lucky to possess. 

Expect to see their tactical plan continue to gather momentum as the Classics roll on. It was evident that it was starting to build at San Remo, and has all the qualities to reach the perfect crescendo in the Roubaix velodrome soon. 

FDJ-Suez and Movistar look to upset the favourites

After watching Lidl-Trek of late in the women’s peloton, Sunday showed that other teams are starting to take note of where the likes of SD Worx-Protime may be fallible. 

The general consensus seems to be to go long in order to put them under pressure, or ignite the final kilometres as SD Worx look to assemble their sprint train for Lorena Wiebes. Both Movistar and FDJ-Suez threw caution to the wind and did just that in the closing stages of Sunday’s women’s edition of Gent-Wevelgem. 

Wiebes got the win, but ultimately she was made to work for it. Firstly Emma Norsgaard and Floortje Mackaij got up the road in a bid to shake things up and force some of the favourites teams to chase. Once they were brought back in, FDJ did similar and launched Grace Brown on the attack with just under three kilometres to the line.  

Brown is a strong time triallist, capable of going early and making a move stick. Her attack will have set alarm bells ringing amongst the SD Worx leadout train. Ultimately, it wasn’t to be, but even if it's not Brown, others will have been buoyed by Movistar and FDJ’s tactics last weekend and may try similar to stop Kopecky in both Flanders and Roubaix. 

Laurence Pithie continues to grow in confidence

Even before he pulled on the race leader’s yellow jersey at Paris-Nice, Kiwi Laurence Pithie was already being talked up as a potential Classics future star. 

At the race to the sun, the Groupama-FDJ rider backed up his abilities on the bike with his eloquence off it and similarly to the likes of Remco Evenepoel at an early age, he already seemed perfectly comfortable in the spotlight of elite level bike racing. 

Pithie backed that up last weekend at Gent-Wevelgem, getting amongst it and chucking his weight around against the likes of Van der Poel and Pedersen as they looked to contest the win. He looked right at home too and not at all fazed by the calibre of rider he was up against. 

The New Zealander faded as the race reached its conclusion but will be high on confidence after such a performance. Groupama FDJ appear to have found their ideal Classics man to sit alongside Stefan Küng as their best hope of victory in these settings on the cobbles. 

Alongside up and coming British pro Sam Watson, the French team could have quite some firepower in the races to come. 

Puck Pieterse takes aim at Monument victory

Off-road star Puck Pieterse is still relatively new to road racing, but is already showing herself to be quite the match for some of the disciplines biggest names. 

The Dutch rider finished seventh at Gent-Wevelgem, her longest road race to date, and has already started to talk herself up as a potential Flanders winner. Pieterse has already podiumed this season against Lotte Kopecky, Elisa Balsamo and Wiebes and shown that she is well at home on the WorldTour. 

Flanders is set to be her last appearance of the Classics season before she switches her focus to the Paris Olympics and she told Cyclingnews that she has her eye on the top step of the podium for her final outing this year. 

“With how it’s going now, of course, you have to dream of the highest and I think we have a really good team,” she said. 

“We worked really well together here at Gent-Wevelgem, so I think even winning is possible.”

Since the last time Wout van Aert won one of cycling’s Monuments, Mathieu van der Poel has won four. An alarming stat for the Belgian and one which will no doubt have lingered at the back of his mind after Van der Poel was the first man across the line in the Roubaix velodrome last April. 

Van Aert won Milan-San Remo in 2020 but has failed to add further Monument victories to his palmarès since. For much of his career, he has been unable to escape comparisons with his long term rival and that shows no signs of abating anytime soon. 

The 29-year-old runs the risk of being labelled a Classics nearly man, a perennial runner up, particularly to Van der Poel. However, a rejigged programme in the build up to his Spring campaign this year means it's all in for Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders, it's now or never. 

He has already won once on the cobbles this year, at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, but that will largely count for nothing if he fails to deliver one or both of the big ticket items for Visma-Lease a Bike in a fortnight's time. Kuurne is a Classic, yes, but not one of the same prestige as the crucial races which Van Aert needs to deliver in.

Van Aert already has the kind of trophy cabinet that many pros can only dream of. Nine individual stages at the Tour de France - as well as a green points jersey - and wins at some of cycling’s major one-day races. But with only one Monument to his name, it still seems like there’s something missing when you compare his record to his rival. At 29, time is starting to run out to change that too. 

As well as Roubaix, Van der Poel beat Van Aert at both Milan-San Remo last year and in the World Championships road race in the streets of Glasgow. 

Other than the odd cyclo-cross race and last year’s E3 Saxo Bank Classic, Van Aert has largely been unable to get the better of him of late. It’s been clear that has rattled him in the past, but heading into the next races he says that’s different now after finding peace with his biggest critic, himself. 

After winning E3, Van Aert turned to the television cameras and yelled “Ik moet just niks [I don’t need to do anything]” in a bid to silence his sceptics. But the fact that slipped out suggests Van der Poel having the edge was playing on his mind. 

Delivering this April would finally kick that same self doubt into touch and lift the weight of home expectation from his shoulders for good. 

Van Aert heads into his next races after an altitude camp on Mount Teide in Tenerife. He told Het Laatste Nieuws that he found watching San Remo from afar relaxing and that he is relatively stress free going into the next events on his calendar. This suggests a new approach, one in which he is now at one with himself and less inclined to open the window and let the noise from outside pour in. 

"I've been feeling less pressure for a whole year than I had in the past," he said. "I don't deny that pressure is a challenge to deal with.

"2023 may have been the first time that my season was slightly worse than the year before. Until then I had always done better than expected. That gave me an insight that I shouldn't do it for anyone else other than myself. It gives me a feeling of peace. I shouldn't do this to show someone that I can do it or to prove someone wrong."  

His new zen approach to competition is one which will certainly stand him in good stead. Van Aert doesn’t deserve the label of being a nearly man, but he knows it’s one he will inevitably be given should he fail to deliver on his promise. 

Post-E3 he was right, he shouldn’t have to do anything further in order to prove his worth, but equally, he’ll know that it's the nature of the beast and the circus that is professional cycling and elite sport. 

Win Roubaix or Flanders and then he really doesn’t need to do much more, cycling greatness, will be guaranteed. Cross the line first in a Monument in the next fortnight, and that new found peace will be everlasting, his job will well and truly be done. 

As 2023 draws to a close, we thought it was time to reflect on an exciting year of professional cycling, first by looking back at our favourite races of the year, and then by taking a look at who we'd pick as our riders of the year. There are no real parameters for any of our choices, it's just down to personal opinion. If you vehemently agree, disagree, or want to suggest something, feel free to email adam.becket@futurenet.com.

Paris-Roubaix Femmes - Tom Davidson

I will never forget the moment Roubaix Velodrome fell silent in April. It was only for a second, but when Lotte Kopecky turned onto the beat-up boards, and it became clear she wouldn’t catch the breakaway, the fans in the stands stared in amazement. 

Alison Jackson went on to win Paris-Roubaix Femmes, of course, making history as the first Canadian to win a Monument. The way she crafted that victory was masterful, too. She gambled on the early breakaway, captained it through the race, and then drove it almost single handedly to the line. 

The gap to the chasers swung out and then fell to within seconds. I followed the finale from the big screen in the outdoor velodrome, and I’ve never felt will-they-won’t-they tension like it. 

What I liked most about that race, though, is how much it meant to everyone. Everyone was delighted for Jackson. Her teammates cried as she lifted her cobble trophy. One of the first people to congratulate her was Kopecky, the day’s big favourite, who gave her former teammate a long, warm hug. 

When I interviewed Jackson for our latest mag issue, she told me that people now stop her in the street to tell her what it meant to them. “They tell me where they were when they watched the race,” she said. “I mean, it’s my experience, it’s my life, I won the race, and it’s my achievement, but it’s bigger than me. It meant a lot to a lot of different people who watched it and were inspired by it.” 

Giro d'Italia - James Shrubsall

There's always something a bit special about the Giro d'Italia. The first Grand Tour of the season and invariably beautiful, it's highly anticipated every year.

This season offered a little bit extra though, with an 'up to 11' GC battle that had something for everyone and enthralling side shows that included a superb battle for sprinting supremacy, and the emergence of exciting riders such as Ben Healy and Derek Gee.

The race began with much-fancied Remco Evenepoel taking an emphatic win in the opening time trial and taking charge of the GC in what would turn out to be Act I of a three-part drama.

Act II came about when Evenepoel was forced to retire after falling ill – but not before winning the race's second time trial on stage nine. 

Geraint Thomas inherited Evenepoel's maglia rosa, and while it was awarded by default, he went on to earn it good and proper over the next 10 stages, with some great riding as the mountains began to bite in week three. His campaign was also characterised by attempting to put as much time into Primož Roglič – now his main rival – ahead of the final mountain time trial.

But Roglič remained within 26sec, setting up a nail-biting finale that ultimately satisfied a third set of GC fans thanks to a 40sec win by the Slovenian for a narrow 14 second victory in Rome the next day.

Tour of Flanders - Adam Becket

I’d been to the Tour of Flanders as a journalist before, but this year I went as a fan. It is safe to say I preferred the latter. The day before the race, I completed the smallest version of the race’s sportive, so I really got to see how horrible the bergs of Flanders are for myself; the Koppenberg and Paterberg are truly as horrible as they look on TV, while the Oude Kwaremont is surprisingly my idea of fun. 

Race day itself, I was stood at the side of the Kwaremont as first Tadej Pogačar and then Lotte Kopecky surged past. Both the men’s and women’s Flanders were outstanding races, made all the better by the fact I was witness to the crucial parts of the whole day, as both winning attacks took place on the storied cobbles of the Kwaremont. The fact both winners were also - arguably - the best riders in the world really helps cement this in my head as the best race of the year, and it is also aided by the Belgian beer I was imbibing.

Truth told, I might choose Flanders every year, as I truly think it is the perfect race, but the battle in both the men’s and women’s races, paired with the crushing inevitablity and power of the winners in the end, made these editions special. 

It's just a shame that the crowds were so much bigger for Pogačar than they were for Kopecky.

World Championships men's elite MTB XCO - Tom Thewlis

I had never seen a mountain bike race in person before this summer so I was determined to rectify that at the World Championships in Scotland. 

Getting to witness Pidcock’s gold medal ride in the cross-country race in Glentress Forest certainly didn’t disappoint. 

Once the action got underway it was a solid reminder as to why he is the current reigning Olympic champion. He dominated the final laps of the course with several well-measured, explosive efforts which kept Sam Gaze at bay. 

Even more impressive was the fact that he pulled it all off despite late issues with malfunctioning gears. A remarkable feat considering the calibre of riders that he had breathing down his neck at that point. 

Once Pidcock had distanced his rivals it was simply beguiling to watch what happened next as he thundered to victory. It had all the hallmarks of an athlete well and truly at the top of his game and it was a real pleasure to witness in person. 

Bahrain Victorious rider Filip Maciejuk has been handed a 30 day suspension from racing for causing a crash at the Tour of Flanders.

The Polish rider was judged to have been “riding outside of the race course and through a puddle on the roadside” when he crashed and caused a mass pile-up, wiping out most of the peloton.

Footage of the incident was broadcast live and supports the UCI’s conclusions.

Maciejuk did not come down in the incident and was able to continue but he was later disqualified from the race.

His ban from racing started yesterday and will last for a full month.

Riders riding off the road to move up the side of the bunch has long been a bone of contention in cycling, especially in Belgium where good quality cycle paths frequently border the road.

Speaking on the Watt Occuring podcast in the wake of the incident in the sprint Ineos Grenadiers road captain Luke Rowe said: “He made a massive mistake but I feel sorry for him. He is public enemy number one, maybe I shouldn't feel sorry for him because he caused a lot of people to break their bones.

"We were at dinner last night and Kurt Bogaerts [Ineos Grenadiers sports director] was there and he read an article from one of the big Belgian news sites... and I don't know what his name is but it said 'his name: the guy who ruined the Tour of Flanders'. Imagine that being you."

At the time UCI Peter Van Den Abeele had said that he “wanted to make an example” of Maciejuk.

Shortly after the incident that occurred over 100km into the race when the bunch was travelling at high speed, Maciejuk took to Twitter to apologise.

He wrote: “I’m really sorry for my mistake and causing the crash today. I hope all those involved are in good health and safe. This should not happen and was a big error in my judgement.

“I had no intention of causing this. All I can do now is apologise for my mistake and learn from this in the future. Sorry again to the peloton, my teammates and the fans.”

Maciejuk is generally considered one of Poland’s best prospects for success at the world’s highest level.

The cobbled Classics are finally over for 2023, with the weather getting too nice for any serious racing to continue in northern Europe. Brabantse Pijl on Wednesday brought the curtain down on what has been a thrilling series of races in Belgium and northern France, all threaded together by their use of off-tarmac roads at times.

Before we go charging into the Ardennes Classics and then the Grand Tours too fast, though, there is time to look back and try and draw some conclusions from the eight races which make up this block, which started with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad all the way back in February.

Jumbo-Visma won five on the bounce, before ultimately failing on the two biggest stages of all, the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. The big three of Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma), Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) animated every race they were in, with the latter two winning Roubaix and Flanders respectively.

There were surprises and shocks throughout the eight races from Omloop to Brabantse Pijl, with riders like Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost) and Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar) both announcing themselves in these races. More than anything else, Movistar being good on the cobbles is a fun new thing.

Just seven riders completed every cobbled Classic: Greg van Avermaet, Oliver Naesen and Stan Dewulf (all AG2R Citroën), Tom Van Asbroeck (Israel-Premier Tech), Christophe Noppe (Cofidis), Alex Colman (Flanders Baloise) and Matteo Trentin (UAE Team Emirates). Chapeau to them.

Here's five lessons we picked up.

Jumbo-Visma were perfect, until they weren't

There was a point, after Dwars door Vlaanderen and ahead of the Tour of Flanders, where it seemed that Jumbo-Visma were unstoppable when it came to the cobbles.

At Dwars door Vlaanderen, Christophe Laporte won; at Gent-Wevelgem, it was Laporte again, ahead of Wout van Aert; at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Dylan van Baarle triumphed. In the E3 Saxo Classic, Van Aert triumphed, while his teammate Tiesj Benoot won Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne.

This meant that Jumbo-Visma has won five out of the five cobbled Classics they have raced this season, a feat that no other team has achieved this century. Various iterations of Quick-Step have come close, winning three of the five in 2019, 2012 and 2007, but never a clean sweep.

Jumbo were so dominant at Gent-Wevelgem - a WorldTour one-day Classic - that Van Aert had the ability to effectively gift the win to Laporte, which kicked off a whole debate over whether that was good form or not.

The Dutch team just seemed like they would not stop winning, and yet, when it really mattered at Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, it did not happen. 

These races are longer and harder, of course, but Van Aert simply did not have the legs to keep up with Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogačar at Flanders, and suffered bad luck at Roubaix, with a puncture at the crucial time.

It was proof that you can have the strongest team in the world, but when it comes down to it, legs and luck are the only things that matter.

Mathieu van der Poel has won almost everything he can on the road

With his victory at Paris-Roubaix last Sunday, Mathieu van der Poel is filling up his palmarès pretty quickly. The Dutch Alpecin-Deceuninck rider has now won Strade Bianche, Milan-San Remo, the Tour of Flanders (twice), Paris-Roubaix, stages of the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France, the Amstel Gold Race, and more.

The only obvious hole on his record, so far, is a World Championship road race win, something that is well within his abilities. As for other races he could win, and possibly should, there are the other cobbled Classics, like Omloop, E3 and Gent-Wevelgem. He has finished in the top-five in the latter two.

This is the level the flying Dutchman is now at, with his almost-complete record. He won't win a Grand Tour, but could he challenge at Liège-Bastogne-Liège? The fourth Monument is hilly, but then he has won sixth there before, so it doesn't seem impossible. Il Lombardia will probably be out of his reach, however.

Tadej Pogačar should target Paris-Roubaix

Speaking of someone with a quickly-filling palmarès, Tadej Pogačar ticked another career goal off with a win at the Tour of Flanders in early April. The Slovenian has only raced Flanders twice, but has quickly taken to cobbled racing, with top tens at Dwars door Vlaanderen and the E3 Saxo Classic to add to his Flanders victory.

He has never raced Paris-Roubaix, and is very much the opposite from the typical rider that does well at the Hell of the North. Just look at some of the riders in the top ten last weekend, and you will see the pattern: Stefan Küng, Filippo Ganna, Van der Poel, John Degenkolb and Max Walscheid.

Pogačar is incredibly light compared to these rouleur types, and switching to Roubaix would mean a change in his career and his approach, which to date has centred around the Tour de France. However, if anyone could win all five monuments it would be the UAE Team Emirates rider. He has the willpower and the bike handling skills, he just needs the experience, and possibly the weight.

He already has Flanders, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and Il Lombardia, and you could see him claiming Milan-San Remo too, so why not target Roubaix? 

Ineos Grenadiers promised so much, but failed to deliver

Fifth at Omloop, 24th at Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne, 10th at the E3 Saxo Classic, 13th at Gent-Wevelgem, 11th at Dwars door Vlaanderen, 25th at the Tour of Flanders, sixth at Paris-Roubaix and 10th at Brabantse Pijl is not a bad return for Ineos Grenadiers, but it does not live up to the super-team's expectations.

Injuries and illness hampered the squad, with Tom Pidcock, Magnus Sheffield and Ben Turner being out at various times through the Classics season. The team is also young, and so cannot be relied upon in the same way as Jumbo-Visma's bank of experienced pros. Pidcock is clearly the star, but he does not seem at quite at the same level as Pogačar, Van der Poel, and Van Aert.

What should be said also is that there evolution into a Classics team is still ongoing, and it won't be a quick process, if it's a process the team wants to happen at all. 

Despite all this, after a stellar 2022, their 2023 disappointed.

Here come the Americans

Coming into 2023, I think it would have been a surprise for anyone to hear that there would be two Americans in the top ten at the Tour of Flanders. Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost) and Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar) finished fifth and ninth, respectively, in the cobbled Classic, proving that racing in northern Europe is not just for northern Europeans.

It followed two other standout results in other Classics, with Powless finishing on the podium of Dwars, and Jorgenson finishing fourth at the E3 Saxo Classic. It obviously helped that both were in storming form coming in the Belgian block of one-day races, but their best ever performances on the cobbles should be noted.

Both also represent something different for their teams, with neither EF or Movistar known for their prowess in these races - aside for Alberto Bettiol's victory in the Tour of Flanders for the former back in 2019.

This could be a one-off year, but if Powless and Jorgenson can continue this form, then the Star-Spangled Banner might be heard ringing out at the end of one of these races soon.

They say that, at a bike race in Belgium, you’re never more than 200m away from a chip van (US translation: french fries van). The Tour of Flanders is no exception. 

At the start line of the season's first cobbled Monument, the race organisers asked the pros what they like to douse over their chips. The answers, let’s say, were mixed. 

“Ketchup,” said two-time Tour de France winner Tadej Pogačar, giving what many Brits would deem the correct response. 

For Mads Pedersen and Lotte Kopecky, mayonnaise was the condiment of choice. 

Then there was Mathieu van der Poel, Milan-San Remo winner and cyclo-cross extraordinaire. “Mayonnaise and curry ketchup,” the Dutchman said frankly. Now, call me uncultured, but what on earth is curry ketchup? 

A cursory Google search tells me it’s common in mainland Europe, particularly Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands, Van der Poel’s home country. The same Wikipedia page explains that the main ingredients in curry ketchup are, yep you guessed it, tomato ketchup and curry powder. 

Well, for all my scoffing, it appears Van der Poel had the last laugh. When the race was finished and the chips were served, cobble conquerors Pogačar and Kopecky seemed non-plussed. In fact, they actively said they didn’t want their spoils. 

Van der Poel, however, like a pubgoer after a heavy session, stared dreamily at his curry-ketchup-covered snack, and tucked straight in. Bosh. 

This weekend, I’m in Roubaix for the second, and final, instalment of the cobbled Monuments. As a vegan at a bike race, chip vans are my best friend. Now inspired by Van der Poel’s contentment, I’ll be seeking out his preferred dipping sauce. Avez-vous du ketchup au curry, I'll ask, and I'll lather it on generously.

Who knows, maybe I’ll buy an extra portion for Mathieu to enjoy in the velodrome. 

1. Find yourself someone who looks at you the way Mathieu van der Poel looks at chips and curry ketchup

2. Never let the rain spoil your barbie

3. *cue Rocky-style montage of Elisa Balsamo*

4. Let's see how many of our 100 people can name a stage winner of Itzulia Basque Country

5. Speeding tickets guaranteed with Lorena Wiebes at the wheel

6. T-1 day

7. Lads, you're going to need a bigger shovel

8. I'm dreaming of a muddy Roubaix, just like the one two years ago

9. Josh Tarling is set to become the youngest male competitor at Paris-Roubaix since 1937. Allez Josh, indeed

10. Alison Jackson's got moves, but we're not sure this one's going to catch on

Belgian cycling legend Philippe Gilbert has praised Soudal Quick-Step’s Kasper Asgreen ahead of this Sunday’s Paris-Roubaix, and believes he can continue to build on his form at the ‘Hell of the North’.

Speaking to Cycling Weekly, Gilbert- a former winner of both the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix - explained that he was impressed by Asgreen’s Ronde van Vlaanderen performance, and believes it’s a good sign ahead of the final cobbled Monument of the Spring.

“Asgreen had a great race, of course,” Gilbert said. “After the huge crash happened because of the Bahrain rider, the race was finished for Lampaert and Alaphilippe. They were caught in the crash and suffered from it, and they never recovered.”

Coming into the Tour of Flanders, Soudal Quick-Step had struggled for form throughout the current Classics campaign.

In a press conference before ‘De Ronde’, Patrick Lefevere, the team’s general manager, called for the likes of Julian Alaphilippe, Kasper Asgreen and their teammates to “save the team’s honour”.

After spending much of the day in the breakaway before ultimately finishing seventh, Asgreen put in a solid performance which would have eased some of the pain amongst the camp after the team failed to make much of an impact this Spring on what was once their playground.  

“I talked to him [Asgreen] after the finish,” Gilbert added. “After the crash, all the pressure was on him. It was great that he could still manage to get away with the group that he did, and get his chance to be in the position to win.”

“I know that when you get deep in the final of either race, your legs are speaking more than anything else.”  

Meanwhile, Jumbo-Visma’s Wout van Aert will be able to call upon the support of last year’s Roubaix winner Dylan van Baarle on Sunday.

Having another strong teammate to rely upon will be welcome dby Van Aert, after he slipped out of contention during Flanders after the Kruisberg climb.

Gilbert explained that despite Jumbo-Visma’s dominance this Spring, he feels that Van Aert is racing more conservatively compared to his 2022 Spring campaign. On Opening Weekend last year, Van Aert began his season with a scintillating Omloop Het Nieuwsblad win.

“He’s there, and he still wins like at E3, and is having a great season,” Gilbert said. “But I don’t think he’s the Van Aert that we’re used to seeing. Like when he won last year at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, he dropped everyone else, and was taking time on ten guys behind him. He was just gaining more time during every kilometre.”

“Now you can see that he’s counting his efforts a bit more, and things like that.”
Watch Legend: Philippe Gilbert on GCN+ via the GCN+ App, Smart TV or any web browser. Philippe will be providing in-race analysis from the back of a motorbike throughout Eurosport GCN coverage of the Grand Tours, available live and on demand (territory restrictions apply). 

The UCI has confirmed that it is investigating the large crash at the Tour of Flanders, as well as road-blocking tactics used by DSM during the race.

According to Sporza and Cyclingnews, the world governing body is considering further disciplinary action against Bahrain Victorious rider Filip Maciejuk, after his actions caused a massive crash during last Sunday’s race. 

Maciejuk was seen moving up along the outside of the peloton at speed with 140 kilometres of the cobbled monument left to race. He then ran out of road, careered through a grass verge and through a ditch filled with standing water. At that point, he lost control of his bike and swayed back across the road into the peloton.

After he touched wheels with one rider, that then sparked off a domino effect, with multiple riders hitting the floor at speed.

Casualties included Tim Wellens of UAE Emirates, who was subsequently forced to abandon with a broken collarbone. Ben Turner (Ineos Grenadiers) broke his arm in the incident, and former Ronde van Vlaanderen winner Peter Sagan (TotalEnergies) was also forced  to abandon in what was his final appearance in the race.

Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) was also caught up in the mass crash, although he was able to swiftly remount his bike and continue racing.

After the incident was reviewed by the video referee, Maciejuk was immediately disqualified, and pulled from the race. Despite the fact that he quickly apologised on social media, the UCI is considering further action against him.

“We want to set an example,” UCI coordinator Peter Van Den Abeele told Sporza. “His manoeuvre was absolutely wrong. You can never jeopardise the safety of your fellow riders.”

“Further measures could definitely follow. He will appear before the disciplinary committee. A possible suspension and/or additional fine is then not excluded. We can’t let this pass,” he added.

Riders have regularly used gutters, bike paths, pavements, and even dirt sections along the edge of roads to move up in a race situation.  However mass crashes and consequent dangers to the public have forced the UCI to introduce stricter rules, and punishments for those that break them.

“We were criticised when we introduced the rule against riding on a footpath, but the consequences [on Sunday] were significant for riders like Tim Wellens,” Van Den Abeele explained.

“It is a negative trend and we need to get rid of it. We want to set an example and send a signal to the riders that we are all responsible for safety.”

The UCI has also confirmed that it is investigating DSM’s use of road-blocking tactics during Flanders.

With roughly 126 kilometres left to race, the peloton were on to the Korteeker climb. At that point, DSM’s John Degenkolb and four of his teammates massed at the front of the peloton, forcing the race to slow to almost a walking pace. Some riders were forced to unclip, and put a foot down. Suddenly, the DSM riders then accelerated at the front of the peloton after the initial reduction in pace.

While the tactic didn’t influence the overall race, it attracted lots of criticism on social media, including from eventual runner up Mathieu van der Poel.

The Dutch rider posted a video of the incident on his Twitter page with a sarcastic comment that read “chapeau DSM”.

Eddy Merckx also called the behaviour “dangerous”.

Trek-Segafredo tried a similar move during last Wednesday’s Dwars door Vlaanderen, and the UCI will now investigate the use of the tactic on both occasions.

"We have also noticed this trend," Van Den Abeele said. 

"We will analyse that tactic in more detail. Everyone must be able to defend their chances, but this strategy is very far-reaching."

At 4.05pm on Sunday, Tadej Pogačar powered up the Oude Kwaremont, racing away from his rivals on the fabled cobbled climb near the end of the Tour of Flanders. As he was catching Mads Pedersen and taking the race away from Mathieu van der Poel, the Slovenian was hemmed in by thousands of fans screaming his name, cheering him on, desperate to catch a glimpse - and it was a glimpse, as he flew by - celebrating the biggest Belgian race of the year.

As soon as the 100 or so riders still in the race passed, the crowds surged towards the big screen to watch the denouement of the men's race, which happened at about 4.27pm, to see the UAE Team Emirates rider make history, watch the sprint for third place, and refill their glasses.

Just over half an hour later, at 5.16pm, Lotte Kopecky flew up the same hellish cobbled road, going on to make history as the first ever Belgian to win twice, let alone twice in a row. This time, however, the SD Worx rider was hemmed in by tens, maybe hundreds, not the thousands that had been there for the men's race. 

This time, there was no surge towards the big screen, just a dribble. There were less than twenty people watching the sprint for second place in the women's race, despite it being just an hour later. Entertainment seemed to be provided more by the two topless Flemings chugging beers than the elite athletes racing for their lives in front of us.

Safe to say, this was disappointing, and must have been a different experience for the riders. 

The CEO of Flanders Classics, the organisers of the Tour of Flanders, Tomas Van Den Spiegel, took to Twitter on Monday morning to boast of the women's race's TV viewing figures - 1,030,099 - a record for De Ronde, which is no doubt impressive, and good for the business side of the sport. 

His point was that this has increased massively since the race occurred before the men's race, which one assumes they have tested to ensure the most eyeballs stay on screens for the women. It makes sense - if you are watching the end of the men's race in a bar or at home, why wouldn't you simply carry on watching for the women's race? It's the same thing.

The TV viewing figures might be strong, but the roadside scenes were very depressing. For so-called cycling fans, some of whom had been on the Kwaremont for hours, the exodus that followed the men's race was baffling.

The women might not quite be at the same level of fame as the men, but they are just as impressive, and the spectacle is more or less exactly the same, just with different team colours and more hair.

What could possibly be more important than sticking around for 45 minutes to show support for some of the best cyclists in the world? Desperately needing to get to the Europop party in Oudenaarde is not going to cut it as an excuse, I'm afraid.

It was the same at the women's presentation in Oudenaarde, when FDJ Suez were on stage and the men's race whizzed past, and everyone surged to catch a one-second glimpse of their favourite male rider rather than paying attention to the just-as-important event happening behind them. The fact the two races are effectively in competition with each other seems odd.

Women's cycling is often more dynamic and exciting that men's racing, in my opinon, as it follows less of a formulaic approach and there is a bigger pool of potential winners for any race, so why wouldn't people want to watch it? Beyond hegemonic patriarchy reasons, of course. Sure, SD Worx might have dominated the cobbled Classics this year, but so has Jumbo-Visma on the men's side.

I appreciate that telling people off for not watching is not a productive approach, but it does anger me that so-called cycling fans can be so dismissive or ignorant of women's racing in 2023. It could be so much better.

As far as I can see, there are three options open to the Tour of Flanders, all of which have their advantages and disadvantages:

- The women's race goes up the Kwaremont and finishes before the men do it for a final time, ensuring that the crowds are already there, and will not be going anywhere. However, this would mean less people watched it on television, and the crowds might still be more interested in getting tanked up than watching the exciting sport happening.

- The women's race goes up after the men's race, as is now. The crowds are - in theory - already there, and TV coverage can switch straight over, which is good for figures. However, it is clear a culture change would need to happen for this to properly be effective.

- The women's race happens on a separate day, potentially the Saturday to the men's on Sunday, as will happen at Paris-Roubaix this weekend. This does mean that the two races are not in competition with each other, and that both can be fully focussed on. However, there would likely be less viewers on TV and in person for the women's race, as it is a less popular event. However, it would allow it to grow on its own. Another point is that the Flanders sportive is on the Saturday, so there might be more than a few logistical issues.

I don't have the answer, but I continue to be frustrated at the lack of interest in women's cycling, when it's basically the same product, just with different faces and tactics. It's often more interesting too.

Perhaps this should be aimed at the people at Flanders, who were apparently more interested in wrestling in the mud rather than watching the women's race, but we all need to make a concerted effort to support women's cycling, which is still basically in its infancy. The women's Tour of Flanders has only existed for twenty years, compared to the men's 110. We need to make the change.

Of course, some of that change comes from people like us in the cycling media, but it is incumbent on all of us to make people pay attention to people like Kopecky.

As is often the case in elite sport, particularly boxing, athletes have a tendency to regularly lay out grand statements of intent relating to certain goals or targets they intend on meeting. However, being prepared to do so also risks things spectacularly blowing up in your face.

Whether it’s a major Champions League clash, or a prize Las Vegas fight, you need to be confident in your own ability if you’re going to publicly lay out your game plan. Not only does it risk exposing your intentions to your rivals, it also risks scrutiny if it goes horribly wrong.

The same applies to winning arguably cycling’s toughest Monument.

Before ‘De Ronde’ got underway, Tadej Pogačar made clear that in order to win the Tour of Flanders, he would need to arrive in Oudenaarde alone. A risky move, although not if you’ve got the firepower to back it up.  

After being outfoxed by Mathieu van der Poel 12 months ago, it felt somewhat inevitable that Pogačar would return to Flanders in the best form possible this year, and this time there would be no need for a final sprint to decide the winner. The race would already be long sewn up.

As the race played out, Pogačar stayed true to his pre-race assessment, and there was a certain sense of defiance about each of his attacks as he looked to slowly weaken Wout van Aert and Van der Poel. He would simply not allow a similar finale to 2022, this time there was no way anyone was coming to the line with him.  

Each time the trio of favourites reached the vicious double header of the Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg climbs, it was evident that the UAE Emirates man had done his homework. As the longest section of climbing in the race, this was the point to make his mark.

Van Aert had been distanced, and the Slovenian then slowly softened up his remaining challengers, before breaking them on the final ascent. When the elastic finally snapped, it snapped in style. 

Pogačar’s final knockout punch on the Kwaremont had enough bite to rival a Muhammed Ali right hook. It was devastating, it was simply unanswerable, and after surviving the first few blows, there was no way Van der Poel was getting back up off the canvas this time. 

“Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee,” as the saying goes, and that’s exactly what Pogačar did, floating over the cobblestones, before stinging when it mattered.

It’s highly unusual to see the Slovenian on his limit. Even when he’s been well on the way to both of his Grand Tour victories, he’s looked ice cool, fresh and composed as he’s put more and more time into the opposition. It just looked too easy each time.

Although as he flicked between gritted teeth, and gasping for air, we saw Pogačar truly on his limit when the Kwaremont began to bite. It was going to take something truly gargantuan to beat Classics stars in the ilk of Van der Poel in their own backyard, and he continued to push through the pain as the Paterberg arrived moments later.

Tour de France winners aren’t supposed to win the Ronde van Vlaanderen, it’s just not the done thing. Only legendary figures such as Louison Bobet and Eddy Merckx have trodden that path before, and then eventually pulled it off. Pogačar has now followed, and simply continues to transcend what some perceive as being possible in a modern day Tour de France winner.
 

Pogačar puts his money where his mouth is, and if he says he’ll win one of the biggest one-day races on the WorldTour calendar, then you can bet your bottom dollar that he will. You can’t learn or buy that kind of talent or confidence.

In his post-race interview, he was asked all about the prospect of becoming one of a select few riders to win all of cycling’s five Monuments. As things stand, the Slovenian is missing a Paris-Roubaix and Milan-San Remo trophy in what must currently be a slightly overflowing cabinet. Although he was quick to bat away any initial hype around that potential target as he basked in the glory of what he had only just achieved.

“I don’t know if I can answer this question or not. We will see in the future,” he said. “I just ride my race and I’m just happy that I can compete in all those different races like Flanders, the Tour, the Ardennes and Milan-San Remo.”

However, the fact remains that Pogačar continues to defy logic and expectation, and once the dust has settled on Flanders, few would bet against him joining that elite members club only occupied by Eddy Merckx, Rik Van Looy and Roger De Vlaeminck in the years ahead.  

The race-winning Strava file from Sunday’s Tour of Flanders shows Tadej Pogačar bagged a handful of KOMs, including the paired segment of the Oude Kwaremont and the Paterberg.

So fast was the Slovenian’s ride that it was briefly flagged on the ride-sharing app, to question whether he might have broken the platform’s guidelines. His times have since been accepted to the leaderboards, and reveal the extent of his dominance as he added a third Monument to his palmarès. 

Although his race-winning move came on the penultimate climb, Pogačar's KOM achievements were earned earlier in the day. He bagged four new Strava trophies when he launched a stinging attack with 55km to go, powering away to bridge across to the leading group. 

Steered onto the Oude Kwaremont by his team-mate Rui Oliveira, the duo became the joint holders of the 640m ‘Oude Kwaremont until pavé’ segment, averaging 43.7km/h into the foot of the climb. 

The Slovenian then rampaged up the cobbled street, claiming the ‘Oude Kwaremont Pt1’ segment, and the full climb of the ‘Oude Kwaremont’. On the latter, which is hidden from Pogačar's ride, the eventual race winner clocked four minutes and 29 seconds, toppling Kasper Asgreen’s 2021 time by four seconds. 

From there, Pogačar's Strava blitz continued onto the Paterberg. For the 5.39km ‘Oude Kwaremont + Paterberg’ segment, he averaged 37.6km/h, recording a time of eight minutes and 36 seconds. This puts him on par at the top of the leaderboard with his compatriot Jan Tratnik, now of Jumbo-Visma, who went the same speed during last year’s race. 

According to ProCyclingStats, this year’s men’s race broke records as the fastest-ever edition of the Tour of Flanders. Pogačar's winning time saw him become the first rider to average in excess of 44km/h over the course, beating the previous record of 43.576km/h, held by Gianluca Bortolami since 2001. 

The race’s high speed comes in part due to its lightning-quick start, in which the peloton covered almost 100km in the first two hours. 

Two-time Tour de France champion Pogačar will next be in action at the Ardennes Classics, and is expected to take the start line at the trio of Amstel Gold Race, La Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liege later this month. 

Kasper Asgreen is Soudal Quick-Step’s best hope of saving their Classics campaign 

Soudal Quick-Step’s Kasper Asgreen was one of a handful of riders in the days breakaway who looked at one point like they could push on for the win in Oudenaarde.

The Danish rider was regularly on the front of the lead group, pulling for longer than some of his compatriots in an attempt to keep a certain rampaging Slovenian at bay. 

Coming into the race, Asgreen’s Quick-Step team had struggled for form during the current campaign, and big things were expected from the Dane as a former winner of ‘De Ronde’ once the race got underway. 

“Save the teams honour,” said Quick-Step general manager Patrick Lefevere in a pre-race press conference, and with his defiant display in the breakaway, Asgreen did just that.

The win may not have materialised, but what we saw was a battling ride, proving that Quick-Step have fight in them yet, and can never be discounted in their own back yard.

Not only that, but with Paris-Roubaix fast-approaching, it appears that Asgreen is starting to find some form at just the right time. If he has his Flanders legs on the cobbles of the Arenberg next weekend, then Asgreen should certainly be considered as a potential dark horse for the Paris-Roubaix title. 

JUMBO-VISMA ARE MORTAL AFTER ALL

One of the major takeaways from this years edition of ‘De Ronde’ was that after their supreme dominance in weeks gone by, Jumbo-Visma have a chink in their armour, and aren’t as unbeatable as so many perceived.

After fighting so valiantly on the Kwaremont, and then sending his key lieutenant Christophe Laporte into the melee earlier than he may have liked, Wout van Aert finally cracked on the Kruisberg, and would cut a lonely figure as he parted the crowds on the way to the final ascent of the Kwaremont.

In the end, it was Mathieu van der Poel, not Pogačar, who finally distanced Belgium’s great hope. Although it didn’t matter. It was now out in the open that despite their five Cobbled classic victories out of five in the build up, Jumbo-Visma were just as fallible as the next team.

How much of a difference it would have made if the likes of Dylan van Baarle had been available, we’ll never know. Although after this kind of capitulation in the Ronde van Vlaanderen, Wout van Aert is likely to come out swinging on the cobbles of Roubaix next weekend.   

Tadej's bike is pretty quick for a Colnago 

As Tadej Pogačar crossed the line and celebrated his win, news filtered through that the 2023 edition of ‘De Ronde’ had been the quickest since records began.

Although don’t you ever get the feeling that if he had been riding the bike of say Wout van Aert, Tom Pidcock, or maybe even Neilson Powless, then he could have set an even quicker time? It would have definitely shaved ten-seconds off, or maybe even more.

As he rampaged to victory, it was hard to do nothing other than just sit back, relax and admire the sheer brilliance of the Slovenian, as well as the masterful design and skill that went into putting together the latest Colnago V4RS that Pogačar rode on Sunday.

Just before Milan-San Remo, ex-Belgian professionals Dirk de Wolf and Tom Boonen claimed that Pogacar’s bike was of the “old school” variety. 

Although it certainly didn’t seem to hold him back once he took flight on the Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg for the final time, before eventually winning the fastest ever edition of the race with a record speed of 44.1 kmph.  

That's now eight single victories in 2023 for the two-time Tour de France champion, not too bad indeed. 

Lotte Kopecky can more than handle the expectation of a nation  

As Lotte Kopecky crossed the line and punched the air on Sunday, it was the 27-year-old delivering on the hopes of a nation, and proving that she can more than handle expectation on the biggest of stages.

That’s two consecutive Flanders titles for the SD Worx rider, and it would be unwise to bet against her completing the hattrick next year.

In a race that has been so heavily dominated by Belgian riders, the country simply expects a strong showing from its star names in ‘De Ronde’. To some that may seem stifling, and overbearing, although not if you’re Kopecky.

When she made her decisive move on the Oude Kwaremont, she didn’t hesitate, setting such a relentless pace that Silvia Persico simply couldn’t live with. Not only that, but she had the fortune of thousands of Duvel-fuelled fans lining the roadside screaming her name.   

“I think I was deaf when I got up the Kwaremont. It was a lot of people cheering, that was very nice,” Kopecky said post-race.  

Fred Wright is well on the way to becoming a Classics star

Despite finishing one place back in eighth compared to his seventh in 2022, Great Britain’s Fred Wright showed that he truly belongs with the big guns at the Tour of Flanders and can more than handle himself when the race reaches crunch time.

As we knew after his exploits last season, Wright is an astute breakaway artist, and possesses an outstanding ability to read moves from others as they happen. As the day's breakaway formed, he looked like he firmly belonged alongside proven Classics stars of the ilk of Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo), and it was Neilson Powless, not Wright, who onlookers were left surprised at.

The American is only just beginning to attempt to forge a reputation as a rider who can cope with the cobbled climbs of Belgium, whereas Wright is fast becoming someone you just expect to be there.

As this upward trajectory continues, it feels like a major win is just a matter of time for the Londoner.

Lotte Kopecky won her second successive Tour of Flanders as SD Worx’s phenomenal spring Classics campaign continued with yet another win.

Kopecky came good on her favourite status by animating the race in the final 50km and finally shaking Silvia Persico of UAE-Team ADQ off her wheel on the day’s final ascent of the Oude Kwaremont.

With two SD Worx riders controlling the chase group behind, Kopecky was able to build a substantial lead and she crossed the line in Oudenaarde 36 seconds ahead of the chasing group to defend her title after beating Annemiek van Vleuten a year earlier.

Her teammate Demi Vollering won a seven-rider bunch sprint for second, with Persico just missing out on third place to former race winner Elisa Longo Borghini of Trek-Segafredo. 

Victory for Kopecky means that SD Worx have now won seven of the spring Classics, with Kopecky previously winning Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Danilith Nokere Koerse. 

She is only the second female rider to win the race in consecutive editions, following in the footsteps of Dutchwoman Mirjam Melchers won won in 2005 and 2006.

How it happened

Just like in the men’s race earlier in the day, the women seemed reluctant to let a breakaway go, and it wasn’t until around 85km to go that Ally Wollaston of AG Insurance - Soudal QuickStep was able to jump off the front and be permitted a small lead. After 30km solo, the Australian was then joined by Elinor Barker (Uno-X) and Elise Chabbey (Canyon-Sram).

As the Koppenberg approached at the 46km marker, Annemiek van Vleuten fell to the ground. The world champion remounted after refitting her chain, but the Dutchwoman was forced to chase at the worst possible time with attacks about to start at the front.

The leading trio were caught just before the Koppenberg, and SD Worx blew the race apart on the steep cobbles, with Marlen Reusser, Lorena Wiebes and Kopecky cresting the climb together along with Persico of UAE-Team ADQ. 

Onto the Taaienberg and Weibes was dropped, but Reusser and Kopecky looked in fine fettle. That was until the Kruisberg when an acceleration from Kopecky caused carnage: first, Reusser was dropped, with Persico the only able to keep pace, while behind the chase group fractured. Kopecky and Persico’s lead had trebled to 30 seconds as result of their attack on the climb.

Ahead of the final ascents of the Kwaremont and Paterberg, the duo had a lead of 25 seconds. The moment they turned onto the former, Kopecky attacked and Persico was unable to follow the Belgian.

Within a minute Kopecky was driving towards a second successive win, her lead stretching from a few seconds to a whopping 50 seconds before she tackled the final climb of the day, the Paterberg.

Up and over the cobbled berg, Kopecky went into time trial mode to ensure that she arrived into Oudenaarde with plenty of time to spare, while the second group of the road - that contained two of Kopecky’s SD Worx teammates, Vollering and Reusser - grew to six towards the finish.

Kopecky was able to coast across the line, with Vollering jubilantly celebrating winning the sprint for second, and Borghini just pipping Persico to third.

Results: Tour of Flanders (157km)

1. Lotte Kopecky (Bel) SD Worx, in 4-06.11
2. Demi Vollering (Ned) SD Worx, at 36s
3. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
4. Silvia Persico (Ita) UAE-Team ADQ
5. Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Pol) Canyon-Sram
6. Juliette Labous (Fra) Team DSM
7. Marlen Reusser (Swi) SD Worx, all at same time
8. Shirin van Anrooij (Ned) Trek-Segafredo, at 44s
9. Anna Henderson (GBr) Jumbo-Visma, at 2-40
10. Arlenis Sierra (Cub) Movistar, at 3-38.

Tadej Pogačar has set his sight on completing an historic clean sweep of cycling’s five Monuments, after winning his third on Sunday at the Tour of Flanders.

The Slovenian superstar continued his extraordinary form, attacking on the Kwaremont with 17km to go and holding onto to win in Oudenaarde ahead of Mathieu van der Poel.

Victory means that the 24 year old has now won three of cycling’s most prestigious one-day races, having previously triumphed at Liège-Bastogne-Liège and twice at Il Lombardia.

The UAE-Team Emirates rider now needs to win both Paris-Roubaix and Milan-Sanremo to become just the fourth man after Rik Van Looy, Eddy Merckx and Roger De Vlaeminck to win all five races.

Speaking after his outstanding win in Flanders, Pogačar referenced the record: “We will not give up. We leave it in reserve. I think I have to gain some kilos for Roubaix and gain strength in my hands. We saw in Sanremo it is the most difficult, [but] this year I have been in one of my best forms of my life,” the two-time Tour de France champion said.

Despite being caught behind a crash early on in the race that meant his team had to work hard to regain touch with the peloton, Pogačar was imperious during De Ronde and joked that he could leave cycling a happy man following victory. “I could retire after today and I would be very proud of my career. I can be happy and proud. It was an incredible job by the team today. A day I will never forget," he said.

Discussing his race-winning move, he reflected: “We were coming with speed onto the cobbles, really suffering, so the entry into the climb [of the Kwaremont] is all about giving it all the power to the top. It’s very long to the top so it’s my favourite [berg].

“I knew I just had to go on the Kwaremont. I gave everything, and then I almost did crack on the Paterberg. I knew it was going to be hard, but it was the only option for me.”

Tadej Pogačar won a thrilling and crash-marred edition of the Tour of Flanders, the Slovenian triumphing in the cobbled Monument in just his second appearance.

The UAE-Team Emirates rider overcame drama early on in the race when he was temporarily dropped from the peloton to produce a series of attacks inside the final two hours that eventually led to him winning by 16 seconds. It was the fastest-ever edition of De Ronde.

Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), who was looking for his third win in four years, finished second, and Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) won a reduced bunch sprint for third place.

A frantic opening two hours of the race was characterised by crosswinds and a number of crashes, one of which led to the disqualification of Bahrain-Victorious’s Filip Maciejuk, and the abandonment of former winner Peter Sagan.

The day, however, belonged to Pogačar, who with this victory has now claimed three of cycling’s five Monuments. He only needs to add Paris-Roubaix and Milan-Sanremo to complete an historic collection.

It was Pogačar’s ninth win in just 16 race days this season, and he will go into the Ardennes Classic as the undoubted favourite.

How it happened

It took 110km for the breakaway to form due to an incessant opening two hours that included crashes and crosswinds. Both van der Poel and Pogačar were, at separate times, in the group behind the peloton, but they were able to rejoin the pack after a short while.

Following an intense start to the race, the peloton eventually relaxed and permitted five riders - Jasper De Buyst (Lotto-Dstny), Daan Hoole (Trek-Segafredo), Elmar Reinders (Jayco-AlUla), Filippo van Colombo (Q36.5) and Guillaume Keirsbulck (Bingoal WB) - to create a break. Not so long after, with the quintet still within reach, Tim Merlier of Soudal-QuickStep bridged across to the break along with Jonas Rutsch of EF Education-EasyPost.

With the peloton finally taking their foot off the proverbial gas, chaos ensued with 145km remaining when Bahrain-Victorious’ Filip Maciejuk careered into the front of the peloton after jumping off the side of the road where he had ridden into a deep puddle. Maciejuk’s move brought down dozens of riders and led to the abandonment of Tim Wellens (UAE-Team Emirates) and Peter Sagan (TotalEnergies), and the disqualification of the 23 year old Pole.

More crashes continued to affect what was becoming a dramatic race, and as the final 100km approached, Pedersen of Trek-Segafredo decided to wrestle control of proceedings. The Dane’s first attack created a small gap, but when he went again over the Molenberg, he brought with him several key riders, including Matteo Trentin (UAE-Team Emirates) and Nathan van Hooydonck (Jumbo-Visma). Soudal-QuickStep were also represented by 2021 winner Kasper Asgreen.

At the 75km marker, the chase group merged with the breakaway, and the now 19-strong group held a lead of 1-50 to the peloton. Jumbo-Visma, at the head of the peloton, slowed down the speed which seemed to hand the initiative to the front group, but with 55km left to race, Pogačar launched a stinging attack.

Set-up fantastically well by his UAE-Team Emirates teammates, the Slovenian immediately built a sizeable gap, and no-one was able to respond. The Jumbo Visma duo of van Aert and Laporte joined forces with van der Poel, Tom Pidcock and Nils Politt, and within 10km they had caught Pogačar who had slowed down.

Back as a unit, it was on the Koppenberg with 42km to go that the Big Three clipped off the front together, each climbing so quickly up the steep, cobbled berg that Laporte and Pidcock were incapable of staying with them.

The trio worked well together to close in on the leading group that was beginning to fracture. Pedersen, who had ignited the original move some 80km before, attacked off the front on the Kruisberg and van der Poel did the same thing, bringing with him Pogačar but significantly not van Aert.

Onto the Kwaremont for the final time, and with just 17km remaining, Pogačar made his race-winning attack, jumping off the wheel of his teammate Matteo Trentin and immediately disappearing from the rest of the field. 

Van der Poel was the only rider to be able to keep the Slovenian in sight, but once the two-time Tour de France champion had a small lead, he always looked likely to hold onto it. He powered over the Paterberg and cruised to the finish in Oudenaarde where van der Poel came home second, and Pedersen in third.

Result: 2023 men's Tour of Flanders

1. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE-Team Emirates, in 6-12.07
2. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Deceuninck, at 16s
3. Mads Pedersen (Den) Trek-Segafredo, at 1-12
4. Wout van Aert (Bel) Jumbo-Visma
5. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education - EasyPost
6. Stefan Küng (Swi) Groupama-FDJ
7. Kasper Asgreen (Den) Soudal-QuickStep
8. Fred Wright (GBr) Bahrain-Victorious
9. Matteo Jorgenson (USA) Movistar, all at 1-19
10. Matteo Trentin (Ita) UAE-Team Emirates

Hello, cycling fans. The wait is over. It's Flanders day. De Ronde. The hilly cobbled Classic we've building up to ever since Opening Weekend at the end of February.

Join us throughout the day as we provide you with live updates from Belgium, where Mathieu van der Poel goes in search of his third victory in the last four years in the men's race, while SD Worx will look to continue their dominant spring form, boasting the defending champion Lotte Kopecky among their talented ranks.

If you want to get in touch with me, Chris Marshall-Bell, then you can send me a message on Twitter @cmbell310

Timings: 

Men's race (273km) began at 9:00 (BST) and will finish around 3:30 (BST)

Women's race (157km) will begin at 12:30 (BST) and finish around 4:30 (BST)

Updates (BST time)

10:45: Both Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogačar rejoin peloton after frantic salvation jobs
11:30: Five-man breakaway finally forms ahead of first berg
12:00: Peter Sagan and Tim Wellens abandon after huge crash also takes out Julian Alaphilippe
13:00: Jumbo-Visma, Soudal-QuickStep and UAE-Team Emirates represented in strong leading group
14:30: Pogačar, van der Poel and Wout van Aert reduce leaders' lead after a series of ferocious attacks 
14:50: Wout van Aert is dropped by van der Poel and Pogačar as Mads Pedersen tries solo attack
15:05: Pogačar goes solo over the Kwaremont, passes Pedersen, and closes in on win
15:25: Pogačar wins men's race as Annemiek van Vlueten crashes in the women's race
16:15: Lotte Kopecky attacks solo as she looks to defend her title
16:45: Lotte Kopecky wins her second successive Flanders with teammate Demi Vollering in second.

Men's race flag drops in Bruges with the Big Three the favourites

All the talk pre-race has been about the Big Three: defending champion Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert and Tadej Pogačar. Who can stop them?

Tom Pidcock will certainly try but for the Briton, winner of Strade Bianche four weeks ago, to triumph, he will require Jumbo-Visma, Pogačar and Van der Poel all to have an off-day.

There are, of course, plenty more riders than just the Big Three: Trek-Segafredo's Mads Pedersen, Groupama-FDJ's Valentin Madouas and EF Education-EasyPost's Neilson Powless will all fancy their chances.

Windy, windy, windy

There is no rain forecast for either the men's or women's races today, but it's a cold start to the day - 6°C is what the thermometers are registering. There is also a brisk headwind blowing through Flanders, and most concerningly for Tadej Pogačar, a medium-strength gust is expected in the final hour of racing when they ascend the Paterberg for the final time.

How will that affect the day?

Van der Poel caught out by crosswinds after just 40km of racing

After an hour of racing in the men's race, we have our first act of drama. Strong crosswinds have caused a split in the pack and, crucially, Mathieu van der Poel is caught in the second group. The group ahead, which contains the other favourites, has a lead of more than 30 seconds and has the firepower to power away from Van der Poel's group. His teammates are pulling hard but it's proving in vein.

Forming a breakaway has proven incredibly difficult so far, despite plenty of attempts. Among those to have tried since the neutral start is everyone's new cult hero: Oier Lazkano of Movistar (second at Dwars door Vlaanderen on Wednesday).

Van der Poel back in the peloton

Situation saved for the defending champion: after a stressful 20km, Mathieu Van der Poel has returned to the main peloton, thanks to the work of his Alpecin-Deceuninck teammates who closed a gap that at one point was at 40 seconds. What will the effect of that chase have on the race's final outcome?

Meanwhile, we're still waiting for the first break to form. It's been a relentless start to the racing.

And now it's Tadej Pogačar trapped behind

The drama is not abating. While many riders still try to jump clear, a crash at the back of the peloton caught Tadej Pogačar out. Although the two-time Tour de France champion did not fall, he and his UAE-Team Emirates teammates were more than 30 seconds behind the peloton. Thanks to some intense work, Pogačar and co. rejoined the peloton after a few kilometres.

We've had 100 minutes of racing and it's been full-on action. 

Slip and sliding expected on the cobbles

90km of racing and still no breakaway

The opening two hours of the season's second Monument have been intense, characterised by a rapid pace, crosswinds and a crash.

As we approach 100km, the race is, remarkably, still waiting for its first breakaway to form. No one can get away. There have been plenty of attempts but the elastic will just not stretch further than 100 metres.

The fastest Ronde ever?

We are on course for the fastest ever men's edition of De Ronde. The first two hours of racing were completed at an average speed of 48.7kph, a massive 5kph faster than the 2001 edition which averaged 43.6kph. That remains the fastest-ever Tour of Flanders.

Of course, there are the bergs, cobbles and headwinds to come that will slow down the speed, but those figures highlight just how quick the opening few hours has been.

Do we have a confirmed breakaway?

It looks like it: Jasper De Buyst (Lotto-Dstny), Daan Hoole (Trek-Segafredo), Elmar Reinders (Jayco-AlUla), Filippo van Colombo (Q36.5) and Guillaume Keirsbulck (Bingoal WB) have been given a lead of around 20 seconds and the peloton behind - already significantly smaller thanks to an incessantly-fast first two hours - seems willing to permit them an advantage. It only took 110km of racing.

How long will this break last? 

Update at 11:40 (BST): the break now have a lead of 1-40, with Jumbo-Visma manning the front of the peloton.

This is really interesting... Tim Merlier of Soudal-QuickStep has accelerated from the front of the peloton, bringing with him Jonas Rutsch of EF Education-EasyPost. The pair have bridged across to the break of five, ensuring that Soudal-QuickStep have presence in the breakaway. Soudal-QuickStep  have had a torturous spring Classics campaign and they are desperate to be involved today.

Read more: Forget the Classics, Soudal-Quick Step are a GC team: 'We have shown that we're strong enough'

The women's race is getting underway soon 

The escape builds a sizeable lead as the Kwaremont approaches

Men's race - 145km to go: It took forever for the breakaway to form, but now it has the seven men up front have a lead approaching five minutes. The first ascent of the Oude Kwaremont is looming, and behind the peloton is being led by Jumbo-Visma and UAE-Team Emirates.

Huge crash affects scores of riders

Men's race - 141km to go: A huge crash has taken out dozens of riders at the front of the peloton, including Soudal-QuickStep's Julian Alaphilippe, Trek-Segafredo's Jasper Stuyven, Peter Sagan of TotalEnergies and Tim Wellens of UAE-Team Emirates.

It all happened because Filip Maciejuk, a Bahrain-Victorious rider, sprinting to get to the front, abruptly rejoined the road after careering into a deep puddle to the side of the peloton. Riding out of control, the rider veered straight into the front of the bunch, upending several riders and thus created a domino effect that caused many to fall. 

Wellens was subsequently forced to abandon, along with Ben Turner (Ineos Grenadiers). 

Filip Maciejuk disqualified for causing crash

Men's race - 133km to go: Filip Maciejuk, the Bahrain-Victorious rider who was responsible for bringing down several riders at the front of the peloton, has been disqualified by the race jury. The Pole, 23, was riding his second  Ronde.

Meanwhile, the break of seven continue to enjoy a lead in excess of five minutes. The  peloton have just ridden up and over the Oude Kwaremont where the crowds are spectacular. No one creates noise like the Belgians do.

Men's race - 117km to go: A few more crashes have brought down yet more riders, including Soudal-QuickStep's Davide Ballerini. DSM have tried a curious tactic of slowing the pace down to a crawl before then accelerating, while Israel-Premier Tech are now at the front of proceedings. The break continue to hold an advantage of just over five minutes.

Women's race - 155km to go: the women have just got underway in Oudenaarde.

Yet more crashes in the men's race as Pedersen attacks

Men's race - 113km to go: Today's race has developed into a crash-fest. The latest has involved Magnus Sheffield of Ineos Grenadiers, Dries Van Gestel of TotalEnergies and Tim van Dijke (Jumbo-Visma).

Mads Pedersen has started the attacks from the peloton with a move that seemed to catch many by surprise. Matteo Jorgensen (Movistar) jumped straight onto the former world champion's wheel, with Matteo Trenton of UAE-Team Emirates also shadowing. The first big move to pay attention to.

Peter Sagan (TotalEnergies) has abandoned the race as a result of the earlier crash that led to the withdrawal of the Bahrain-Victorious rider who caused it.

Men's race - 105km to go: the peloton have chalked off two minutes of the breakaway's lead, and the action behind is hotting up. Tadej Pogačar is attentive to the attacks, the first of which was from Mads Pedersen, but Wout van Aert is not near the very front.

Women's race - 140km to go: We're still waiting for the first breakaway to form.

Attacks, attacks, attacks

Men's race - 99km to go: A strong-looking group of nine has clipped off the front after the ascent of the Molenberg. It includes Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ), Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) and former winner Kasper Asgreen (Soudal-QuickStep). They are two minutes off the breakaway and have a small advantage over the peloton.

Most notably, UAE-Team Emirates are represented by Matteo Trentin and Jumbo-Visma by Nathan van Hooydonck. That means it's Alpecin-Decuninck who will have to chase.

Is the winner in this chase group?

Men's race  - 89km to go: This 11-strong group led by Mads Pedersen now has a minute's lead over the peloton, and is closing in on the breakaway up ahead. This has the feel of the winning move.

Included alongside Pedersen is: Matteo Jorgensen (Movistar), Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ), Fred Wright (Bahrain-Victorious), Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost), Kasper Asgreen (Soudal-QuickStep), Jhonatan Narváez (Ineos Grenadiers), Florian Vermeersch (Lotto-Dstny), Benoît Cosnefroy (AG2R-Citröen), Matteo Trentin (UAE-Team Emirates) and Nathan Van Hooydonck (Jumbo-Visma).

Women's race - 130km to go: Despite a few attacks, no-one has been able to build a significant lead and the peloton remain grouped together.

Men's race - 75km to go: the breakaway and the chasers have joined forces to create a mega-group of 19 riders, with Soudal-QuickStep represented by both Kasper Asgreen and Tim Merlier. The peloton are 1-50 behind, with Wout van Aert, Tadej Pogačar, Mathieu van der Poel and Tom Pidcock all sitting at the front.

Women's race - 115km to go: no change, with the peloton still all together. 

Men's race - 71km to go: Another crash brings down Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty) and Matej Mohorič (Bahrain-Victorious), while the peloton is now led by Jumbo-Visma. With the Dutch team having Nathan van Hooydonck up front, they have slowed down the speed. Does that mean Wout van Aert's chances are evaporating? 

Bahrain-Victorious rider apologises for causing pile-up

Men's race - 59km to go: It looks increasingly unlikely that one of the Big Three will triumph today, and instead the winner will come from the 19-strong group at the head of proceedings. But one of them must attack soon because if not Tim Merlier of Soudal-QuickStep will fancy his chances of winning the bunch sprint.

Women's race - 99km to go: Just like the men's race before it, the women are reluctant to let a break form. 

Men's race - 55km to go: Now they've gone! Tadej Pogačar's teammates have set the Slovenian up for a monstrous attack and no-one can follow him! But he still has two minutes to make up to the leading group.

Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert were unable to follow the two-time Tour de France champion's attack, but they, Tom Pidcock, Nils Politt and Christophe Laporte are just 15 seconds behind, working together to try and bridge across to the Slovenian.

Men's race - 51km to go: Kasper Asgreen, winner of this race in 2021, attacked solo from the front of the leading group but was quickly caught. Tadej Pogačar has cut the gap by 30 seconds in just a few kilometres, but the Van Aert-Pidcock-Van der Poel group are just behind.

Men's race - 49km to go: Christophe Laporte has jumped clear from the group of five and has joined forces with Tadej Pogačar who appeared to be slowing down, whether through fatigue or on purpose. It means that Jumbo-Visma now have one rider in the leading group, Laporte with Pogačar and then Wout van Aert just a few seconds adrift. 

Women's race - 89km to go: There was a split in the peloton but they are back together. Still a break has not formed. It has been a fast first two hours.

Men's race - 44km to go: The Koppenberg always delivers, and Pogačar, Van Aert and Van der Poel all fly up the steep, cobbled climb as one, putting serious distance into Pidcock and Laporte behind. The trio are just over one minute behind the front group that now numbers 12.

Men's race - 37km to go: The trio of Pogačar, Van der Poel and van Aert are now just 40 seconds behind the lead group of 12, and with the Taaienberg, Kwaremont and Paterberg on the horizon, attacks are going to come from the leading dozen.

Women's race - 80km to go: Ally Wollaston (AG Insurance - Soudal Quick-Step) has enjoyed a solo lead for the past 15km, but it looks likely that her slender lead of 15 seconds will soon be wiped away with the bergs starting to bite.

Men's race - 35km to go: Van der Poel briefly lost ground on the Taaienberg, but the cobbled berg did not produce any further attacks from the trio. 

Big attacks with van Aert struggling

Men's race - 28km to go: Mads Pedersen doesn't want to wait and he has gone. He has a small gap of around six or seven seconds and is climbing well on the Kruisberg.  His former breakaway companions don't seem too bothered about the former world champion's attack.

Van der Poel, meanwhile, attacks on the same stretch of cobbles and while Pogačar is able to follow, Van Aert is not. Van der Poel and Pogačar have 30 seconds to make up to Pedersen with eight riders sandwiched between.

Women's race - 72km to go: Against expectation, Ally Wollaston's lead has increased from 15 seconds to 50 seconds.  

Men's race - 20km to go: Van Hooydonck has dropped from the second group on the road to help pace van Aert back to the front of the race.  Van der Poel and Pogačar - who have now caught the remnants of the original lead group - are looking good but Pedersen's lead is remaining stable. He has around 35 seconds to the group behind.

Pogačar attacks and leads after Kwaremont

Men's race - 17km to go: The Kwaremont comes for the final time and Pogačar attacks with fury, finishing off a grand job by his teammate Matteo Trentin who was setting the pace in the chase group. Crucially, van der Poel cannot follow, and within a minute Pogačar catches and passes Pedersen. Wout van Aert, meanwhile, is out of the equation. Pedersen and van der Poel are 11 seconds behind. Just the Paterberg to come.

Men's race - 13km to go: Van Aert has impressively regained touch with the chasing group, but he is some 40 seconds behind Pogačar. Van der Poel is chasing hard after the UAE-Team Emirates rider, but it was going to require a huge collapse from Pogačar on the Paterberg to give van der Poel a chance of the win in Oudenaarde. That did not happen, and with 13km to go it looks increasingly certain that Pogačar will add the cobbled Monument to his collection.

Men's race - 4km to go: Pogačar is going to win. Van der Poel has accepted that second will be his, and the small group behind him will fight it out in the bunch sprint for third.

Women's race - 50km to go: Elinor Barker and Elise Chabbey have joined Wollaston up front. They have a lead of 45 seconds.

Tadej Pogačar wins Tour of Flanders

Men's race - 0km to go: Pogačar triumphs with Van der Poel behind him, and Pedersen gets his reward for a superb ride by winning the sprint for third. 

Read our race report here

Women's race -  38km to go: The front of the race is packed out by three riders from SD Worx - defending champion Lotte Kopecky, Lorena Wiebes and Marlen Reusser. They are joined by Silvia Persico (UAE-Team ADQ). 

The chase group of 10 is 20 seconds behind, while Annemiek van Vleuten is chasing hard a minute behind after a crash with 50km to go.

One final line to bring you from the men's race: at 44.09kph, it was the fastest ever Ronde. So much for those headwinds, huh!

Women's race - 35km to go: Lorena Wiebes is dropped from the leading group, meaning that Silivia Persico is not so outnumbered now, just having two SD Worx riders (Lotte Kopecky and Marlen Reusser) alongside her.

The chase group, which now numbers 10, is around 20 seconds behind. 

Women's race - 30km to go: We still have the Kwaremont and Paterberg to come one final time, and the leading trio's lead has been cut to 10 seconds. SD Worx has two more riders present in the chase group: Lorena Wiebes and Demi Vollering. Former winner Elisa Longo Borginhi is one of three Trek-Segafredo riders.

Women's race - 28km to go: Kopecky flies up the Kruisberg and only Persico is able to keep pace. Reusser is dropped, and all of a sudden the chase group behind is in pieces.

Women's race - 20km to go: Kopecky and Persico continue with a lead of 25 seconds, and behind the chase group has regrouped. Trek-Segafredo are driving the pace hard, but it will come down to the Kwaremont and the Paterberg.

Women's race - 18km to go: Kopecky goes! She attacked at the bottom of the Kwaremont and Persico could do nothing. Kopecky is powering up the climb with apparent ease. Who would bet against a second consecutive title now?

Women's race - 13km to go: Kopecky cruises up and over the Paterberg and now has a lead in excess of 40 seconds. But Persico is battling hard: she will not catch Kopecky, but she is desperate to hold onto second place. Unfortunately for the Italian, she is caught by the chase group on the Paterberg.

Fighting it out for second and third will be the SD Worx duo of Demi Vollering and Marlen Reusser, as well as Persico, Shirin van Anrooij (Trek-Segafredo) and Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Canyon-Sram)

Women's race - 8km to go: Kopecky's lead has been reduced a little, but with two SD Worx teammates behind in the chase group it seems inconceivable that the Belgian will not win.

Interestingly, Elisa Longo Borghini has caught the second group on the road, meaning we look set for a six-way bunch sprint to determine second and third. 

Lotte Kopecky defends title to win Tour of Flanders yet again

Women's race - 0km to go: Kopecky wins her second De Ronde in as many editions, while the fight for second and third goes to Demi Vollering (SD Worx) and Silvia Persico (UAE-Team ADQ), respectively.

It has been a truly extraordinary spring for SD Worx.

Read our full report here.

Well, that's it for the live blog today. I do hope you've enjoyed watching and reading  the unfolding drama. We'll do it all again next weekend for Paris-Roubaix. Bring it on!

Before the 107th edition of the Tour of Flanders gets underway, three names have been on everyone's lips as the potential winners of this year’s Ronde van Vlaanderen.

Wout van Aert, Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogačar.

The same trio looked head and shoulders above the rest of the field at the recent E3 Saxo Classic won by Van Aert, but that doesn’t mean that someone can’t burst from the pack to spring a major surprise in the outskirts of Oudenaarde on Sunday.

As previous editions have taught us, the Tour of Flanders can be a chaotic race, where things don’t quite go as planned. The route and cobbled Bergs occasionally throw up late twists, and sometimes things go right down to the wire as we saw last year.

Ahead of the action, Cycling Weekly has already looked at the five men’s and women’s favourites for the win.

Here are five potential dark horses for the men’s title this weekend.  

Søren Kragh Andersen (Alpecin-Deceuninck)

Similarly to Christophe Laporte at Jumbo, Kragh Andersen is the not so secret weapon at Alpecin-Deceuninck, and will provide an excellent foil to Mathieu van der Poel when things get going on Sunday.

While he’s yet to win a major Classic, the Danish rider has consistently been a threat in some of cycling’s major one-day races, including at the past three editions of Milan-San Remo where he’s achieved three consecutive top ten finishes. After finishing fifth in San Remo a few weeks ago, Kragh Andersen managed ninth at the E3 Saxo Classic, before a crash took him out of contention at Gent-Wevelgem.

Speaking to the media on Thursday, the Dane referred to himself as a major “dark horse” for Flanders, and he has past form to back that up. Kragh Andersen won two stages of the 2020 Tour de France, launching powerful long range attacks from a breakaway which nobody could answer.

If Van der Poel is unable to separate himself from Van Aert and Pogačar on Sunday, expect Kragh Andersen to launch a last-gasp move as Alpecin looks to ensure glory at all costs. 

Neilson Powless (EF Education-Easy Post)

America’s Neilson Powless is fast becoming a one day specialist, and has sneaked two top eight finishes in major Monuments in recent years.

Earlier this week he was in the thick of the action during his debut on the Belgian cobbles, taking third at Dwars door Vlaanderen behind a rampaging Christophe Laporte (Jumbo-Visma). Combining Wednesday's result with seventh at Milan-San Remo suggests the form is there.

Former Flanders winner Alberto Bettiol, Mikkel Honoré and Owain Doull will also provide the American with plenty of firepower to keep him in position over the various Bergs along the route, and in contention with the trio of favourites.

If Powless gets the jump on the final ascent of the Paterberg, he could spring a big surprise in the Jumbo-Visma, UAE Team Emirates and Alpecin-Deceuninck camps in Oudenaarde. 

Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious)

Labelling Matej Mohorič as an outsider for Flanders may seem surprising, although the Slovenian is yet to find the form this spring that saw him win Milan-San Remo last year.

The Slovenian has managed some solid results in the Classics this year, but has only managed to break into the top three on one occasion at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. Nevertheless, Mohorič has the raw power and strength needed to get over the cobbled climbs that feature in Flanders, and if everything goes to plan, he could well be in contention in the finale.

His best result at Flanders to date is 21st, but if anyone is going to catch out the trio of pre-race favourites, then it's him. 

Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal Quick-Step)

Just like the rest of his Soudal Quick-Step team, Julian Alaphilippe has massively struggled for form this spring, and hasn’t managed to hit his past level which saw him become world champion on two separate occasions.

The Frenchman started in style by winning the Faun-Ardèche Classic, although was unable to kick on from that point. 43rd at Strade Bianche was a huge disappointment, but 11th at Milan-San Remo was a slight progression in form. Throughout recent months, the huge weight of expectation at Quick-Step won’t have helped Alaphilippe, and he’s also had to deal with regular public criticism from Patrick Lefevere. 

Philippe Gilbert, a former Monument winner in the Belgian team’s colours even recently suggested that Alaphilippe could benefit from a move elsewhere to recapture his race winning form.

With all of his doubters circling, Alaphilippe may well come out swinging on Sunday, and look to silence those around him. After his crash when in a race-winning position a few years ago, Alaphilippe has a score to settle with Flanders.

It would be quite something if he was to return to form by winning ‘De Ronde’ on Sunday. 

Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo)

Pedersen and his fellow teammate and Classics star Jasper Stuyven are just two riders who have suffered at the hand of Jumbo-Visma this spring.

Although Pedersen in particular is one rider who the likes of Van der Poel will be wary of, and certainly won’t want with them when the action kicks off in Flanders. Coming into the race, the Dane has accrued two consecutive fifth place finishes at Gent-Wevelgem and Dwars door Vlaanderen respectively, clearly showing that he has the form to challenge in the upcoming two Monuments.

As a former world champion, and Ronde runner-up in 2018,  he won’t fear the trio of pre-race favourites, nor the tough parcours on the menu. If Pedersen can muscle his way into a select group of leaders on Sunday, he has the raw power and physicality to launch an attack, then see it through to Oudenaarde. 

Tom Pidcock is optimistic that his chances at the Tour of Flanders on Sunday won’t necessarily be hampered by a lack of recent race time.

Speaking to reporters on Friday afternoon, Pidcock explained that the logic as to how he will fare against the three outright favourites, Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma), and Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) was straightforward.

“It’s not complicated, I can either follow or I can’t,” Pidcock said. “So I hope it’s the former.”

After his barnstorming Strade Bianche victory, Pidcock rode Tirreno-Adriatico, but was forced to then miss Milan-San Remo after minor concussion, sustained in a crash at Tirreno, kept him out of action for a brief period.

Pidcock then missed the E3 Saxo Classic. In his absence, spectators were treated to an enthralling three-way scrap between Van Aert, Van der Poel and Pogačar, with Van Aert eventually winning a final sprint between the trio.

The Ineos Grenadiers man explained that after such a spectacle, it was to be expected that the Tour of Flanders would then be considered a contest between the three riders.

“Those three have shown that they’re all in top shape, and they made the race in E3,” he said. “I think everyone expects them to make the race on Sunday, and I know I want to be with them as well, in the final.”

Pidcock returned to racing at Dwars door Vlaanderen on Wednesday, and recorded an 11th placed finish behind eventual winner Christophe Laporte of Jumbo-Visma.

The Yorkshireman explained that the result wasn't what he had hoped for, but felt that after a period of solid training he was in a good place going into ‘De Ronde’.  

“I think I just missed the top end really, but I always struggle in my first race after a little period away,” he said. “The lead into Dwars was not what we had planned so it wasn’t ideal, but not bad.”

“I think I did some good training in the last week, and there’s no reason why it will be bad on Sunday,” Pidcock said regarding his current condition. “I think only time will tell.”

Quietly confident 

When asked to rate Pidcock’s chances against the trio of favourites, his coach Kurt Bogaerts echoed his optimism.

“I think he can go with the confidence that he normally goes to a big event with when he's prepared,” Bogaerts said. “I think he’s shown in the past that he can beat these guys. On the day, I think there is no one really standing out. When they’re all on their top level, then it’s a tough battle.”

“I think Tom can go with healthy confidence into Sunday’s race to compete with these guys in the final.”

As he assessed other potential challengers for the Flanders title, Pidcock noted that riders from Movistar and EF Education-Easy Post have been “up there” in previous races.

However, he explained that despite their lack of form, riders from Soudal Quick-Step shouldn’t be written off.

“They [Soudal Quick-Step] haven’t been up there like normal, but they will still ride as if they want to take control,” he said. “I think that’s how they ride. Alaphilippe is perhaps not where I would have expected him to be at this time of year, although I saw on Twitter that he rode two hours home from Dwars door Vlaanderen, so he’s trying to keep building on his shape.”

After brief speculation on social media, Pidcock also joked about the potential presence of the reigning road world champion on the cobblestones of Flanders.

“I also saw on Twitter that they were going to bring Remco [Evenepoel] though, so who knows.” 

The Flemish province of Oudenaarde will welcome its biggest sporting event on 2 April as the Tour of Flanders takes over once again.

The women's race will start and finish in the Belgian city, with the riders setting out on a challenging 158km loop of the local climbs.  

Now in its 20th year, the event brings one of the most demanding courses on the women's WorldTour calendar, punctuated by the iconic ascents of the Oude Kwaremont and the Paterberg, which make up the race finale. 

Below, you'll find full details of the course, as well as a list of the riders who will take the start line.

For more information on how to watch the Tour of Flanders, visit our handy guide. 

Tour of Flanders 2023: route

Heading west out of Oudenaarde, the women's peloton will have just 10km to ready themselves before they face the first of 13 hellingen - short, sharp ascents. 

A period of calm should follow as they head north on a loop through the countryside, before crossing back through Oudenaarde and onto an unrelenting series of climbs; among them, the Koppenberg and Taaienberg, two of the event's most famous cobbled kickers. 

With around 17km to go, the race will move into its tried and tested finale. The riders will head up the 2.2km drag of the Oude Kwaremont, before tackling the final climb, the Paterberg, pitched at an eye-watering 13%. 

It was on the latter that Lotte Kopecky broke free last year, together with Annemiek van Vleuten and Marlen Reusser. The Belgian, in her country's national tricolour, went on to sprint to victory on the flat run-in to Oudenaarde, taking her biggest career win to date.

The finale's the same this time round, too, with Kopecky no doubt hoping to repeat her success.  

Tour of Flanders 2023: Provisional start list

Team SD Worx

KOPECKY Lotte
WIEBES Lorena
VOLLERING Demi
MAJERUS Christine
REUSSER Marlen
CECCHINI Elena

Movistar Team

VAN VLEUTEN Annemiek
BIANNIC Aude
GUTIÉRREZ Sheyla
LIPPERT Liane
MACKAIJ Floortje
SIERRA Arlenis

Canyon-Sram Racing

NIEWIADOMA Katarzyna
BOSSUYT Shari
CHABBEY Elise
SKALNIAK-SÓJKA Agnieszka
PALADIN Soraya
VAN DER DUIN Maike 

EF Education-TIBCO-SVB

BÄCKSTEDT Zoe
BORGHESI Letizia
HONSINGER Clara
JACKSON Alison
POIDEVIN Sara
STEPHENS Lauren

Lotto Dstny Ladies

BURLOVÁ Kristýna
DE CLERCQ Katrijn
DOCX Mieke
VAN DE GUCHTE Quinty
VERVLOET Sterre
AINTILA Wilma

FDJ - SUEZ

LUDWIG Cecilie Uttrup
ADEGEEST Loes
BROWN Grace
COPPONI Clara
GUAZZINI Vittoria
VERHULST Gladys

Fenix-Deceuninck

CANT Sanne
KASTELIJN Yara
MARTURANO Greta
SCHREMPF Carina
SCHWEINBERGER Christina

Human Powered Health

CHRISTIE Henrietta
RAAIJMAKERS Marit
MALCOTTI Barbara
PIKULIK Daria
VANDENBULCKE Jesse
WILLIAMS Lily

Israel Premier Tech Roland

BAUR Caroline
BUCH Hannah
DELBAERE Fien
DRONOVA-BALABOLINA Tamara
NGUYỄN Thị Thật
PIRRONE Elena

Liv Racing TeqFind

RAGUSA Katia
DEMEY Valerie
JASKULSKA Marta
TON Quinty
NEUMANOVA Tereza
SMULDERS Silke

Team DSM

GEORGI Pfeiffer
HENGEVELD Daniek
JASTRAB Megan
KOCH Franziska
LABOUS Juliette
UIJEN Elise

Team Jumbo-Visma

VOS Marianne
BEEKHUIS Teuntje
HENDERSON Anna
LABECKI Coryn
SWINKELS Karlijn
VAN AGT Eva

Team Jayco AlUla

ALLEN Jessica
HOWE Georgie
KESSLER Nina
MANLY Alexandra
PATERNOSTER Letizia
ROSEMAN-GANNON Ruby

Trek - Segafredo

BALSAMO Elisa
BRAND Lucinda
BÄCKSTEDT Elynor
LONGO BORGHINI Elisa
SANGUINETI Ilaria
VAN ANROOIJ Shirin

UAE Team ADQ

BASTIANELLI Marta
AMIALIUSIK Alena
BUJAK Eugenia
GASPARRINI Eleonora Camilla
CONSONNI Chiara
PERSICO Silvia

Uno-X Pro Cycling Team 

CONFALONIERI Maria Giulia
BARKER Elinor
BERG EDSETH Marte
KOSTER Anouska
NORMAN LETH Julie
DIDERIKSEN Amalie

CERATIZIT-WNT Pro Cycling

ARZUFFI Alice Maria
ASENCIO Laura
FIDANZA Arianna
LACH Marta
SCHWEINBERGER Kathrin
TEUTENBERG Lea Lin

Lifeplus Wahoo

HARRIS Ella
NOVOLODSKAIA Maria
LAURANCE Typhaine
TACEY April
VIGIE Margaux
VAN DER WOLF Babette 

AG Insurance - Soudal Quick-Step

BOOGAARD Maaike
BORGSTRÖM Julia
GHEKIERE Justine
HENTTALA Lotta
KASPER Romy
MOOLMAN Ashleigh

Cofidis

ALZINI Martina
BERTEAU Victoire
CASTRIQUE Alana
FORTIN Valentine
PILOTE FORTIN Gabrielle
TALBOT Josie

Duolar-Chevalmeire Cycling Team

BRAAM Danique
BEX Nathalie
ERIKSEN Malin
GRÖNDAHL Antonia
MARTINEZ Andrea
VAN DEN STEEN Kelly

Parkhotel Valkenburg 

GERRITSE Femke
NOOIJEN Lieke
VAN ROOIJEN Sofie
VANHOVE Marith
VANPACHTENBEKE Margot 

Proximus-Alphamotorhomes-Doltcini

HOLMSGAARD Trine
KRAHL Judith
SCHOKKAERT Febe
HOFMAN Melissa
VAN HOUTUM Céline
WASMUS Nienke

Zaaf Cycling Team

CORDON-RAGOT Audrey
COLES-LYSTER Maggie
DE FRANCESCO Danielle
DRUMMOND Michaela
SILVESTRI Debora
MEIJERING Mareille

The centrepiece event of the Belgian Spring Classics takes place this weekend, and some of the biggest names in the men’s and women’s WorldTour are set to do battle once more. Taking place on Sunday, the 107th edition of the men’s Tour of Flanders is widely anticipated to be a scrap between the trio who largely stole the show at the recent E3 Saxo Classic.

'De Ronde' is undoubtedly one of the biggest one-day races on the planet, with swarms of cycling fans gathering on the race's iconic cobbled climbs, including the Oude Kwaremont, in their thousands to watch the riders take on the brutal course in Belgium. The men’s race is due to start in Brugge for the first time since 2016, before finishing on the outskirts of Oudenaarde 273 kilometres later.

First established in 2004, the women’s race starts and finishes in Oudenaarde and includes the same hellish climbs as the men’s edition. Lotte Kopecky captured the victory while wearing the Belgian national champions jersey last year, and the thousands of local fans lining the course will be screaming her name once more on Sunday.

Here’s Cycling Weekly’s five men and five women to watch when the racing gets going. 

Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck)

With the way that Mathieu van der Poel has begun his spring campaign, it’s hard to bet against him completing the Flanders hat-trick on Sunday.

After his scintillating Milan-San Remo victory, Van der Poel lit up the E3 Saxo Classic in his final racing appearance before the Ronde and Roubaix. The flying Dutchman was as aggressive as always, rampaging up the Taaienberg in the first of a series of brutal attacks that drew Wout van Aert and Tadej Pogačar out into the open.

While Van Aert ended up snatching the win from his grasp, Van der Poel made him work for it, every second of the way, and will do exactly the same again when the Ronde gets underway on Sunday.

Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers)

After winning Strade Bianche in early March, Pidcock suffered slight misfortune when a crash at Tirreno-Adriatico left him with minor concussion.

The Yorkshireman was forced to sit out Milan-San Remo, although made his return to racing with a respectable 11th place at Dwars door Vlaanderen. Before his injury, Pidcock would have been widely expected to contend for the San Remo title, and on his day, is more than capable of matching the trio of Van Aert, Pogačar and Van der Poel.

Now that Pidcock has managed to get another race day under his belt ahead of his third appearance in Flanders on Sunday, the Ineos man will be full of optimism on his chances of competing with his aforementioned rivals. 

Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) 

Coming into the Ronde, Van Aert will be bursting with confidence after already getting one over on Van der Poel and Pogačar last week.

The Jumbo-Visma man could follow every single move from Van der Poel at E3, and was even able to put his long standing rival on the ropes on several occasions during the race. After losing out to the Dutchman in final sprints on previous occasions, beating his rival in last week's final dash to the line will have provided Van Aert with a timely feather in his cap ahead of the Flanders cobbles.

However, Van Aert’s biggest weapon will be his reliable, and fiercely loyal right hand man Christophe Laporte. Last weekend, Van Aert and Laporte memorably dominated Gent-Wevelgem before the Belgian handed his teammate the victory. As a result, Laporte will undoubtedly be right by his friend's side on Sunday, backing him all the way in the scrap for victory in the Monument. 

Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) 

Since he was outfoxed by Van der Poel in the closing stages of last year’s Ronde, Pogačar will be determined not to let lightning strike twice on Sunday.

The Slovenian was in the thick of the action at the E3 Classic, and was largely able to match each acceleration from Van der Poel and Van Aert, even making his own big attack on the Oude Kwaremont as he looked to stretch things.

Similarly to Jumbo-Visma, Pogačar’s team is full of solid Classics riders including the likes of Tim Wellens. Pogačar is also undoubtedly the best climber of the three favourites.

If he brings his climbing legs to the cobbles once again on Sunday, and the likes of Wellens are able to stick with him until the final phase of racing, then the two-time Tour de France winner may well add yet another Monument to his palmarès this weekend. 

Christophe Laporte (Jumbo-Visma)

After winning two-major Classics in a matter of days, Christophe Laporte firmly deserves his place in the top five overall contenders for Flanders.

Taking victory at both Gent-Wevelgem and Dwars door Vlaanderen in such quick succession is no mean feat, proving what many already knew; Laporte is yet another fearsome weapon in the Jumbo-Visma arsenal of talent.

Moving to the Dutch team from Cofidis has provided the Frenchman with an opportunity to really raise his level. He took an excellent stage victory at last summer’s Tour de France, and is a rider equally as formidable as the likes of Wout van Aert. As was well documented, the Frenchman was largely handed victory in Gent-Wevelgem by his Belgian teammate, although that shouldn’t take away from his own capabilities whatsoever.

After his Dwars victory, Laporte reiterated that he would be firmly in the service of Van Aert on Sunday. However, should things go wrong for Van Aert in some way, expect Laporte to be given the nod to push on and challenge at the sharp end of the action.

Demi Vollering (SD Worx) 

Coming into the Tour of Flanders, the strength in depth at SD Worx is somewhat terrifying. Vollering is one of four riders at the Dutch team potentially capable of winning, and showed she’s in strong form with victory at Dwars door Vlaanderen on Wednesday.

Earlier this year, the team’s strength was no more evident than when Vollering and Kopecky both found themselves together going into the last 500 metres of Strade Bianche. The duo sprinted for the line, with Vollering eventually coming out on top. The Dutchwoman has won two of the three one-day races she’s started this season, and on paper is her team’s most in-form rider.

Her best result in Flanders was fifth in 2021, but she certainly has the strength and power to do better this time around. The only barrier to Vollering winning Flanders could well come from within her own ranks.

Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma) 

Earlier this year, Marianne Vos underwent major pelvic artery surgery to correct a long-standing injury. However, that didn’t stop Vos on her return to racing action earlier this week.

In only her second race of the road season at Dwars door Vlaanderen, Vos was one of a select few who could compete with the SD Worx duo of Marlen Reusser and Vollering. When Vollering launched her final attack, Vos was the only rider who could match her, although her compatriot ultimately rode her off her wheel.

Nevertheless, third place was a highly respectable result for Vos and an impressive sign of her fitness given her recent surgery and recovery. The Jumbo-Visma rider won the Tour of Flanders back in 2013, although she then didn’t return until five years later.

With that said, and her form she showed this week, it feels like you certainly can’t count Vos out on Sunday.  

Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ-Suez)

Earlier this week, Uttrup Ludwig showed she’s gradually building form ahead of the Ronde, putting in a big attack on the cobbles as part of the front group at Dwars door Vlaanderen.

Ultimately, it would come to nothing, but proved that the FDJ Suez rider definitely has the legs to make a difference. In early March, the Danish puncheur took a solid third place behind the SD Worx duo of Vollering and Kopecky. She’s yet to win in 2023, but comes into the Tour of Flanders with a solid team behind her.

Uttrup Ludwig has regularly been in contention in Flanders, finishing sixth last year. Her best placed finish was third in 2019. With the power of Grace Brown in support on Sunday, she could well hit the podium again this time around.

Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar)

It seems inevitable that whatever race Annemiek van Vleuten signs on for, she’s then instantly considered a favourite for the win. Although with her absolute domination last year, it really is no surprise.

Van Vleuten has won the Tour of Flanders on two previous occasions in 2011 and 2021, and has achieved four podium finishes in between her two victories. The Movistar rider had a difficult start to her current campaign, with an untimely mechanical ruling her out of contention. She made amends for her bad luck on Opening Weekend, going on to take fourth at Strade Bianche.

Since that race, Van Vleuten has been out of the spotlight, training at altitude ahead of her wider goals later in the year. However, despite her absence from other races this spring her rivals certainly won't underestimate her.

As she proved in 2022, Van Vleuten on her day is undoubtedly the best female bike racer in the world. If she turns up in her best shape on Sunday, it could well be game over the moment some of the trickier climbs begin.
 

Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx)

The reigning Tour of Flanders female champion returns for another stab at victory. If Kopecky is able to muster up a race-winning performance on Sunday, she will become only the second woman to ever win consecutive editions. Unsurprisingly, the only rider to win two editions in a row is Movistar’s Van Vleuten.

Kopecky is in lightning form, and has already won on the cobbles in 2023 at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. As well as her win on Opening Weekend, she won Nokere Koerse and took second behind teammate Demi Vollering at Strade Bianche.

The SD Worx rider has the power and tenacity to launch a move and make it stick on climbs like the Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg. Kopecky also possesses a powerful enough final turn of speed to win a reduced bunch sprint back in Oudenaarde. With that in mind, she’s our out-and-out favourite for the win.  
 

If you had switched on the men's or women's Dwars door Vlaanderens with a kilometre to go on Wednesday afternoon, you would be forgiven for thinking you were experiencing déjà vu. 

Once again, at a cobbled Classic, a man in the colours of Jumbo-Visma, or a woman in the colours of SD Worx, rode off the front and could simply not be brought back. 

The two Dutch squads have made it look ridiculously easy so far in the Classics in 2023, repeatedly employing a plan that seems simple, but yet other teams can't come close to countering. It looks increasingly like it might happen again on Sunday at the Tour of Flanders.

At Dwars, it was Christophe Laporte and Demi Vollering; at Gent-Wevelgem, it was Laporte and Marlen Reusser; at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, it was Dylan van Baarle and Lotte Kopecky. In the E3 Saxo Bank Classic, Wout van Aert triumphed, with his teammate Tiesj Benoot winning Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne. Lorena Wiebes got in on the act for SD Worx at Craywinckelhof.

This means that Jumbo-Visma has won five out of the five cobbled Classics they have raced this season, a feat that no other team has achieved this century. Various iterations of Quick-Step have come close, winning three of the five in 2019, 2012 and 2007, but never a clean sweep.

Meanwhile, SD Worx has won four out of the four cobbled races they have taken part of in 2023, which has never been done by a woman's team; squads have managed two out of the four before, but never all of them.

The tactic is simple, and incredibly similar, for all of the wins (apart from Wiebes' and Van Aert's): ensure there are multiple options in a reduced peloton, and then attack solo, whether from far out or close to the finish, in the knowledge that there is a backup rider(s) in the chasing group, should the move fail.

With the attack from the smaller bunch hanging off the front, it is always difficult for a chasing group to organise itself, with often the only riders present being their team's respecitve leaders. It is always hard to put your ego to one side and work hard, knowing that there is always another Jumbo or SD Worx option in amongst your number ready to snatch the fruits of your labour. 

That's not to mention the fact that those Jumbo and SD Worx riders have also done a mighty fine job of getting in the way and disrupting any spirited chase.

It is the kind of plan that leaves ardent cycling fans scratching their heads, because it seems so effortless. Explaining cycling to a non-fan is so often a case of going "well, they can't just ride off the front". Except, in this case, they can.

This is easy to say, it is less easy to do. It is not like other teams have not tried something similar, or don't have the numbers to make this count. It is the strength of the riders involved that makes it such a powerful strategy, makes it work time and time again.

There are other squads with a coterie of solid riders, like Ineos Grenadiers, with Tom Pidcock, Ben Turner, Magnus Sheffield, Jhonatan Narváez and Michał Kwiatkowski, or Trek-Segafredo with Elisa Longo Borghini, Lucinda Brand and Elisa Balsamo, but in the spring of 2023 they simply do not seem to be as strong as Jumbo-Visma or SD Worx.

The fact that the two Dutch squads have the outstanding favourites among their number does not hurt them, obviously - Van Aert and Kopecky - but it is their ability to be backed up by riders who are on the level of other team's best options which makes them unstoppable.

Laporte, for instance, would be a team leader at most other squads, but will likely sacrifice his chances in order to support Van Aert at the Tour of Flanders this Sunday. Perhaps this is why the latter felt the need to gift him the win at Gent-Wevelgem, a thank-you present in advance.

Kopecky, or Vollering, likewise, can rely on the likes of Reusser to soften up the opposition. This is what happened at Dwars door Vlaanderen, where Reusser's 30km attack, accompanied by Marianne Vos, meant Vollering could sit on, wait for the move to be caught - if it was - and then fly off the front.

The other favourites at Flanders do not have this luxury.

Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogačar might be on the same level as Van Aert, but their Alpecin-Deceuninck and UAE Emirates squads do not have the same level of threat as Jumbo.

Likewise, Annemiek van Vleuten or Vos might be seen as among the best bets for the win at the women's race on Sunday, but they can't rely on a similar level of support or array of attacking talent as Kopecky and Vollering.

The concept of strength in numbers, with an outstanding favourite, is nothing new; it was the maxim that the various Quick-Step teams operated on for years, with Tom Boonen or Philipe Gilbert benefiting from the likes of Niki Terpstra or Yves Lampaert riding alongside them.

It is just that in this season of SD Worx/Jumbo-Visma dominance, the perfect set of riders appears to have come together to make the result seem almost inevitable. Perhaps it won't work on the biggest stage of all, the Tour of Flanders, but when the  moment comes - and it will come - when a man in yellow or a woman in purple charges off the front the fans on the roadside will likely, rightly, turn back to their beers and frites.

The stage is set for the first cobbled Monument of the year, the Tour of Flanders, scheduled for 2 April. 

This year's race marks the event's 107th edition, making it one of the oldest in the world. The riders have changed over the years, but many of the event's iconic climbs have stayed the same. 

The route stretches out over 270km between Bruges and Oudenaarde. Below you'll find details of the race parcours, together with a list of those who will tackle it.

Tour of Flanders 2023: route

This year’s Tour of Flanders counts 273.4 kilometres, almost one kilometre longer than the 2022 edition won by Mathieu van der Poel. 

After six years in Antwerp, the race returns to Bruges in 2023 to kick off proceedings. The riders will roll out for an easy first 100km, before they hit the first cobbled sector - Huisepontweg - on the approach into Oudenaarde. 

The race’s midway point is marked with the first of three drags up the 2.2km-long Oude Kwaremont. From there, the terrain becomes unforgiving, offering little recovery time between the hellingen that quickly rack up. Notable ascents here include the Holleweg, Molenberg and Valkenberg. 

With 55km to go, the riders will get a practice run at the finishing two climbs as they go over the iconic pair of the Oude Kwaremont and the Paterberg. The duo return around 17km from the line, where the decisive attacks are likely to come. 

The flat run-in to Oudenaarde is uncomplicated, but will bring some of the day’s most dramatic racing. If a rider hasn’t already broken away solo, expect a desperate sprint to the line. 

Tour of Flanders 2023: Start list

Alpecin-Deceuninck

VAN DER POEL Mathieu
DILLIER Silvan
BALLERSTEDT Maurice
GOGL Michael
KRAGH ANDERSEN Søren
VERMEERSCH Gianni
MEURISSE Xandro

Jumbo-Visma

VAN AERT Wout
AFFINI Edoardo
BENOOT Tiesj
LAPORTE Christophe
VAN FIJKE Tim
VAN DER SANDE Tosh
VAN HOOYDONCK Nathan

UAE Team Emirates

POGAČAR Tadej
OLIVEIRA Rui
BAX Sjoerd
BJERG Mikkel
LAENGEN Vegard Stake
TRENTIN Matteo
WELLENS Tim

AG2R Citroën Team

VAN AVERMAET Greg
COSNEFROY Benoît
DEWULF Stan
NAESEN Lawrence
NAESEN Oliver
GAUTHERAT Pierre
TOUZÉ Damien

Lotto Dstny

EWAN Caleb
DE BUYST Jasper
FRISON Frederik
GRIGNARD Sébastien
VAN MOER Brent
VERMEERSCH Florian
LIVYNS Arjen

Trek-Segafredo

STUYVEN Jasper
LIEPINS Emīls
HOOLE Daan
KIRSCH Alex
PEDERSEN Mads
THEUNS Edward
VACEK Mathias

INEOS Grenadiers

PIDCOCK Thomas
HEIDUK Kim
KWIATKOWSKI Michał
TURNER Ben
ROWE Luke
SHEFFIELD Magnus
SWIFT Ben

Soudal Quick-Step

ALAPHILIPPE Julian
ASGREEN Kasper
BALLERINI Davide
MERLIER Tim
LAMPAERT Yves
SÉNÉCHAL Florian
DECLERCQ Tim

Team Jayco AlUla

MATTHEWS Michael
DURBRIDGE Luke
MEZGEC Luka
O'BRIEN Kelland
QUICK Blake
REINDERS Elmar
ŠTYBAR Zdeněk

EF Education-EasyPost

BETTIOL Alberto
SCULLY Tom
DOULL Owain
HONORÉ Mikkel Frølich
KEUKELEIRE Jens
POWLESS Neilson
RUTSCH Jonas

Bahrain Victorious

MOHORIČ Matej
ARNDT Nikias
GRADEK Kamil
MACIEJUK Filip
PASQUALON Andrea
RAJOVIĆ Dušan
WRIGHT Fred

Intermarché-Circus-Wanty

GIRMAY Biniam
BYSTRØM Sven Erik
DE GENDT Aimé
DE POOTER Dries
PLANCKAERT Baptiste
TEUNISSEN Mike
VAN DER HOORN Taco

Team DSM

DEGENKOLB John
BEVIN Patrick
EEKHOFF Nils
HEINSCHKE Leon
EDMONDSON Alex
NABERMAN Tim
VERMAERKE Kevin

BORA-Hansgrohe

ARCHBOLD Shane
GAMPER Patrick
HALLER Marco
POLITT Nils
MEEUS Jordi
VAN POPPEL Danny
KOCH Jonas

Astana Qazaqstan Team

CHZHAN Igo
GIDICH Yevgeniy
LAAS Martin
FEDOROV Yevgeniy
GRUZDEV Dmitriy
NURLYKHASSYM Nurbergen
SYRITSA Gleb

Cofidis

ALLEGAERT Piet
KREDER Wesley
NOPPE Christophe
CARVALHO Andre
RENARD Alexis
ZINGLE Axel
WALSCHEID Max

Israel - Premier Tech

VANMARCKE Sep
BOIVIN Guillaume
REYNDERS Jens
HOULE Hugo
NEILANDS Krists
VAN ASBROECK Tom
TEUNS Dylan

Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team

BAUER Jack
DEVRIENDT Tom
FEDELI Alessandro
PARISINI Nicolò
MAŁECKI Kamil
PUPPIO Antonio
ZUKOWSKY Nickolas

Team Arkéa Samsic

HOFSTETTER Hugo
BIERMANS Jenthe
DEKKER David
LOUVEL Matis
MCLAY Daniel
LE BERRE Mathis
RUSSO Clément

Groupama-FDJ

KÜNG Stefan
ASKEY Lewis
GENIETS Kevin
LE GAC Olivier
LIENHARD Fabian
MADOUAS Valentin
WATSON Samuel

Movistar Team

GARCÍA CORTINA Iván
HOLLMAN Juri
JACOBS Johan
JORGENSON Matteo
LAZKANO Oier
ROMEO Iván
NORSGAARD Mathias

TotalEnergies

SAGAN Peter
BOASSON HAGEN Edvald
DUJARDIN Sandy
BONNET Thomas
OURSELIN Paul
TURGIS Anthony
VAN GESTEL Dries

Bingoal WB

VAN KEIRSBULCK Guillaume
BLOUWE Louis
DESAL Ceriel
GEURIN Alexis
MERTENS Julian
ROBEET Ludovic
VAN BOVEN Luca

Team Flanders - Baloise

BRAET Vito
COLMAN Alex
DE PESTEL Sander
DE VYLDER Lindsay
BERCKMOES Jenno
DE WILDE Gilles
VANHOOF Ward

Uno-X Pro Cycling Team

KRISTOFF Alexander
URIANSTAD Martin
HALVORSEN Kristoffer
BLUME LEVY William
RESELL Erik Nordsæter
BENDIXEN Louis
TILLER Rasmus

Throughout the 1990’s as they dominated the Classics scene across Europe, the Belgian Mapei superteam epitomised their Latin ethos of Vincere Insieme as they swept up victories left right and centre from a handful of different riders. 

Translated to English, it means to win together, and more than a decade later Jumbo-Visma are repeating their same Classics dominance, but under a different phrase with a similar meaning, Samen Winnen, winning together.

Wout van Aert’s willingness to sacrifice his own ambitions for those of his teammate Christophe Laporte at Gent-Wevelgem lived and breathed that ideology. It was a continuation of Jumbo-Visma’s collectivism which has already brought them huge success this spring. 

Before Sunday’s result, no other team had managed to win Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, the E3 Saxo Classic, and Gent-Wevelgem in the same season. Although on the penultimate ascent of the rain-soaked Kemmelberg, Van Aert and Laporte set to work to ensure Jumbo-Visma became the first to do so. 

When the finish arrived, handing the win to Laporte also bought Van Aert the undying loyalty of a perfect ally to help him achieve his Tour of Flanders dream next Sunday.

Brought in from Cofidis prior to the 2022 season, Laporte was instrumental in much of his team’s success last year. Van Aert knew this, and discussing the decision making behind handing Laporte the win in Wevelgem, he highlighted the Frenchman's willingness to work for their shared goals post-race to the media.

“He is such a team player, so it was an easy decision,” Van Aert said, thinking ahead to the final phase of racing in the dust of Flanders next weekend. The Belgian will need all the team players he can muster if he is to overcome the looming threat of Tadej Pogačar.

In the aftermath of it all, those questioning Van Aert have evidently missed the bigger picture.

How could he possibly have given away such a result when he was the strongest rider on the Kemmelberg? Where was the killer instinct in him, and why didn’t he ride away when Laporte faded on the final ascent? 

WINNING TOGETHER

Firstly, Van Aert had just landed a morale boosting win over his Flanders rivals at the E3 Saxo Classic on Friday, he didn’t need yet more assurance of his own ability. He doesn’t need to prove anything.

Not having a second Gent-Wevelgem title on his palmarès isn’t suddenly going to put Van Aert out of work in his post-racing career. A second win would have meant little compared to the significance of winning Flanders or Paris-Roubaix in the coming fortnight.

Instead, Van Aert opted to go all in for a teammate proving that the words Samen Winnen have weight to him, and you really cannot buy that type of team spirit reverberating around Jumbo-Visma currently. 

Cycling has moved on since the likes of Tom Boonen and Van Aert’s other critics were active in the peloton. The current generation understands there are other ways to win that don't require bulldozing all before you, furthermore teammates don’t exist solely for the purpose of handing bottles and food to their leaders. 

Speaking to HLN, Johan Museeuw suggested Van Aert may look back on this particular moment in retirement and be full of regret.

“In 15 years, Wout might think back to this moment and be angry with himself,” he said, adding his voice to the chorus of ex-Belgian riders, including Eddy Merckx, who while admitting that they understood the thinking behind it, also questioned Van Aert’s final decision to simply hand over Gent-Wevelgem to the Frenchman.  

Meanwhile Boonen even suggested to Sporza that the duo should have sprinted it out, implying that Laporte’s win looked good solely from a marketing point of view, and that giving away Gent-Wevelgem was a bigger loss to Van Aert than the previous victory he handed to Laporte at Paris-Nice.

Clearly anticipating the naysayers, Van Aert begged to differ, recognising the importance of sometimes putting your teammates over your own agenda. Laporte was yet to win a major Classic, so it made sense to help a loyal, trusted lieutenant add to his list of wins as they built form together, and team morale ahead of the races still to come.

"FRIENDS ARE GOOD ON THE DAY OF BATTLE"

Plus, the pair appear to genuinely be friends. “People at home only see this race, but Christophe is a good friend,” Van Aert said. “We have been on the road together for a whole year… and when you get into this situation, it would feel strange to sprint against one another.”

In the heart of the Somme battlefields of the First World War in France, there is an ancient Gaelic proverb, carved into the memorial to the 51st Highland Division near Beaumont Hamel.

"La a'Blair s'math n Cairdean" which in English translates to “friends are good on the day of battle”.

As they traversed the battlefields further north around Ypres, riding away from Laporte on the Kemmelberg would have been a kick in the teeth to a friend who has proved so invaluable for Jumbo-Visma and Wout Van Aert to date. A friend that he will want firmly by his side when the inevitable attacks from Mathieu van der Poel rain down on the Oude Kwaremont on Sunday.

“It was a dream of mine- like winning a stage of the Tour de France- to win a Classic, and I’ve done it now, thanks to the team and thanks to Wout,” Laporte said as he reflected on the significance of his latest win in the colours of his new team.

On paper, Laporte could feasibly win either Flanders or Roubaix himself in the coming weeks. Although Samen Winnen, winning together, may well prove more important. Now that one man’s Classics dream has been fulfilled, expect to see him going all out to help another achieve his Flanders dream on Sunday.  

The E3 Saxo Classic on Friday was truly a classic, with a podium for the ages - a final trio of Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma), Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) and Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) having seven monuments between them, and two Grand Tour wins.

It really did look like a dress rehearsal for the Tour of Flanders, a week on Sunday, with the big three going clear on the Oude Kwaremont. In fact, if you ignored Van Aert, the eventual winner, it was the decisive move of last year's Flanders, which was won by Van der Poel.

It seems crass to talk about the next big thing in the aftermath of a truly brilliant race, as E3 was, but Flanders is what is at the top of everyone's minds.

As Van der Poel put it in his post-race interview: "In the end Wout van Aert was too strong in the sprint but I can live with second place and hopefully next week I can turn things around."

Pogačar echoed this: " I hope things will be different next week. I'll go home and do some good training, it's just a week to Flanders."

E3 is the beginning of a quartet of races that ends with the glory of Flanders: Gent-Wevelgem on Sunday, Dwars door Vlaanderen on Wednesday, then the Ronde next Sunday. However, this will be the last time that the big three face each other until they line up in Antwerp on the 2 April, so it was time well spent for all of them on what they could learn ahead of time.

Here's what the trio need to do to win big in Oudenaarde.

Wout van Aert

Wout van Aert will be hoping the hangover from his win on Friday is non-existent, as he heads straight into Gent-Wevelgem on Sunday before the big race a week after. 

This time last year, he was in a similar position, having won E3 that time, but Covid prevented him from taking to the start line of Flanders, hampering his team's chances massively. Thinking back to a sombre pre-Flanders press conference attended by Christophe Laporte and Tiesj Benoot, one could see that with Van Aert's absence, Jumbo-Visma's plans had been shattered.

At E3, Van Aert was a different rider to the one he was in 2022, following, rather than initiating moves. Whenever Van der Poel took off, it was he that was there, but often he didn't follow through and pull, in the knowledge of overwhelming team numbers behind.

When the leading trio was eventually established, it was Van Aert who looked the most likely to be dropped, almost heading backwards on the Oude Kwaremont; a motorbike crash might have slowed Pogačar's surge in that moment and saved the race for the Belgian.

Van der Poel was the aggressor, and Pogačar tried to drop the pair, but Van Aert was able to cling onto the coattails of his rivals, in the knowledge of his superior sprint. Unlike at Flanders in 2020, this is exactly what transpired against his great Dutch peer, as he kicked past both Pogačar and Van der Poel to the line.

It might not come so easy at Flanders, with the other teams wise to his tactical approach. However, Jumbo have the strength in depth to play different options: Dylan van Baarle, winner of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad was largely absent on Friday, as was Tiesj Benoot, winner of Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne, with both leaving the race early. Christophe Laporte was active, as was Nathan van Hooydonck, and with Van Aert as the trump card, Jumbo-Visma will feel pretty secure going into the race.

As long as Van Aert can cling onto Van der Poel and Pogačar at their most explosive, he will be the favourite; his whole season looks like it is pointing to this point.

Mathieu van der Poel

As Mathieu van der Poel attacked again and again off the front on Friday, he looked like the strongest man in the race, as he had been at Milan-San Remo a week previously. However, unlike on the Poggio, he simply could not make his trademark powerful move to take the race away from his rivals.

The Dutchman's problem was that he could not shake off Van Aert, who had the beating of him in the sprint in Harelbeke. However, this might all be different at Flanders in nine days time, with the longer course perhaps working in Van der Poel's favour. This was definitely the case in 2020, when he beat his Belgian rival in a two-up sprint at the end of the race.

His Alpecin-Deceuninck squad looked strong, with Søren Kragh Andersen and Dries De Bondt looking like the perfect foils, he just has to make an attack that properly counts. 

It would not be surprising if he was keeping his powder slightly dry for the big event. After all, he is a two-time winner of the Tour of Flanders, so he knows how to taste victory in Oudenaarde. It could simply be that his sprint at the end of a 270km race is relatively better than one at the end of 200km.

Tadej Pogačar

Tadej Pogačar: Grand Tour champion, master of general classification, and cobbled Classic natural. 

This is how it seems, anyway, with the Slovenian looking adept at his first try at E3, and just his third Belgian Classic ever, after Dwars and Flanders last year. Pogačar can certainly make the front group of the race, he is too good not too. He even came back from some iffy positioning earlier in the race to challenge at the very end.

His problem comes at the end, with any group he comes to the finish with likely to have a faster finisher in it, as he found with Van der Poel at Flanders last year, and with the same rider, plus Van Aert, at E3.

Instead of hanging on until the end, Pogačar might have to do something pretty ridiculous in order to make it to the finish alone. Like at Strade Bianche in 2022, when he attacked with 50km to go, the UAE Team Emirates rider might find that going from incredibly far out is his best chance of victory, as Philippe Gilbert did in 2017. You would not put it past him.

Quick guide to watching Tour of Flanders 2023

Like all of the calendar's biggest races, you can live stream the Tour of Flanders on GCN+ and Eurosport in the UK and FloBikes in the US. Subscription costs range from £6.99/month to $150/year.

Date: 2 April

AUS FREE live stream: SBS On Demand

UK: Stream on GCN+ and Eurosport Player (£6.99/mon)

US: Stream on FloBikes ($150/year / $30/mon)

Anywhere: Watch your local stream from anywhere with ExpressVPN

There are many VPN options out there but ExpressVPN has consistently been highly rated by our colleagues at Cycling Weekly sister site TechRadar.

What to expect at Tour of Flanders

The Tour of Flanders marks the second monument of the season, and the first to take place in the cycling heartland of Belgium. 

Now in its 107th edition, the event is one of the oldest on the calendar, and always makes for thrilling racing. 

This year, the men's race will begin in Bruges, where the riders will roll out on a 270km route, punctuated by challenging cobbled climbs, en route to the finish in Oudenaarde. The women's peloton will tackle the same series of hellingen, but on a shorter course of 158km, starting and ending in Oudenaarde. 

As is customary at the Tour of Flanders, the finale will likely play out on the iconic climbs of the Oude Kwaremont and the Paterberg. These two ascents, which both come in the final 20 kilometres, have long been the launchpad of choice for the ultimate race winners. 

Should Mathieu van der Poel defend his title in this year's men's event, the Dutchman will join an exclusive group of riders who have won the race three times, joining the likes of Tom Boonen, Fabian Cancellara and Johan Museeuw. 

The women's race, first held in 2004, has crowned an array of different champions, with Annemiek van Vleuten one of just three riders to have triumphed on two occasions. 

Read more

Latest Tour of Flanders news

Route breakdown: Men's race | Women's race

How to watch Tour of Flanders in Australia

 In Australia, the Tour of Flanders will be broadcast live, for free, on SBS. You can head to the SBS On Demand streaming service and watch the action, as well as replays and highlights.

Aussies away from home can use a VPN to watch the Tour of Flanders live stream free from abroad. Download the VPN, set your location to 'Australia' using the in-app menu and watch live as if you are back at home.

How to watch a Tour of Flanders live stream from outside your country

If you find yourself overseas on 2 April and struggling to access your usual streaming platforms due to geo-blocking restrictions, there's an easy solution. 

By using a VPN, a software tool that offers online privacy and the ability to change your IP address, you can access on-demand content and live TV as if you were at home. 

There are plenty of free VPNs but our sister site TechRadar recommends the paid ExpressVPN, which it consistently rates as the best VPN provider.

Use a VPN to watch 2023 Tour of Flanders from abroad:

How to watch Tour of Flanders in the US

In the USA, FloBikes has the rights to Tour of Flanders, streaming both the men's and women's race throughout the day. The TV app is available on Roku, Fire TV, Chromecast and Apple TV, as well as on iOS and Android. Subscriptions cost $150 a year.

How to watch Tour of Flanders in the UK

In the UK, the race will be shown live on Eurosport, with live streams available on the Eurosport player, Discovery+ website and GCN+. Buying a pass for either of the first two options costs just £6.99 a month, and will auto-renew until you cancel. 

Year-long passes are available for £59.99, equating to a saving of £23.89.

If you only want the cycling, and not the other things that Eurosport offers, you can get a GCN+ subscription at a cost of £39.99 for the year, or you can buy a race pass for £6.99 per month. This will also give you access to the full racing calendar on the platform, as well as its documentaries, which are created and produced in-house.

If you happen to be abroad when the Tour of Flanders is on, you can watch the race hassle-free with a VPN. Simply download a VPN, set the country to your home location and stream as usual. 

There are several VPN options out there, but we think going with Express VPN is the best. Express VPN will also give you a 30-day money-back guarantee.  

What time is Tour of Flanders on?

UK coverage of the men's race will begin on GCN+ and Eurosport at 8:55 GMT. The women's event will then start five hours later, at 14:00 GMT. 

In the US, the men's race will be on from 4:55 ET on FloBikes, with coverage of the women's race beginning at 10:00 ET. 

Australian audiences will be able to watch the men's race from 18:25 ACT. The women's race will be on from 23:30 ACT. 

Sadly, if you're an Australian or US GCN+ subscriber, you don't get the Tour of Flanders included in your package. You can find the full list of races that GCN will be broadcasting in your country over on their helpful racing schedule.

All road races organised by Flanders Classics will have equal prize money from this year, it was announced on Thursday.

The race organisers are behind six Spring Classics, starting with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad this weekend. Their portfolio also contains the Tour of Flanders.

It is part of a three-year project by Flanders Classics, partnered with KPMG called Closing the Gap. The project was launched in 2020 to develop women’s cycling and put it on an equal footing with the men’s events.

The Tour of Flanders already had the same prize money, which started last year, but now all five others will have the same winnings for men and women.

“We had already announced that long-term strategy three years ago. In 2023 we wanted to equalize the prize money for all spring races and if you say so, you should do it,” the CEO of Flanders Classics, Tomas Van Den Spiegel, told Sporza.

“For us, it is the icing on the cake, part of a bigger picture. We have already been working on upgrading the starting fees, improving our competitions, and increasing media coverage and broadcasting hours.”

"You can't be left behind with the prize money and we want to show that this is the momentum. We want to lead by example," he added.

"Women's cycling used to be described by organisers as a cost, today it is an investment."

Dwars door Vlaanderen, Gent-Wevelgem, Scheldeprijs and Brabantse Pijl are the other races organised by Flanders Classics; the last ten years has seen all of their six have women's races, the last of which was Scheldeprijs.

"We want to be innovative and we want to remain first in our class," Van Den Spiegel said. "And so I think other organisers will be obliged to follow."

"This sport is becoming popular. There is a new generation, women's cycling is appealing and the stories stand perfectly on their own. It has an independent future."

As for actual money, €50,000 is split between the riders of the respective men's and women's Tour of Flanders, while the other five have slightly less on offer. Van Den Spiegel said €400,000 is spread across the races.

“Equal pay for women is about more than just money,” KPMG's Head of Sales & Marketing Stefanie Pauwels told Sporza. "It also has enormous symbolic value."

"Additional resources are a step towards the best conditions for female cyclists, both financially and sportingly. In this way they can increasingly realize their ambition to sharpen their skills full-time, to excel and to go all the way for a sports career."

"The initiative also leads to a snowball effect: we effectively see that other organisations worldwide follow the example of Flanders Classics Women, such as the Tour de France, thanks to our support."

Adrie van der Poel, father of Mathieu and former professional cyclist, has said that there will be no room for error as his son gets set to battle for the cyclo-cross world title on Sunday in the Netherlands.

Due to their tightly packed schedules, Van der Poel senior has not spoken much to Mathieu in the build-up to Sunday’s race, a contest that's widely anticipated to be a two way scrap between his son and Wout van Aert.

However speaking exclusively to Cycling Weekly, he revealed that they had found time for a father and son coffee catch-up as well as an exchange of light-hearted banter via WhatsApp.

“I sent him a WhatsApp this week. He was not pleased that I couldn’t help clean his bike and he had to do it by himself,” he joked. “That’s what he told me.” 

"We drank a coffee together on Monday morning, then the rest of the week I haven’t heard much from him. He has a lot of training to do before Sunday and he will join up with the national team on Friday I think,” he said. “I think I won’t see him now until Sunday morning.”

Van der Poel senior, himself a former winner of the cyclo-cross world championships as well as multiple prestigious races on the road, explained that he warned his son mistakes will be costly against Van Aert in Hoogerheide.

“The most important thing is that he passes the finish line first,” Van der Poel joked. “It will be very muddy on Sunday, and a lot of wind. I’ve said that it will be the little mistakes that make the difference.”

FLANDERS HAT-TRICK "EASIER" THAN A MAIDEN PARIS-ROUBAIX VICTORY

Van der Poel junior has been in solid form in his cyclo-cross campaign this winter, and if he takes the honours on Sunday, will become cyclo-cross world champion for a fifth time. 

Van der Poel explained that a victory on Sunday will be an extra boost to his son's “strong form” throughout the off-season, something which he believes has been “perfect” preparation for the start of the spring classics on the road, where he will target a maiden Paris-Roubaix title.

“Up until Sunday has been the first part of the preparation for the classics season. After the worlds, he will take a few days off, then he’ll prepare for Strade Bianche and races including Paris-Roubaix,” he said. 

“I think all the races he’s done now in cyclo-cross and the training with the team has so far been perfect.”

However, despite his big goals that have been outlined for the coming year, Adrie believes that his son may find it "easier" to land a Tour of Flanders hat-trick as opposed to a maiden victory in Roubaix. 

“Maybe it’s easier to win a third Tour of Flanders than a first Paris-Roubaix,” Van der Poel senior said. “It’s maybe a case of him being more stressed for winning Paris-Roubaix and less for the Tour of Flanders. It’s not easy to win these kinds of races, you also have to be a little bit lucky. 

"Although for sure, I know he’s doing all he can to win more classics this year.”

"WE'LL DO THE SAME AS USUAL, IT'S THE BEST WAY TO SUCCEED"

When Van der Poel junior lines up at Strade Bianche in early March, he’s likely to face Tom Pidcock who recently confirmed that he will ride the Italian one-day race.

Pidcock has decided to skip the defence of his world cyclo-cross title this weekend in order to prepare for a strong start on the road. Van der Poel senior explained that it’s a “pity” the British rider won’t be present in Hoogerheide, although “understandable”.

He said: “It’s a pity for the sport that he [Pidcock] is not here, although it’s logical when you have other big goals in the season. You have to make decisions early sometimes, and it’s very hard to please everyone. I understand his choice completely.”

Finally when Sunday comes around and his son gets set to battle with Van Aert in the mud of Hoogerheide, Van der Poel explained that he will only have one thing to say to his son.

“Good luck, that’s all I'll say,” he joked. “Sometimes before the big races it’s best not to talk too much with him. He likes to be in the van with his brother and they will recon the circuit.”

“We will all just do the same as usual. I think that’s the best way to succeed.”