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Tour of Flanders Men - Road race Men

Latest news

Gilbert tips van der poel as ‘favourite’ for paris-roubaix after ‘hardest ever race’.

02/04/2024 at 16:28

Victorious Van der Poel rode final 20km 'almost with my eyes shut'

31/03/2024 at 18:51

LIVE: Antwerp - Oudenaarde

Tour of Flanders Men - March 31st, 2024

Follow the Tour of Flanders Men Antwerp - Oudenaarde stage live with Eurosport. Antwerp - Oudenaarde starts at 8:20 AM on March 31st, 2024.

Catch the latest cycling news and find Tour of Flanders Men results , standings and routes. After Antwerp - Oudenaarde is done, be sure to check out the full schedule of stages and get live updates for the next stage. You can also find a list of previous winners .

Follow Rui Costa, Mathieu van der Poel, Mark Cavendish and other key riders to see who is dominating this season. See the hottest cycling teams in action - Bora-Hansgrohe, Ineos Grenadiers and Cofidis to name a few.

Cycling fans can read breaking Tour of Flanders Men news headlines, interviews, expert commentary, replays & highlights. Keep up with all of this season’s top events, including the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España.

Make Eurosport your go-to source for sports online from cycling to football, tennis, snooker and more. Enjoy live updates from the biggest sports competitions.

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Tour of Flanders: Victories for Mathieu van der Poel & Elisa Longo Borghini

World road race champion Mathieu van der Poel produced a stunning long-range attack to win a record-equalling third Tour of Flanders.

The Dutchman became only the seventh rider to complete a hat-trick of wins.

The 29-year-old also became the first person to make the podium of the Monument in five consecutive seasons.

Britain's Lizzie Deignan suffered a broken arm in an early crash in the women's race, which was won by Italy 's Elisa Longo Borghini for a second time.

While damp conditions caused havoc in both races, Van der Poel used all of his experience to navigate the famous Belgian cobbles.

The Alpecin-Deceuninck rider accelerated away from his rivals on a cobbled climb with 45km of the 270km route to go, and went on to finish more than a minute ahead of the chasing pack, adding to wins in 2020 and 2022 and second-placed finishes in 2021 and 2023.

"Winning the Tour of Flanders with the world champion's rainbow jersey on your back is a dream come true," said Van der Poel, who won the world road title in Glasgow in August .

"It was one of the hardest races of my life. I was dead in the last few kilometres, but I closed my eyes and kept pressing on the pedals."

Philipsen wins fastest Milan-San Remo

Italian Luca Mozzato claimed second, one minute and two seconds back, following a thrilling finish for the remaining podium places while German Nils Politt was given third after Australian Michael Matthews was demoted following an irregular sprint.

But there was no questioning Van der Poel's dominance in what was the second of the spring's Monuments - five classic one-day races that also include Milan-San Remo, Paris-Roubaix, Liege-Bastogne-Liege and the Giro di Lombardia.

He benefited from the absence of local favourite Wout van Aert , who was ruled out through injury, while defending champion Tadej Pogacar did not take part in the race as he is focusing on a Giro d'Italia-Tour de France double this season.

Van der Poel will now be favourite for Paris-Roubaix, which takes place next Sunday.

Longo Borghini clinches second win after Deignan crash

Lidl-Trek's Longo Borghini, 32, became only the fifth rider to win a second Women's Tour of Flanders, adding to her 2015 title.

She edged Poland 's Kasia Niewiadoma into second place in a sprint finish, while the Netherlands' Shirin van Anrooij was third.

Longo Borghini and Niewiadoma bridged the gap to breakaway leader Van Anrooij with 12km to go and held off the chasing pack.

Three-time world champion Marianne Vos, who won the race in 2013, was fourth - nine seconds back.

"Winning this race means a lot to me," said Longo Borghini.

"This win is also for Lizzie. Hopefully we put a smile on her face."

Deignan, 35, was forced to pull out of the race with 145km remaining after being involved in a heavy crash involving 10 riders, including world champion Lotte Kopecky.

Kopecky was able to continue, eventually finishing fifth, but the British rider was taken to hospital for checks, with her Lidl-Trek team confirming an X-ray showed a "fracture of the radial head of the right arm".

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Mathieu van der Poel celebrates after crossing the finish line at the Tour of Flanders

Mathieu van der Poel crushes rivals to claim third Tour of Flanders title

Men’s world champion produces devastating attack on cobbles
Elisa Longo Borghini wins women’s race in sprint finish

The men’s world champion, Mathieu van der Poel, crushed his rivals with a devastating long-range attack to claim his third Tour of Flanders on Sunday.

In the women’s race, the Italian Elisa Longo Borghini came home first after outsprinting Poland’s Kasia Niewiadoma and Shirin van Anrooij of the Netherlands.

Van der Poel, who now has five Monument titles to his name, produced a trademark brutal acceleration in the Koppenberg’s cobbled ascent, 45 kilometres from the finish, and never looked back as several riders had to step off their bikes. The cycling calendar has five Monuments: Milan-Sanremo, the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Giro di Lombardia.

Van der Poel also won Milan-Sanremo and Paris-Roubaix last year. He will be the heavy favourite for the Flanders-Roubaix double when he rides in the “Queen of the Classics” next Sunday.

The Dutchman, the first rider with five consecutive podium finishes on the Tour of Flanders, was in a class of his own in the Belgian rain in an event Wout van Aert missed after sustaining injuries in the Dwars door Vlaanderen one-day race on Wednesday.

The warm-up race was won by Matteo Jorgenson but the American cracked as he was chasing Van der Poel after the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider’s attack. The 29-year-old Van der Poel was in a class of his own and crossed the line more than a minute ahead of the Italian Luca Mozzato and the German Nils Politt, after the Australian Michael Matthews, initially third, was demoted following an irregular sprint after 270.8km.

Elisa Longo Borghini celebrates victory in the women’s race

Britain’s Josh Tarling (Ineos) was 17th, Owain Doull (EF Education-Easypost) was 19th, Tarling’s teammate Ben Turner was 38th and Fred Wright (Bahrain-Victorious) was 50th of 87 finishers. Tadej Pogacar, the defending champion, did not take part in the race as he is focusing on a Giro d’Italia-Tour de France double this season.

Longo Borghini, of Lidl-Trek, was celebrating her second Tour of Flanders title, having won it first in 2015. Pfeiffer Georgi (DSM-Firmenich PostNL) was the highest-placed British rider in the women’s event, 1min 46sec off the lead in 13th place.

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Van der Poel wins Tour of Flanders for third time

W orld road race champion Mathieu van der Poel produced a stunning long-range attack to win the Tour of Flanders for a record-equalling third time.

The Dutchman accelerated away from his rivals on the cobbles with 45km to go to became only the seventh rider to complete the hat-trick of victories.

The 29-year-old also became the first person to make the podium of the Monument in five consecutive seasons.

Along with wins in 2020 and 2022, Van der Poel was second in 2021 and 2023.

The Alpecin-Deceuninck rider used all his experience to navigate the 270km route in Belgium, made even more difficult by damp conditions, as he finished more than a minute ahead of the chasing pack.

Italian Luca Mozzato claimed second following a thrilling finish for the remaining podium places while German Nils Politt was given third after Australian Michael Matthews was demoted following an irregular sprint.

Philipsen wins fastest Milan-San Remo

Van der Poel will now be favourite for the Paris-Roubaix, which takes place next Sunday.

Mathieu van der Poel claimed his fifth Monument victory, after also winning the Milan-San Remo and Paris Roubaix

Minute by Minute

EVENT ENDED

Highlights and best moments of the tour of flanders 2024 between antwerp and oudenaarde, victory for mathieu van der poel, who achieves his third victory in the 2024 tour of flanders where he was accompanied on the podium by luca mozzato and nils politt.

Thank you all !!

We end the broadcast with the king of the Tour of Flanders, who has achieved his third victory and continues writing his history in cycling

🥉 Attention that there is a change on the podium

#RVV24 - 🏁 FINISH 🥇 Mathieu van der Poel 🥈 Luca Mozzato 🥉 Nils Politt DSQ for 🇦🇺 Michael Matthews. #RVVmen — Ronde van Vlaanderen (@RondeVlaanderen) March 31, 2024

🥈🥉 Fight for the podium

Finally, Alberto Bettiol and Dylan Teuns failed to hold on in the final stretch. Luca Mozzato finished in second position and Michael Matthews finished in third position.

The moment in which Van der Poel achieved his third victory

¡¡BICICLETA ARRIBA!! 👑¡¡MATHIEU VAN DER POEL GANA SU TERCER #TourDeFlandes !! 🥵La bestia sobrevivió a la "Masacre de Koppenberg" para afrontar el último Kwaremont-Paterberg en solitario #RRv24 ▶️EN DIRECTO: https://t.co/d8W7xcDns0 pic.twitter.com/e6UHi2wHG5 — Teledeporte (@teledeporte) March 31, 2024

🥇 VICTORY FOR VAN DER POEL

🏁 1 km to go

Entering the last kilometer is Van der Poel, who looks back and is already close to achieving his third victory in the Tour of Flanders

🏁 1'6 km to go

The third group tightens to catch the Italian and the Belgian and fight for the podium. It's 10 seconds away right now

🏁 3'7 km to go

It seems that Alberto Bettiol and Dylan Teuns are going to hold out on the podium. 14 seconds advantage. The fight for the Italian and the Belgian to finish second in this Tour of Flanders is going to be nice

🏁 5 km to go

🏁 6'5 km to go

Van der Poel seems to relax a little and now the lead is 1 min and 23 seconds, although it seems that it is enough margin to take the victory

🏁 8'1 km to go

Bettiol and Tetuns take 11 seconds with the third group.

🏁 10 km to go

The third group is closer to Alberto Bettiol and Dylan Teuns. There is going to be a nice fight for the podium as we enter the last 10 kilometers.

🏁 13 km to go

400 meters now on the Paterberg what the Dutch cyclist has to climb. Once again he removes the Van der Poel chainring to crown this tough area

Van der Poel on his way to his third Tour of Flanders

⛰️⛰️Le queda el Kwaremont-Paterberg 🇳🇱Van der Poel puede conseguir su tercer Tour de Flandes #TourDeFlandes #RVV24 ▶️EN DIRECTO: https://t.co/d8W7xcDns0 pic.twitter.com/a5i3Yb2Jfd — Teledeporte (@teledeporte) March 31, 2024

🏁 15 km to go

Alberto Bettiol and Dylan Teuns continue to increase the lead with the third group. It seems that the Italian and the Belgian are going to fight for second position in this Tour of Flanders 2024

🏁 17 km to go

Van der Poel continues to climb in the Old Kwaremont, cheering on the Dutch public. He has even removed the plate on this climb. He enters the final stretch of the Old Kwaremont, and almost reached the 2 minute lead

Race situation at the moment

2º Teuns & Bettiol (+ 1'46")

3º Wellens & Garcia Cortina (+ 1'55")

🏁 20 km to go

Van der Poel is going to enter the tough moment, the last 20 kilometers. Although the Dutchman has 1 minute and 49 seconds of advantage

🏁 23 km to go

After Bettiol and Teuns, Iván García Cortina and the Belgian Tim Wellens are the two drivers who are in the third group and will fight for the podium. They are 14 seconds behind the two cyclists, who are in the second group

🏁 25 km to go

Bettiol and Teuns escape from the chasing group.

🏁 27 km to go

Van de Van der Poel continues to open a gap , seeking his fifth consecutive time in the Tour of Flanders that he has managed to finish on the podium. In his first edition, he stayed at the gates, finishing in fourth position

🏁 29 km to go

Van de Van der Poel starts the Kruisberk at a time when cyclists have already ridden more than 200 kilometers

🏁 30 km to go

Brave Iván Gracia, the Spaniard from Movistar Team tries to push through group 2 and escape

🏁 32 km to go

Pedersen and Rex are already in the chasing group. They have managed to reconnect

🏁 34 km to go

Group 2 has already taken Jorgenson and there will be the fight for the top-10. Between group 2 and 3 there is a distance of about 50 seconds

🏁 37 km to go

The third group is going to enter the fight with Jorgenson with the second position. There's only 18 seconds ahead. However, the Dutchman's advantage continues to increase, as he already has a margin of 44 seconds.

🏁 39 km to go

Van der Poel keeps shooting and looks for space . 24 seconds and rising over the American Jorgenson. Behind there is a small group with several runners

🏁 42 km to go

Van der Poel breaks loose, he was one of the few who was able to stay on the bike. The Dutchman leads the race with a nine-second advantage over the second group

This was the moment when García Cortina had to get off the bike

😱MASACRE EN KOPPERBERG García Cortina echa el pie a tierra y Van der Poel es de los pocos corredores no perjudicados por el barro #TourDeFlandes #RVV24 ▶️EN DIRECTO: https://t.co/d8W7xcDns0 pic.twitter.com/1ZDlApG9D0 — Teledeporte (@teledeporte) March 31, 2024

🏁 44 km to go

🏁 47 km to go

An attempt is now being made to move the INEOS Grenadiers team into the forward positions

🏁 50 km to go

The Spanish Iván García Cortona of the Movistar team is currently the leader of the race.

❌ Out of combat

❌Kung eliminado 🤕Muchos nervios, mucha tensión... Y muchas montoneras #TourDeFlandes #RVV24 ▶️EN DIRECTO: https://t.co/d8W7xcDns0 pic.twitter.com/VqCap2Paox — Teledeporte (@teledeporte) March 31, 2024

🏁 53 km to go

Pay attention to the work of the Spanish Oier Lazkano, who on the climb of Viejo Kwaremont held off the great favorite, Van der Poel

🏁 55 km to go

He is tightening the pack and has already caught the two escapees.

This was Mads Pedersen's attack

pic.twitter.com/vJ0PuHUoOQ — Ronde van Vlaanderen (@RondeVlaanderen) March 31, 2024

🏁 56 km to go

There has been a fall in the peloton, while the distance is only nine seconds between the two escapees and the peloton group

Career status

Pedersen and Vermeersch are the leaders of the race, although the peloton follows closely behind. There's only 15 seconds difference.

WE CAME BACK

We return here at VAVEL with the Tour of Flanders 2024. Who will revalidate Pogacar's victory? Come here with us to follow this final stretch

Stay tuned to follow the Tour of Flanders 2024 race live here

In a few moments we will share with you the opening moments of the Tour of Flanders 2024 race live, as well as the latest information from the route between Antwerp and Oudenaarde. Don't miss any details of the race with VAVEL's minute-by-minute coverage.

How to watch the Tour Flanders race live?

If you want to follow it online, VAVEL is your best option.

What time is the Tour of Flanders race?

Argentina: 9:00 AM on ESPN Bolivia: 8:00 AM on ESPN Brazil: 9:00 AM on ESPN Chile: 9:00 AM on ESPN Colombia: 7:00 AM on ESPN Ecuador: 7:00 AM on ESPN USA (ET): 8:00 AM on FloSports Spain: 2:00 PM on RTVE and Eurosport Mexico: 6:00 AM on ESPN Paraguay: 8:00 AM on ESPN Peru: 7:00 AM on ESPN Uruguay: 9:00 AM on ESPN Venezuela: 8:00 AM on ESPN

2 major casualties in the Tour de Flans 2024

Oudenaarde, site of the Tour of Flanders, belongs to the Belgian province of East Flanders and is the epicenter of the Flemish Ardennes where Coentrum Ronde van Vlaanderen is located. The city, which has a population of 31,000 inhabitants, is home to a treasure trove of sights from the past. The town hall is built in a magnificent Brabant Gothic style with Hanske de Krijger at the top of the tower. De Krijger was the faithful watchman of the city of Oudenaarde, but once he fell asleep, so he did not see Charles V coming and had to stand waiting at the gates of Oudenaarde. Since then, those gates have been open for everyone to visit the beautiful city. So Oudenaarde is the ideal place for nature lovers. In the Koppenbergen forest you can walk or cycle through a beautiful corner of the Flemish Ardennes. So be sure to bring your sportswear when you visit this region.

Winners of the Tour of Flanders

1914 Marcel Buysse

1915-1918: Suspendida

1919 Henri Van Lerberghe

1920 Jules Van Hevel

1921 René Vermandel

1922 Léon Devos

1923 Heiri Suter

1924 Gérard Debaets

1925 Julien Delbecque

1926 Denis Verschueren

1927 Gérard Debaets

1928 Jan Mertens

1929 Joseph Dervaes

1930 Frans Bonduel

1931 Romain Gijssels

1932 Romain Gijssels

1933 Alphonse Schepers

1934 Gaston Rebry

1935 Louis Duerloo

1936 Louis Hardiquest

1937 Michel D’Hooghe

1938 Edgard De Caluwé

1939 Karel Kaers

1940 Achille Buysse

1941 Achille Buysse

1942 Albéric Schotte

1943 Achille Buysse

1944 Rik Van Steenbergen

1945 Sylvain Grysolle

1946 Rik Van Steenbergen

1947 Emiel Faignaert

1948 Albéric Schotte

1949 Fiorenzo Magni

1950 Fiorenzo Magni

1951 Fiorenzo Magni

1952 Roger Decock Loretto

1953 Wim Van Est

1954 Raymond Impanis

1955 Louison Bobet

1956 Jean Forestier

1957 Fred de Bruyne

1958 Germain Derycke

1959 Rik Van Looy

1960 Arthur Decabooter

1961 Tom Simpson

1962 Rik Van Looy

1963 Noël Foré

1964 Rudi Altig

1965 Jo De Roo

1966 Edward Sels

1967 Dino Zandegù

1968 Walter Godefroot

1969 Eddy Merckx

1970 Eric Leman

1971 Evert Dolman

1972 Eric Leman

1973 Eric Leman

1974 Cees Bal

1975 Eddy Merckx

1976 Walter Planckaert

1977 Roger de Vlaeminck

1978 Walter Godefroot

1979 Jan Raas

1980 Michel Pollentier

1981 Hennie Kuiper

1982 René Martens

1983 Jan Raas

1984 Johan Lammerts

1985 Eric Vanderaerden

1986 Adrie van der Poel

1987 Claude Criquielion

1988 Eddy Planckaert

1989 Edwig van Hooydonck

1990 Moreno Argentin

1991 Edwig van Hooydonck

1992 Jacky Durand

1993 Johan Museeuw

1994 Gianni Bugno

1995 Johan Museeuw

1996 Michele Bartoli

1997 Rolf Sørensen

1998 Johan Museeuw

1999 Peter van Petegem

2000 Andréi Chmil

2001 Gianluca Bortolami

2002 Andrea Tafi

2003 Peter van Petegem

2004 Steffen Wesemann

2005 Tom Boonen

2006 Tom Boonen

2007 Alessandro Ballan

2008 Stijn Devolder

2009 Stijn Devolder

2010 Fabian Cancellara

2011 Nick Nuyens Sylvain

2012 Tom Boonen

2013 Fabian Cancellara

2014 Fabian Cancellara

2015 Alexander Kristoff

2016 Peter Sagan

2017 Philippe Gilbert

2018 Niki Terpstra

2019 Alberto Bettiol

2020 Mathieu van der Poel

2021 Kasper Asgreen

2022 Mathieu van der Poel

2023 Tadej Pogačar

Participants

Route of the Tour of Flanders

Tour of Flanders

This Sunday, March 31, 2024, the Tour of Flanders 2024 will take place and will be marked by the passage of the hills of the Old Kwaremont and the Paterberg.

Welcome to VAVEL.COM's LIVE coverage of the Tour of Flanders 2024

My name is Manuel Carmona Hidalgo and I will be your host for this race. We will provide you with pre-race analysis and news here live on VAVEL.

Advantage Mathieu van der Poel and Lotte Kopecky at the Tour of Flanders

All the information you need ahead of the biggest Belgian Classic of the year

Riders to watch
Men's start list
Women's start list

Fans of the Tour of Flanders will be denied another showdown between Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease A Bike) this year, after the Belgian sustained multiple fractures in a heavy crash during Dwars door Vlaanderen.

It leaves Van der Poel as the clear favourite, with on-song Dane Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) stepping into the breach as the rider most likely to challenge the imperious Dutchman.

With reigning champion Tadej Pogačar from this year's startlist, the two men will feel more confident. But a Classics win is always reliant on a certain amount of luck, and Van der Poel and Pedersen certainly won't have it all their own way.

Meanwhile the women's race is also something of a clash of the titans, with two-time winner and defending champion Lotte Kopecky and her SD Worx-Protime team-mate forming a potent pairing who will nevertheless have to contend with the likes of Dwars door Vlaanderen winner Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease A Bike) and British hopeful Pfeiffer Georgi (dsm-firmenich PostNL) among others.

This year sees Antwerp take over from Bruges as the alternating host city of the race. The route remains broadly similar to previous years, with greater use of wider roads early on to help prevent crashes being the only change.

For the men, the first berg of 17 will be the Oude Kwaremont, tackled after 137km of racing, while the Wolvenberg at the 72km point is the first of 12 such tests in the women’s race. The Wolvenberg is where both men's and women's races converge, after which the climbs come thick and fast.

It's the final one-two punch of Oude Kwaremont and the Paterberg that often proves the most decisive. Controversial when first devised in 2012, particularly as it meant the omission of the iconic Muur van Geraardsbergen, this finale has since won fans over with its own unique character, which is also influenced by the double punch of the long, gradual Kwaremont and the short yet ultra-steep Paterberg.

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Tour of Flanders 2024 Key Info

Date: March 31 2024 Location: Antwerp 2023 winners: Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates, men); Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx, women) TV: Discovery+ / Eurosport Distance: 270km (men); 163km (women)

Tour of Flanders 2024 route

This year's men's race continues the annual trading game between Bruges and Antwerp, with the latter hosting the start on Sunday. Riders will find bigger roads than before waiting for them as they begin the long haul south-west towards berg country.

The fun begins with the first of three passes of the Oude Kwaremont, and the climbs come thick and fast after that as the race follows a spaghetti-like parcours around the hills of Flanders just south-east of the finish town of Oudenaarde. On the way they take in famous climbs including the Wolvenberg, Molenberg, Berendries and the Koppenberg on the way to a total 17 climbs, finishing with the one-two of the Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg with 13 flat kilometres to the line.

The women begin in Oudenaarde, where both races finish. They first head north-east away from the city to complete a circuit of the flatter terrain around Zottegem, looping back towards Oudenaarde to begin the day's climbing at 72km with the Wolvenberg. A similarly serpentine route to that of the men sees them tackle a total 12 classified climbs, including the Molenberg, Berendries and the Koppenberg, along with that final Kwaremont/Paterberg one-two at the end.

Tour of Flanders 2024: Riders to watch

Mathieu van der Poel Alpecin-Deceuninck ***** The Dutch rider looks imperious this season – always at or near the head of affairs in every race he has ridden and with a win at the E3 Saxo Classic and second at Gent-Wevelgem under his belt already. He's had a mercurial last couple of seasons, but covered himself in glory in the Classics last year and seems to be set to repeat the feat this time around. The fact that Wout van Aert has now been ruled out – albeit in very unfortunate circumstances that VDP would not have wished for – won't exactly hurt his chances either.

Tiesj Benoot Visma-Lease A Bike *** With Benoot's team-mate and compatriot Wout van Aert recovering from a nasty crash in Dwars door Vlaanderen and other team-mates like Dylan Van Baarle having been ill, this could be Benoot's opportunity to step up from nearly man to winner at Flanders. He has been fifth here before – back in 2015 – and won Strade Bianche in 2018 . With a following wind and a bit of luck a podium, or even a win, here is not beyond him.

Mads Pedersen Lidl-Trek **** The Dane was third here last year and eighth the year before that. Considering that he seems to be in the form of his life – and the absence of one of his main Classics rivals, Wout van Aert – what's to say that Pedersen cannot finally achieve victory in what is one of the most revered one-day races of the season. Pedersen proves himself to be ever-more versatile, with overall wins in the Etoile de Bessèges and Tour de la Provence stage races, plus the more recent Gent-Wevelgem already this season.

Lotte Kopecky SD Worx-Protime ***** Of all the cards the Belgian team could play, right now Kopecky looks like the most likely to bring them success. She has been a playmaker in pretty much every race she has entered this season and already has four wins under her belt, including Strade Bianche . Riding alongside her, and even for her, will be at least four other potential victors – Demi Vollering, Marlen Reusser and Lorena Wiebes – ready to take over if Kopecky falters.

Elisa Longo Borghini Lidl-Trek **** The Italian has amassed a huge palmarès across Classics and stage races alike, despite spending most of her career riding in the company (under the shadow?) of greats like Annemiek van Vleuten and Anna van der Breggen. She has Lotte Kopecky to deal with these days, but that hasn't stopped the 32-year-old from putting in a solid shift so far this season already, with podiums at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Strade Bianche, and a win at Trofeo Oro in Euro.

Kasia Niewiadoma Canyon-SRAM **** The reigning gravel world champion was left heartbroken after missing out on a podium spot at Strade Bianche earlier this month. That was her most recent result, and one she may be eager to atone for at the Tour of Flanders this weekend. She was fifth here last year – the latest in a litany of top-10s stretching back 10 years. The Polish rider looks to be on form, with five top-seven finishes out of six race days this season, though there is of course the small matter of the SD Worx team standing between her and a win at Flanders.

Tour of Flanders 2024 men's start list

Alpecin-Deceuninck VAN DER POEL Mathieu PHILIPSEN Jasper BALLERSTEDT Maurice GROVES Kaden KRAGH ANDERSEN Søren DILLIER Silvan VERMEERSCH Gianni

Intermarché-Wanty GIRMAY Biniam DE POOTER Dries PAGE Hugo PETIT Adrien REX Laurenz TEUNISSEN Mike ZIMMERMANN Georg

Soudal Quick-Step ALAPHILIPPE Julian ASGREEN Kasper LAMPAERT Yves MOSCON Gianni PEDERSEN Casper VANGHELUWE Warre WARLOP Jordi

Team Visma-Lease a Bike AFFINI Edoardo BENOOT Tiesj JORGENSON Matteo VAN DIJKE Mick VAN DIJKE Tim TRATNIK Jan VAN BAARLE Dylan

Arkéa-B&B Hotels SÉNÉCHAL Florian GRONDIN Donavan ALBANESE Vincenzo MCLAY Daniel MOZZATO Luca SCOTSON Miles

Astana Qazaqstan Team BOL Cees BRUSSENSKIY Gleb FEDOROV Yevgeniy GAZZOLI Michele GIDICH Yevgeniy GRUZDEV Dmitriy SYRITSA Gleb

Bahrain-Victorious MOHORIČ Matej GOVEKAR Matevž GRADEK Kamil MIHOLJEVIĆ Fran PASQUALON Andrea WRIGHT Fred BURATTI Nicolò

BORA-Hansgrohe KOCH Jonas MEEUS Jordi HALLER Marco HERZOG Emil LÜHRS Luis-Joe DENZ Nico MULLEN Ryan VAN POPPEL Danny

Cofidis ALLEGAERT Piet DE GENDT Aimé DEBEAUMARCHÉ Nicolas MAHOUDO Nolann NOPPE Christophe RENARD Alexis ZINGLE Axel

Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale GAUTHERAT Pierre BOASSON HAGEN Edvald NAESEN Oliver DE BONDT Dries DE PESTEL Sander POLLEFLIET Gianluca TOUZÉ Damien TRONCHON Bastien

EF Education-EasyPost BETTIOL Alberto BISSEGGER Stefan DOULL Owain HONORÉ Mikkel Frølich POWLESS Neilson RUTSCH Jonas VALGREN Michael

Groupama-FDJ KÜNG Stefan ASKEY Lewis BYSTRØM Sven Erik LE GAC Olivier MADOUAS Valentin RUSSO Clément WATSON Samuel

INEOS Grenadiers TARLING Joshua NARVÁEZ Jhonatan ROWE Luke SHEFFIELD Magnus SWIFT Ben SWIFT Connor TURNER Ben

Lidl-Trek HOOLE Daan PEDERSEN Mads DECLERCQ Tim KIRSCH Alex MILAN Jonathan SKUJIŅŠ Toms STUYVEN Jasper THEUNS Edward

Movistar LAZKANO Oier CANAL Carlos CAVAGNA Rémi GARCÍA CORTINA Iván JACOBS Johan MILESI Lorenzo ROMEO Iván

Team dsm-firmenich PostNL DEGENKOLB John BEVIN Patrick BITTNER Pavel EDDY Patrick EEKHOFF Nils FLYNN Sean MÄRKL Niklas

Team Jayco AlUla MATTHEWS Michael DURBRIDGE Luke JANSEN Amund Grøndahl MEZGEC Luka O'BRIEN Kelland REINDERS Elmar WALSCHEID Max

UAE Team Emirates WELLENS Tim OLIVEIRA Ivo BJERG Mikkel COVI Alessandro HIRSCHI Marc MORGADO António POLITT Nils

Israel-Premier Tech FUGLSANG Jakob BOIVIN Guillaume HOULE Hugo NEILANDS Krists STEWART Jake TEUNS Dylan VAN ASBROECK Tom

Lotto-Dstny BEULLENS Cedric CAMPENAERTS Victor DE BUYST Jasper EENKHOORN Pascal GRIGNARD Sébastien VAN MOER Brent BERCKMOES Jenno

Uno-X Mobility KRISTOFF Alexander ABRAHAMSEN Jonas HOELGAARD Markus BLUME LEVY William RESELL Erik Nordsæter TILLER Rasmus WÆRENSKJOLD Søren

Bingoal-WB DE MEESTER Luca DE TIER Floris DESAL Ceriel VAN BOVEN Luca VAN ROOY Kenneth VAN DER BEKEN Aaron VERMOOTE Jelle

Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team CHRISTEN Fabio DEVRIENDT Tom LUDVIGSSON Tobias STEIMLE Jannik ZUKOWSKY Nickolas

Team Flanders-Baloise CLAEYS Arno COLMAN Alex DE VYLDER Lindsay DE WILDE Gilles DEWEIRDT Siebe VAN HEMELEN Vincent VANHOOF Ward VANDENSTORME Dylan

Tudor Pro Cycling Team TRENTIN Matteo BOHLI Tom ERIKSSON Jacob KELEMEN Petr KRIEGER Alexander MAYRHOFER Marius PLUIMERS Rick

Tour of Flanders 2024 women's start list

Team SD Worx-Protime VOLLERING Demi KOPECKY Lotte BREDEWOLD Mischa REUSSER Marlen MAJERUS Christine WIEBES Lorena

AG Insurance-Soudal Team BOOGAARD Maaike BORGSTRÖM Julia GOOSSENS Marthe (LE COURT) PIENAAR Kimberley PLUIMERS Ilse RIJNBEEK Maud

Canyon//SRAM Racing NIEWIADOMA Katarzyna CROMWELL Tiffany CHABBEY Elise DYGERT Chloe PALADIN Soraya TOWERS Alice

CERATIZIT-WNT Pro Cycling Team ARZUFFI Alice Maria BERTON Nina FIDANZA Arianna JASKULSKA Marta KERBAOL Cédrine LACH Marta

FDJ-SUEZ GUAZZINI Vittoria ADEGEEST Loes CURINIER Léa KRAAK Amber VERHULST-WILD Gladys WIEL Jade

Fenix-Deceuninck PIETERSE Puck CANT Sanne COUZENS Millie DE WILDE Julie KASTELIJN Yara KUIJPERS Evy SCHWEINBERGER Christina

Human Powered Health CORDON-RAGOT Audrey EDWARDS Ruth GROSSETÊTE Maëlle KASPER Romy WILLIAMS Lily RAGUSA Katia

Lidl-Trek LONGO BORGHINI Elisa BALSAMO Elisa BRAND Lucinda DEIGNAN Elizabeth HANSON Lauretta VAN ANROOIJ Shirin

Liv AlUla Jayco HOWE Georgie KOREVAAR Jeanne MANLY Alexandra PATE Amber PATERNOSTER Letizia SMULDERS Silke

Movistar SIERRA Arlenis BIANNIC Aude NORSGAARD Emma GUTIÉRREZ Sheyla MACKAIJ Floortje RUIZ PÉREZ Lucía

Roland CHRISTOFOROU Antri COLES-LYSTER Maggie COLLINELLI Sofia DRONOVA-BALABOLINA Tamara NGUYỄN Thị Thật PIRRONE Elena

Team dsm-firmenich PostNL GEORGI Pfeiffer BARALE Francesca KOCH Franziska NELSON Josie SMITH Abi CIABOCCO Eleonora

Team Visma-Lease a Bike VOS Marianne ACHTEREEKTE Carlijn NOOIJEN Lieke RIEDMANN Linda VAN EMPEL Fem VIGIE Margaux

Uno-X Mobility CONFALONIERI Maria Giulia ANDERSEN Susanne BARKER Elinor BERG EDSETH Marte BOILARD Simone KOSTER Anouska

Cofidis ALZINI Martina BERTEAU Victoire FORTIN Valentine KERN Špela ROY Sarah VAN HAAFTEN Kirstie

Arkéa-B&B Hotels CLAES Lotte COLJÉ Maaike DRUMMOND Michaela FAHLIN Emilia MORICHON Anais SQUIBAN Maëva

Chevalmeire BEX Nathalie ERIKSEN Malin DOBBELAERE Jana KIEKENS Cleo NILSSON Hanna WATTS Emily

EF Education-Cannondale KESSLER Nina BORGHESI Letizia JACKSON Alison LABECKI Coryn RÜEGG Noemi FAULKNER Kristen

Lifeplus-Wahoo BURLOVÁ Kristýna FRANZ Heidi GONZÁLEZ Alicia HARRIS Ella RICHARDSON Kate RYSZ Kaja

Lotto Dstny Ladies DE JONG Thalita AINTILA Wilma DE KEERSMAEKER Audrey BASTIAENSSEN Fauve DOCX Mieke VAN DE GUCHTE Quinty

Proximus-Cyclis CT AERNOUTS Amber BOSKAMP Lente DE GROOT Marieke LÓPEZ Marga MEERTENS Lone VEERMAN Deborah

Team Coop-Repsol RÅNES BYE Camilla GRANGIER India GREENWOOD Monica HAUGSET Sigrid Ytterhus JØRGENSEN Tiril TACEY April

VolkerWessels DEMEY Valerie DIJKSTRA Anneke JANSEN Eline MEERT Marieke SOUREN Scarlett VANPACHTENBEKE Margot

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Tour of Flanders Essentials: Favorites, Maps, Profiles, Course Changes, TV Listings, Start Lists, and More

World champions lotte kopecky and mathieu van der poel headline the belgian monument with some key route alterations: 'the kortekeer and the kanarieberg will not be included in the course this year.'.

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The Tour of Flanders brings the northern monuments to warp speed Sunday with arguably the greatest one-day race of the season.

Mathieu van der Poel and Lotte Kopecky line up in the rainbow bands as the five-star favorites in what will set the tone for two spectacular races.

Perhaps only Paris-Roubaix can surpass De Ronde for pure racing action, ultra-prestige, and high-level competition.

This year’s editions saw some late-hour drama, especially on the men’s side, with Wout van Aert set to miss the big date. On the women’s side, the unfolding contract talks about the future of Demi Vollering could play out on the roads this weekend.

Date : Sunday, March 31, 2024 Editions: 108th men, 21st women Start : Antwerp (men), Oudenaarde (women) Finish : Oudenaarde, both races Distance : 270.8km (men), 163km (women) Weather : 7C for start, 17C for finish. Slight chance of showers in morning, otherwise mostly cloudy. Easterly, southeasterly winds, 7 to 19km/h, with gusts up to 40km/h. Defending champions : Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime)

The Tour of Flanders women's race finishes after the men's

TV listings: Plenty of options

USA : FloBikes will livestream the Tour of Flanders via its app for paid subscribers. Coverage starts for the men’s race at 03h55 EST and the women’s race at 09h00 EST.

Europe : Eurosport and Discovery+ will broadcast De Ronde via its app for paid subscribers. Some European nations will also pick up the broadcast, including RTBF, NOS, and RAI, and others.

Australia : SBS will be covering both the women’s and men’s races. Check local listings for times.

Favorites men’s race: No Wout, no Pogačar

Two big names are missing, and their collective absences will mark the outcome of the race.

Van Aert crashed so heavily at Wednesday’s Dwars door Vlaanderen that the Belgian superstar saw his entire spring campaign, including Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, and Amstel Gold, over in an instant.

Other injuries and illness on the super squad could see Matteo Jorgenson, already on a hot streak this spring, emerging as the leader at Visma-Lease a Bike.

The other missing star is defending champion Tadej Pogačar, who is bypassing Flanders altogether. After ripping across the Volta a Catalunya , he races next at Liège-Bastogne-Liège before heading to the Giro d’Italia.

That puts Van der Poel, already on a tear so far in 2024, firmly in the driver’s seat as the five-star favorite.

The reigning world champion can also match a record. A third win would put him on the same number of wins as Buysse, Magni, Leman, Museeuw, Boonen, and Cancellara.

Right behind him will be banged up Mads Pedersen. The big Dane also crashed Wednesday, but wasn’t nearly as bad as his teammate Jasper Stuyven, who’s out with a broke clavicle.

Other big names include Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ), Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious), Alberto Bettiol (EF Education – EasyPost), Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates), Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X Mobility), and Matteo Trentin (Tudor Pro Cycling Team).

Who will win? Without Van Aert or Pogačar to complicate things, Van der Poel is the odds-on favorite.

Top-10 in 2023

Favorites women’s race: SD Worx the favorites

Lotte Kopecky currently shares the record of most wins in Flanders’ Finest with Mirjam Melchers-Van Poppel, Judith Arndt, and Annemiek van Vleuten

Joining Kopecky in Team SD Worx-Protime in Oudenaarde will be Marlen Reusser, Demi Vollering, and Lorena Wiebes, by far the deepest and strongest team in the race.

Lidl-Trek will be banging on the door, with Elisa Longo Borghini, Elisa Balsamo, Lizzie Deignan and Shirin Van Anrooij.

Marianne Vos is hot off a win at Dwars, with Canyon/SRAM Racing lining up with Katia Niewiadoma and Chloé Dygert bringing on the heat .

Kopecky has nearly been perfect so far this spring, and will be hard to beat.

Top 10 in 2023

A few key course changes for safety

There are a few significant changes for both courses.

After starting in Bruges last year, Antwerp will host the rollout Sunday, and the bunch will plow south straight toward the Flemish Ardennes. The finish of both races remains on the Minderbroedersstraat in Oudenaarde.

The modern classic finales of the Paterberg-Oude Kwaremont combo remains unchanged for both the men’s and women’s races, but there are a few tweaks for safety reasons, with wider and faster roads.

“The changes in the first 100 km are safety-related choices. We have been looking even further for wide roads so that the peloton has more space in which to build up speed,” said race director Scott Sunderland. “The edition from Bruges, where we carried out a similar exercise for the opening hours of the race, showed how these wide roads led to high averages in the opening hours. That speed ultimately helped to determine the shape of the race and the strategic choices of the teams.”

As everyone saw with the tragic consequences in the men’s Dwars door Vlaanderen , the Kanarieberg and Kortekeer have been removed from the route.

“On the way to Kortekeer, the speed is high and the pressure within the peloton is very high,” Sunderland said. “But then we have also seen in the past two years that a few teams decide to quietly ride up the Kortekeer. The question then is: why should we want such a narrow climb on the course so early in the race? Isn’t it better to take out the Kortekeer and keep the race open?”

The organization also took out the Kanarieberg and the high-speed approach that provoked the horrific crash Wednesday that took down Van Aert and a host of others.

“There is a direction along which we have to go to the Kanarieberg. That goes downhill and the peloton reaches a speed of 90 km/h. Whereupon the road narrows from three lanes to one,” he said. “When you talk about safety, you have to look at it seriously.

“We have analyzed the editions of recent years. We looked at whether someone who attacked on the Kanarieberg or the Kortekeer ever stayed ahead. So no one.”

The race really starts to kick off at the Koppenberg, about 45km from the finish.

Unlike in previous years, the men and women will be taking the same route to the Bult van Melden this year.

“We have opted to change the approach for the men and to make it the same as the one for the women,” Sunderland said. “A choice for equality, but above all for reasons of safety. To be specific, this change means that after the first climb of the Paterberg, the riders will cycle on roads where it is easier to keep track of things. We are making the approach to the Koppenberg more straightforward and are taking out the descent and sharp bend just before the climb.”

With this change, the cars in the women’s race can follow the same detour as for the men’s race and team leaders can assist their riders all the way to the foot of the Koppenberg. With this change, the organization is eliminating a few points where the race had threatened to stall in recent years, something that caused a race stoppage in Wednesday’s Dwars race for the women.

“These situations were becoming too dangerous,” Sunderland said. “Safety is our highest priority. Furthermore, we also want to adapt our course to the way in which the peloton races. We want to anticipate and continue to develop the Tour to better serve the riders. And that is what we are doing with this change, but it does mean that both the Kortekeer and the Kanarieberg will not be included in the course this year. But we are adding the Kapelleberg.”

Americans in Flanders: A rare presence

Here’s a good trivia question for your next group ride: name the only U.S. rider to win the Tour of Flanders.

The answer is only one: Coryn Labecki in 2017, when she out-kicked Gracie Elvin and Chantal Van den Broek-Blaak in a reduced bunch sprint with Team DSM.

Kristin Armstrong was twice second (2008 and 2012) as the only other U.S. women to hit the prestigious podium.

On the men’s side, no American has ever won De Ronde, and George Hincapie finished third in the 2006 edition as the only U.S. men’s podium in race history.

Expected U.S. starters Sunday include Chloé Dygert (Canyon-SRAM), Ruth Edwards and Lily Williams (Human Powered Health), Labecki and Kristin Faulkner (EF Education-Cannondale), and Heidi Franz (Lifeplus Wahoo).

Men’s starters Sunday include Dwars door Vlaanderen winner Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike), Magnus Sheffield (Ineos Grenadiers), and Riley Sheehan (Israel Premier Tech). Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost), fifth last year in a breakout ride, is sidelined with injury .

Can one of them break through?

All in a day’s fun: Timeline from start to finish

08h15: Men’s team presentation, Antwerp Grote Markt 10h00: Start of the Men Elite, Ernest Van Dijckkaai Antwerp 11h45: Women’s team presentation, Markt Oudenaarde 13h05: Passage of the Men Elite, Markt Oudenaarde 13h25: Start of the Women Elite and first passage, Markt Oudenaarde 15h15: Passage of the Women Elite, Markt Oudenaarde 16h30: Finish of the men’s race, Minderbroedersstraat Oudenaarde 17h45: Finish of the women’s race, Minderbroedersstraat Oudenaarde

Women’s start list: Kopecky tops the charts

Women’s race map and profile

Men’s start list: Van Aert KO’d

Men’s race route and profile

Ranking the favorites: Kopecky and Van der Poel

Women’s race: 4 stars: Kopecky 3 stars: Vollering, Longo Borghini 2 stars: Niewiadoma, Reusser, Persico 1 star: Dygert, Vos, Van Anrooij

Men’s race: 4 stars: Van der Poel 3 stars: Pedersen, Jorgenson, Küng 2 stars: Skujiņš, Wellens, Mohorič, Benoot 1 star: Trentin, Bettiol, Merlier, Alaphilippe

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The top 10 cycling climbs in Flanders

From the vicious Paterberg and Koppenberg, to the legendary Muur de Geraardsbergen and the epic Oude Kwaremont, here's our guide to the most popular climbs in northern Belgium

Patrick Fletcher

Deputy editor.

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Flanders is host to an array of short but spectacular climbs

Flanders is one of the best places you could wish to ride a bike. This portion of northern Belgium is bejewelled with short climbs, sharp cobblestones, and a richer cycling culture than you’ll find anywhere else in the world.

Flanders is the northernmost region of Belgium, stretching from the French border in the west, over to the Dutch border in the east. Flemish is the language spoken here, unlike French in the Wallonia region to the south, but cycling is the unofficial second language. Cycling, and bike racing, are deeply entwined in Flemish culture, with an astonishing array of junior kermesse races all the way up to the legendary Tour of Flanders , one of pro cycling’s oldest and most prestigious events.

Spring Classics 2024: Essential guide to the races and riders

The beauty of cycling, of course, is that anyone and everyone can ride on the same roads as the pros, and the Flemish Ardennes in particular offer an endless array of ‘ hellingen ’ - small hills, many of which are still paved with ‘ kasseien ’ - cobblestones.

We’ve picked out the top 10 climbs in Flanders, ranking them by popularity according to Strava - taking the number of people on the leaderboard for each. The segments we're using come from the Cycling in Flanders ' Flandrien Challenge , a collection of 59 climbs, which GCN ’s Ollie Bridgewood ticked off in one go a couple of years ago.

1. Paterberg

Strava footfall: 106,017
Stats: 0.35km / 11.7%
KOM: Jens Vanden Heede - 0:44
QOM: Lorena Wiebes - 1:08

The Paterberg climb

The most popular climb in Flanders is the mighty Paterberg, a short but oh-so-sharp beast made famous by the Tour of Flanders. In fact, it’s the steepest climb, in terms of average gradient, of all the climbs on this list and, at barely 300 metres long, it’s also one of the shortest.

The Paterberg juts straight up a farming hillside in a straight line and seemingly ratchets up to the point where most of us are grinding the smallest gear, gritting our teeth, and hoping for the best. Legend has it that a local farmer paved it with cobblestones in a bid to have it included in the Tour of Flanders. It worked, and it now plays a starring role as the final climb in the beloved ‘Ronde’, ahead of the run-in to Oudenaarde. In fact, it’s tackled twice in combination with the Oude Kwaremont, a longer, more irregular beast lined with VIP tents on race day.

It’s surprising, then, that the Paterberg has so much more footfall than the Kwaremont, given the two are separated by only a few kilometres and given the opportunity to recreate the entire finale of one the sport’s greatest races.

Mathieu van der Poel climbs the Paterberg in the 2023 Tour of Flanders

The KOM and QOM here are not from the Tour of Flanders. The men’s comes from a local KOM hunter, in a 60km ride titled with a crown emoji, while the women’s comes from a leading pro but actually from a reconnaissance ride. There are two key factors at play here. First of all, the Paterberg comes so deep into the Tour of Flanders that legs are severely dulled by that point, and secondly, on race day the smooth strip of concrete ‘gutter’ is fenced off by the barriers keeping the fans at bay, giving day-trippers an advantage over the pros who are forced onto the roughest surface.

In any case, anyone who makes it up the Paterberg is a winner and will have lasting memories of one of the best things you can do on a bike.

Pair it with: Turn left at the top, like the pros do, and tick off the 10km run-in to Oudenaarde for a coffee or a beer. The main road has space for bikes but the dedicated bike path is a nicer experience - just don’t accidentally turn onto the Koppenberg.

2. Koppenberg

Strava footfall: 95,213
Stats: 0.55km / 11.1%
KOM: Lance Decabooter - 1:39
QOM: Luce Feder - 2:00

The Koppenberg is a spectacular climb

Speaking of the Koppenberg, cycling’s most walked climb is the second most popular in Flanders, and arguably the hardest. The average gradient is not quite as severe as the Paterberg but then it’s nearly twice as long and, after a shallower start, it certainly matches it on the maximum gradient front.

What sets this apart from Paterberg and everything else, though, are the cobblestones themselves. Put simply, they are a nightmare. They seem to be bigger, dirtier, and rougher than anything else around, draining your momentum with every bump. And that’s just in the dry. In the wet, they take on a new dimension, seemingly bringing out a perma-grease that wipes away all traction.

Many, even pros, have to step off – if they can avoid falling over completely, that is. Once off the bike, there’s little chance of getting going again from a standing start, so riders can regularly be seen proceeding on foot. There are bragging rights for anyone who crests it under two wheels, and the sheer difficulty of this climb is underlined by the fact that the Strava KOM is at an average speed of 20.3km/h - itself a full 1.2km/h faster than the second-best time. For reference, that speed wouldn’t land you in the top 100 on the Paterberg, where the best speeds are above 25km/h.

Even the pros have to walk up the Koppenberg sometimes

In spite of this difficulty, or perhaps because of it, the Koppenberg is a cherished icon of the Flemish Ardennes. Its nickname, De Bult van Melden (The Bump of Melden) might be a cruel misrepresentation of its severity but its status as a protected national monument is a testament to the locals’ love for it, as it is to Belgium’s love for cycling.

Pair it with: You’re within striking distance of Oudenaarde if you need to go and recover, but you’re also well placed to head over to the Steenbeekdries/Stationsberg and the Taaienberg.

3. Taaienberg

Strava footfall: 93,358
Stats: 0.53km / 6.3%
KOM: Wesley Van Dyck - 1:01
QOM: Carina Schrempf - 1:26

The Taaienberg cobbles

We wonder how much Tom Boonen has to do with the Taaienberg’s podium position. It’s probably the most ‘ordinary’ climb in the top five, and yet it beats out two very big hitters indeed. The Taaienberg, though, goes by another name, and that’s ‘Boonenberg’. This was the favourite climb and regular launchpad for Tom Boonen, three-time winner of the Tour of Flanders and not only one of Belgian cycling’s all-time greats but a rider who transcended his sport and became a national celebrity. ‘Tommeke’ would attack on the Taaienberg with such regularity and to such great effect that the climb was essentially rebadged in his honour. There’s even a very weird bronze statue of his legs at the top.

The Taaienberg measures barely 500 metres and rises steeply in a straight line, beneath an arch of trees, before bending slightly to the right and shallowing off. The cobbles are harsh at the bottom but if you’re doing your best Tom Boonen impression you won’t even be touching them. On the right-hand side lies a dipped strip of concrete, known as the gutter. It’s astonishing to watch the pros attack all-out on such a narrow section of uphill road, so close to the fans and the grass on one side, and the cobblestones on the other. It’s a lot harder when you’re not pulling 25km/h and you’re swinging both body and bike.

Tom Boonen ripping it up the Taaienberg back in the day

It would only seem right that the fastest time on the Taaienberg would belong to Boonen, but he’s not on Strava so we can’t be sure. The course record is held by a local KOM hunter who also has the Berendries from the same ride, while the QOM comes from a pro doing a recon ride of the Tour of Flanders.

While the top two climbs on this list are masochistic suffer-fests, the Taaienberg feels more like a climb you can actually ride , rather than merely survive.

Pair it with: At the top of the Taaienberg you’re surrounded by options and you can’t really go wrong, but why not head over to the Kaperij cobblestones, where you’ll also find a few more climbs like Forrest and Steenbeekberg.

4. De Vesten & De Muur

Strava footfall: 80,573
Stats: 0.91km / 6.8%
KOM: Fred Wright - 2:15
QOM: Demi Vollering - 2:48

The Muur van Geraardsbergen features a stunning chapel at the top

That name might not sound too familiar but what we’re talking about here is the Muur van Geraardsbergen. Other names include the Kapelmuur – in reference to the chapel at the top – or simply the Muur. If you can’t picture it by now, there’s no helping you, as it’s one of the most iconic climbs not just in Belgium but in all of cycling.

De Vesten is essentially the climb out of Geraardsbergen, to the foot of the Muur proper. It’s nowhere near as steep but it’s all part of the experience as you twist up out of the town on the cobbles, and onto the steep slopes of the Muur, which by the way means ‘wall’.

The Muur has it all. It’s difficult, it’s cobbled, it’s in a stunning setting, and it comes with bags of history.

Let’s start with that first aspect. At around 100 metres of elevation, this stakes a claim to being the hardest climb in the Flemish Ardennes. What’s more, the 20% pitches come on a snaking section towards the top. As for the cobbles, they were relaid several years ago, and while a little of the old sting might have been taken out of them, they are still anything but smooth.

The setting comes courtesy of a magnificent chapel that looks over the hillside. Cycling is often spoken about in religious terms in this part of the world and riding up to the chapel is a pilgrimage of sorts for many cyclists. Then there’s the small wall and the giant bank of earth on the final bend towards the top, which acts as a de facto stadium and provides one of the most atmospheric backdrops to bike racing anywhere in the world.

Fans used to pack the Muur van Geraardsbergen for the Tour of Flanders

As for that racing, the Muur is a giant of the Tour of Flanders, even if it has been demoted in recent years. First introduced in 1950, and consistently from 1970, when it was given the hallowed slot of the final climb of the course. It later became the penultimate climb in a partnership with the Bosberg, but when the organisers remodelled the course in 2012 around the more lucrative Oude Kwaremont, where they could erect their sweeping VIP tents, the Muur was left in the lurch. It was still included, but early in the race, which many saw as a token gesture after selling off some of the soul of the race. In any case, the Muur still remains a mythical part of the cycling fabric.

Pair it with: The Bosberg, keeping that much-loved old Flanders finale alive and kicking.

5. Oude Kwaremont

Strava footfall: 80,483
Stats: 2.11km / 4.3%
KOM: Tadej Pogačar - 3:52
QOM: Annemiek van Vleuten - 5:07

The Oude Kwaremont is serene when the races aren't in town

The Oude Kwaremont may have snatched the Muur’s slot in the Tour of Flanders, but it will never take its slot in the Strava popularity stakes. Well, that’s probably not true, as it’s snapping at the heels already, but for now, the Muur still retains a degree of pride.

Anyway, the Kwaremont, though not quite as spiritually pure, is actually a belter of a climb. It’s quite unlike anything else, as it’s significantly longer than any of the other climbs, at 2.2km. The thing about those 2,200 metres is that they contain pretty much every gradient between 0 and 13% You start out on tarmac and the gradient ramps up and up, and just when it’s getting painful you’re hit with some horrific cobblestones, before the gradient reaches its steepest at the mid-section. There’s some respite at a village square that seemingly comes from nowhere, and the gradient flattens out as you head out onto the open hillside again. You can really get your speed up there, but it then kicks up again for a short while before the final narrow stretch at the top.

Even Muur enthusiasts will concede that the Kwaremont makes for a thrilling spectacle, even if most are watching from those vast white VIP tents we’ve mentioned above. Like it or not, the Oude Kwaremont has become the central climb of the Tour of Flanders, tackled three times - once as a wake-up call for the champagne swiggers, then twice in combination with the Paterberg deep into the finale.

Riders on the middle part of the Oude Kwaremont during the Tour of Flanders

It’s seen many memorable moments already, not least the infamous stray jacket that took out Peter Sagan while in hot pursuit of long-range attacker Philippe Gilbert - would he have won without that stroke of misfortune? More recently, two-time Tour de France champion Tadej Pogačar effectively remodelled the Tour of Flanders with a trio of assaults on the Kwaremont in 2023, using its sheer length to effectively take the race away from the traditional Classics riders.

Pair it with: The Paterberg, obviously. Pretend you’re alone out front on the cusp of winning the Tour of Flanders.

6. Berendries

Strava footfall: 79,878
Stats: 0.87 km / 7.6%
KOM: Wesley Van Dyck - 1:27
QOM: Liane Lippert - 2:00

The Berendries is a tarmac ramp lined by suburban houses

There’s not much room for argument when it comes to our top 5. They have the most renown and would be first to people’s lips if you asked them to start naming climbs in Flanders. The iconic Kemmelberg could have a say but it lies out west in Heuvelland, way away from the concentration of climbs in the Flemish Ardennes, and as such doesn’t get anywhere near the top 10 in the popularity stakes.

As for the rest of the climbs that make up that top 10, we start with the Berendries, a curious climb that always looks fairly benign but actually turns out to be a bit of a brute.

Compared to the climbs above it on this list, the Berendries has a completely different feel to it. For starters, it’s not cobbled. Quite the opposite; the tarmac is super smooth. It also lacks the gritty farmyard vibe, lined not by trees but by medium-sized suburban houses on either side. The road is sort of sunken, first beneath grassy banks and then those houses, which represent the steepest part of the climb in the middle, at 10%.

The Berendries has a rich history, part of the medieval highway between Oudenaard and Ninove, and marked on the maps made by Joseph de Ferraris in the 1700s. It’s famously Greg Van Avermaet’s favourite climb and it’s a hotspot for fans on race day.

Pair it with: You’ve got a couple of cycling-themed bars at the top for a pitstop, but you can also hop over to the Haaghoek-Leberg, and/or the Pottenberg.

7. Kanarieberg

Strava footfall: 76,162
Stats: 0.92km / 9.2%
KOM: Quinten Hermans - 1:50
QOM: Anna Zita Maria Stricker - 2:24

The Kanarieberg takes you up into the woods

The Kanarieberg takes its name from the Flemish for ‘canary’ but there’s nothing sweet about this. With an average gradient of nearly 10%, and running almost a kilometre, this is one of the toughest climbs you’re going to face in this area. It’s not cobbled, but it’s hard enough not to need to be. In fact, in terms of elevation gained (85 metres), it’s topped only by De Vesten & De Muur.

The appeal of the Kanarieberg may lie in its stats but also its setting, rising up into the Muziekbos - the ‘music woods’. In fact, the top of this hill is surrounded by woods, with lanes running through them.

The appeal certainly doesn’t come from the racing. The Kanarieberg was only introduced to the Tour of Flanders in 2014, and it’s now being taken out. “The riders took risks in the run-up to it, there were crashes, only to see that the climb was done at a slow pace,” bemoaned the organisers.

Pair it with: Get lost in the woods. If you’re on a gravel bike, even better. Alternatively, it’s a short cruise into Ronse for the Oude Kruisberg.

8. Valkenberg

Strava footfall: 74,430
Stats: 0.58km / 6.9%
KOM: Jenna Berckmoes - 00:58
QOM: Katrien Maes - 1:22

The Valkenberg used to be cobbled, but is now an asphalt climb

The Valkenberg is a historic climb, but carries a sense of shame; it was cobbled, but now it’s not. It used to be one of the great cobbled bergs of the region and was introduced to the Tour of Flanders way back in 1959. However, in 1973 the authorities removed the cobblestones, levelled it off, and poured a load of tarmac into it. From a transport perspective, it perhaps made sense. From a cycling perspective, a legendary climb has become something rather ordinary.

Following its tarmacking, it was banished by the Tour of Flanders and made to endure an exile of 23 years before its return in 1996. It has been used on and off in recent years and is consistently visited by the smaller Classics, but it’s never the sort of climb that generates much excitement or drama.

That said, it has enough about it to keep riders coming here to test themselves on its slopes. The Flandrien Challenge segment of the climb measures 0.58km but the hill as a whole is nearer 900 metres. You’ll be climbing out of Brakel and it’ll continue to drag beyond the summit of the segment, so as a whole it feels harder than its stats suggest.

The climb is well placed very near Brakel, which is a good central base for exploring the Flemish Ardennes and offers views over the town from the top. Another one with a bird in the name, Valk means Falcon in Flemish.

Pair it with: The Berendries is the shortest of hops away, if you can bear to do two asphalted climbs in a row.

Strava footfall: 70,484
Stats: 0.86km / 3.8%
KOM: Jonas Volkaert - 1:09
QOM: Sofie De Vuyst - 1:32

The Leberg is a gentle climb but comes straight after the Haaghoek cobblestones

The Leberg isn’t much of a destination in its own right, but its appeal is enhanced by its proximity to Haaghoek, which is perhaps the biggest and best strip of flat cobblestones to be found in Flanders. There aren’t all that many of these non-climbing sectors of ‘kasseien’, as the cobbles are known, and to be fair this one does undulate rather than being a pan-flat thunderer à la Paris-Roubaix, but at 1.85km it’s a beast that has built a strong reputation.

Anyway, enough about Haaghoek. The Leberg itself is a deceptive climb in two parts. At the bottom, you have the steep gradients, which kick up almost as soon as you’ve turned your bike onto it. You quickly rise out into the open countryside and the gradient tails off dramatically. However, you’re exposed to the wind. In the races, it’s one of those climbs where riders don’t blast away on the steep stuff, but the group can stretch and split ‘over the top’.

For the rest of us, it can be a real grind in the wind, when you feel like the hardest part should be behind you and your speed should be higher.

Pair it with: The Haaghoek cobblestones are the only acceptable approach to this climb. You can then descend the Pottenberg and you’re not far from the Molenberg.

10. Mariaborrestraat-Steenbeekdries

Strava footfall: 70,374
Stats: 1.23km / 1.9%
KOM: Marco Haller - 1:39
QOM: Demi Vollering - 2:16

The Mariaborrestraat cobbles drag up and onto the Steenbeekdries climb

With an average gradient that doesn’t even scratch 2%, you’re probably wondering, ‘what is this doing in the top 10 best climbs in Flanders?’ Well, what’s happened here is Cycling in Flanders have essentially smashed two segments into one.

For many, the Mariaborrestraat and Steenbeekdries are separate entities, the latter being the climb proper. In the races, for instance, you’ll often find the former listed as a ‘flat’ sector of cobblestones. Still, it’s more of a grinding false flat, and it does bleed straight into the Steenbeekdries, so we reckon it’s fully justified to treat them as one long test. Also, the cobbles here are rattly as anything, so it’s certainly a slog. The Steenbeekdries itself measures around 750 metres, winding up through the trees at a gradient of closer to 5%.

At the top, the Steenbeekdries itself bleeds straight into the Stationsberg, the other side of the hill, which in this case runs downhill. Now there aren’t too many of these cobbled climbs you’re going to want to descend but the Stationsberg, named after the train station at the bottom where you have to cross the tracks, is gentle enough to be fun - just about. Your hands will ache from holding on so tight and you’re bound to catch sight of a stray bidon that’s jumped out of its cage.

Pair it with: There’s only one thing to do here really - down the Stationsberg and up the Taaienberg.

Have you ridden any of these climbs? Which is your favourite? Let us know your experiences in the comments below.

Strava is an online app that allows users to track their activities and share them with others. It connects over 100 million athletes across a global online community.

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How to Watch the Tour of Flanders

The fields for Sunday are absolutely stacked for one of the most exciting races on the spring calendar.

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This season’s second Monument just might be the best.

The warm-up races with names we can barely pronounce wrapped-up with Wednesday’s Dwars door Vlaanderen, which means it’s time for the biggest race in Belgium and one of the hardest races on the men’s and women’s calendars: the Tour of Flanders (known locally as the Ronde van Vlaanderen , or more simply as the Ronde ). Here’s everything you need to know about the season’s second Monument.

For the first time since 2016, the 273K men’s race begins in Bruges. The course then zig-zags its way southeast toward the hills of the Flemish Ardennes, a region packed with short, steep (often cobbled) climbs which the locals call bergs . Once the race passes through Oudenaarde (home to the Tour of Flanders Museum), the action centers around two big loops, each featuring two climbs—the Oude Kwaremont (long, steady, and cobbled) and the Paterberg (short, steep, and cobbled)—that often determine the outcome of the race.

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Filled with narrow farm roads (more like bike paths) that seem to wind endlessly around the Flemish countryside, it often takes years for riders to master the nuances of the course. And it’s early April, which means weather can be a factor as well (there’s nothing more slippery than cobblestones covered in wet manure). No wonder Belgians have won the race 69 times.

Of the 19 climbs in this year’s men’s race, the Koppenberg (44K from the finish line) is probably the most famous. Super-steep, cobbled, and narrow, this is where the race’s final phase begins. Riders who don’t hit the climb at the front of the peloton are often forced to get off their bikes and walk as the sudden deceleration caused by the abrupt change in terrain ripples backwards through the pack. The race is essentially over for anyone who doesn’t make it over the top in the top-25.

After the Koppenberg, five climbs remain, and recent editions of the Ronde have seen race-winning attacks launched on just about all of them. Lately it’s all come down to the final ascent of the Oude Kwaremont-Paterberg combo, with special attention often given to the rolling road in between as riders try and surprise their rivals while they recover from the Kwaremont and prepare for the Paterberg.

Leaving out the portion from Bruges, the 156K women’s race begins and ends in Oudenaarde, with 13 of the bergs featured in the men’s event including–for the first time last year–the Koppenberg. In fact, the women’s and men’s finales are identical, with the Kruisberg, the Oude Kwaremont, and the Paterberg coming in quick succession providing the final launchpad for riders hoping to escape.

From the top of the final ascent of the Paterberg it’s only 13K to the finish line in Oudenaarde, a distance that several riders have covered alone in recent years. Sprints are rare in the Ronde–the race is too hard to see large groups make it to the finish line still in contention for the win–so if they happen they only happen in groups of 3 or 4.

How to Watch

We’ll be up early on Sunday, April 2 to watch the men as they hit the Oude Kwaremont for the first time (about 7:30 a.m. EDT). If that’s too early for you, set an alarm for about 9:30 a.m. EDT, the second passage over the cobbled ascent on the first of the Ronde’s two final circuits.

The men’s race should finish around 10:45 a.m. EDT, at which point the women (depending on their average speed) should be nearing or just over the Koppenberg. Their race should finish around 11:45 a.m. EDT, which means you’re in for at least 2+ hours of fantastic racing.

What Happened Last Year

With Belgium’s Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) out after testing positive for COVID-19, the Netherlands’ Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) entered the day as the top favorite. But van der Poel had a new foe: Slovenia’s Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), who was making his Flanders debut 1) to get a taste of the cobblestones in preparation for July’s Tour de France, and 2) because he’s Tadej Pogačar and he can pretty much be a contender in any race he enters.

And that proved to be the case as the two-time Tour de France champion attacked on the second ascent of the Oude Kwaremont, then again on the Koppenberg, and finally on the last ascent of the Oude Kwaremont–with van der Poel the only rider able to follow him. The duo worked well together until the final kilometer, when van der Poel slowed, almost daring Pogačar to start the sprint. His deceleration allowed a small group of chasers to rejoin the duo, at which point the Dutchman accelerated, winning the race for the second time in three years. His compatriot Dylan van Baarle (INEOS Grenadiers) finished second, and France’s Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ) took third. After botching the sprint, Pogačar was forced to settle for a disappointing fourth-place finish.

About an hour later, Belgium’s Lotte Kopecky (Team SD Worx) saved the day for the home fans, winning the women’s Tour of Flanders in the black-yellow-red jersey of the Belgian national champion.

An elite group of six came together after the final ascent of the Paterberg, including Kopecky, her teammates Chantal van den Broek-Blaak (who won the Ronde in 2021) and Marlen Reusser, and Movistar’s Annemiek van Vleuten (the defending champion).

With strength in numbers, SD Worx played its cards well. Reusser was the first to attack, a move quickly countered by van Vleuten. Then van den Broek-Blaak went, initially catching van Vleuten off-guard. The two-time Ronde winner recovered though, chasing down van den Broek-Blaak–but bringing Kopecky along for the ride. Once caught, van den Broek-Blaak rode for her teammate, leading out the sprint for the Belgian champion. She’s only the second Belgian to win the women’s Ronde.

Riders to Watch

Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck)

Winner of two of the last three editions–and Milan-Sanremo two weeks ago–van der Poel is the top favorite heading into Sunday’s men’s event. Yes, he lost last Friday’s E3 Saxo Bank Classic (a mini-Tour of Flanders) to van Aert, but he was clearly the strongest rider in the race and would have won had van Aert not (wisely) opted for a long-distance sprint (the Dutchman prefers shorter, more sudden accelerations). A win Sunday would put van der Poel alongside some of the sport’s greatest Classics riders atop the Ronde’s record books with an incredible three wins in five starts.

Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma)

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Van Aert missed last year’s race after testing positive for COVID-19 a few days before the event, a big shame since the Belgian was in the form of his life and looked ready to avenge his narrow loss to van der Poel in 2020. Belgian seems to have timed his form just right again: he won Friday’s E3 Saxo Bank Classic and finished second after giving the win to his teammate, France’s Christophe Laporte , in Sunday’s Gent-Wevelgem.

Van Aert seems to have finally learned to play a bit more poker, saving his energy for well-timed attacks and forcing other riders to share the responsibility of chasing other moves and driving key breakaways. If all goes as planned, on Sunday he’ll win his first cobbled Monument, becoming the first Belgian to win the Ronde since 2017.

Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates)

Pogačar raced in two of last year’s cobbled Classics–Dwars door Vlaanderen and the Tour of Flanders–seemingly just as preparation for the cobbled stage of July’s Tour de France. But Pog doesn’t start races for training: he finished 10th in Dwars door Vlaanderen and 4th in Flanders. Well, after messing up last year, he’s back and committed to winning it. Forming the third piece of a star-studded breakaway in Friday’s E3 Saxo Bank Classic, the Slovenian joined van der Poel and van Aert in the winning move. But winning Flanders is a tall order for the Slovenian: the climbs in Flanders aren’t long enough for him to drop the other two–and he can’t outsprint them. Watching Pogačar try and figure out a way to win could be this year’s most exciting storyline.

Matej Mohorič (Bahrain-Victorious) and Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ)

We won’t be surprised if this plays out in a way similar to the E3 Saxo Bank Classic, with van der Poel, van Aert, and Pogačar breaking away to hog all the glory for themselves. But if there is an “upset,” we won’t be shocked if Mohorič or Küng is the rider to pull it off. Over the past two seasons they’ve put themselves firmly on a tier right below the “Big Three” in the cobbled Classics. Their teams are deep and experienced, and they both could profit should there be a stalemate among the top three contenders. Mohorič is an opportunist and will likely try and escape earlier than the others might expect; Küng is a time trialist and could prove hard to catch if he gets a gap late in the race.

Lotte Kopecky (Team SD Worx)

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Team SD Worx is far and away the strongest in the race, and as they showed last year, they have several cards to play. Their captain will likely be Kopecky , the defending champion. Able to win alone or in a small group sprint, she should be the focal point of the team’s plans.

Marlen Reusser (Team SD Worx)

Kopecky’s toughest competition might come from within her own team, most likely in the form of a rider who played a big role in helping her win last year: Reusser. The Swiss time trialist scored an amazing solo victory in Sunday’s Gent-Wevelgem . A strong time trialist, if she gets away late in the race and other teams refuse to chase her (for fear of giving Kopecky a free ride to the finish line) they may never see her again.

Demi Vollering (Team SD Worx)

A stark contrast to Laporte and van Aert’s 1-2 finish in Ghent-Wevelgem (in which van Aert openly gifted the win to his teammate), Vollering outsprinted Kopecky to win Strade Bianche in March, a result that certainly made for some awkward post-race comments. Well, we could be in for a repeat: Vollering won Wednesday’s Dwars door Vlaanderen , and we’re wondering how she and Kopecky will coexist on Sunday. Will Vollering ride for her Belgian teammate? Will Kopecky chase her if she doesn’t? The race within this team will go a long way toward determining the Ronde’s final outcome.

Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar)

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Racing her final season as a professional, van Vleuten has had a relatively quiet spring thus far: she hasn’t competed since Strade Bianche (in early March) and shockingly hasn’t won a race yet this year. That said, we’ve learned to never discount the current world champion, who had a quiet spring in 2021 but then won both Dwars door Vlaanderen and Flanders in the same week. Overlooking her could prove fatal for the opposition.

Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma)

Vos has only raced twice so far this season, but the Dutch rider finished third in Dwars door Vlaanderen, a result that shows she’s right where she needs to be to add another Tour of Flanders to her resume (she won the race way back in 2013). She could be using Flanders to put the finishing touches on her form for next weekend’s Paris-Roubaix (one of the only major races missing from her palmares), but if a large group hits the finish line in Oudenaarde, she’s a good bet to win the field sprint.

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Tadej Pogačar, Mathieu Van Der Poel and Wout Van Aert ahead of the Tour of Flanders live stream 2024

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It's safe to say that for Belgian cycling fans the Tour of Flanders is bigger than Christmas — way bigger. The climax to the Flemish cycling 'holy week' and the second cycling Monument of 2024 will see the worlds best Classics riders cover an epic 271 kilometers between Antwerp and Oudenaarde, taking in no less than 17 brutal cobbled climbs.

Read on and we'll show you how to watch Tour of Flanders 2024 live streams from anywhere with a VPN , and potentially for FREE .

Tour of Flanders 2024 live streams take place on Sunday, March 31. ► Start time: 4.00 a.m. ET / 1.00 a.m. PT / 9.00 a.m. BST / 7.00 p.m. AEDT • FREE STREAMS — SBS (Aus) / Sporza (Bel) / Rai (Italy) • U.S. — FloBikes • U.K. — Discovery+ • Watch anywhere — Try NordVPN

The build up is over and it’s time for the big one, the ‘Ronde van Vlaanderen’. The hype has been growing since opening weekend in late February and has now reached fever pitch with the whole of Belgium buzzing in anticipation.

Leaving Antwerp, the first half of the race is predominantly flat. Then, after 136 kilometers, the route arrives at the first of three ascents of the Oude Kwaremont and from here on it's brutal. The climbs and cobbled sectors come in rapid succession, each one hitting the riders hard and testing their strength and skill to the absolute limit.

The Koppenberg, the Mariaborrestraat, Steenbeekdries and Stationsberg will lead the riders to the climbs of the Taaienberg and Oude Kruisberg before hitting the Oude Kwaremont for a second time. Then the final combination of the Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg coming just 13 kilometers from the finish line is where the killer blows will almost certainly be dealt.

Last year’s winner Tadej Pogačar has decided to skip the race this year so the role of favorite passes over to Mathieu van der Poel who is in scintillating form having destroyed the field to win the E3 Saxo classic and also take second behind Mads Pederson at Gent Wevelgem. It’s Pederson who will lead the challenge against Van der Poel.

The peloton rolled out under clear skies with everyone wondering just how they can stop Van de Poel winning his third edition to equal the record of three victories.

Read on to see how to catch the action from wherever you live.

FREE Tour of Flanders live streams

If you live in Belgium then you can look forward to a FREE Tour of Flanders live stream in 2024. Belgium's Sporza is set to serve up a free stream of this one-day UCI World Tour race.

Another great option for those in need of an English language commentary is the Tour of Flanders free live stream on SBS On-Demand in Australia.

But what if you're based in Belgium or Australia but aren't at home to catch that free Tour of Flanders coverage? Maybe you're on holiday and don't want to spend money on pay TV in another country, when you'd usually be able to watch for free at home?

Don't worry — you can watch via a VPN instead. We'll show you how to do that below.

Tour of Flanders 2024 live streams around the world

It's only natural that you might want to watch a 2024 Tour of Flanders live stream from your home country, but what if you're not there when the race is on?

Look no further than a VPN, or virtual private network. A VPN makes it look as if you're surfing the web from your home country, rather than the one you're in. That means you can access the streaming services you already pay for, from anywhere on Earth. Or anywhere that has an internet connection, at least.

They're totally legal, inexpensive and easy to use. We've tested lots of the best VPN services and our favorite right now is NordVPN . It's fast, works on loads of devices and even offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.

There's a good reason you've heard of NordVPN. We specialize in testing and reviewing VPN services and NordVPN is the one we rate best. It's outstanding at unblocking streaming services, it's fast and it has top-level security features too. With over 5,000 servers, across 60 countries, and at a great price too, it's easy to recommend.

<a href="http://go.nordvpn.net/aff_c?offer_id=564&url_id=10992&aff_id=3013&aff_click_id=hawk-custom-tracking&aff_sub2=hawk-article-url" data-link-merchant="go.nordvpn.net"" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> Save loads on NordVPN in the spring sale!

Using a VPN is incredibly simple.

1. Install the VPN of your choice . As we've said, NordVPN is our favorite.

2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN app. For instance if you're in the U.S. and want to view an Australian service, you'd select Australia from the list.

3. Sit back and enjoy the action. Head to SBS or another streaming service and watch the action.

How to watch a Tour of Flanders live stream in the U.S.

Cycling fans in the U.S. can watch the 2024 Tour of Flanders on FloBikes . A subscription will set you back US$149.99 for the year or US$29.99 on a monthly basis.

And if you're currently out of the U.S. but still want to watch the race, then don't forget to explore NordVPN set out above.

How to watch a Tour of Flanders live stream in the U.K.

Live coverage of Tour of Flanders will be broadcast on Eurosport and Discovery+.

A 'standard' subscription to Discovery+ which includes Eurosport's cycling coverage will set you back £6.99 per month. The package includes year-round cycling streams as well as other live sports including snooker, tennis, motorsports, the Paris Olympic Games, and more.

A premium subscription, which includes all that plus TNT Sports ( Premier League , Champions League and Europa League football plus rugby, wrestling, UFC, and MotoGP) costs an additional £30.99 per month.

If you're currently traveling overseas, don't worry, as you can use NordVPN to watch from abroad.

How to watch a Tour of Flanders live stream in Canada

Cycling fans in the Canada can watch the 2024 Tour of Flanders on FloBikes . A subscription will set you back CAN$150 for the year or CAN$29.99 on a monthly basis.

Not at home right now? Use NordVPN or another VPN service to trick your device into thinking you're still in Canada.

Tour of Flanders 2024 route map

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Simon Warren has been obsessed with cycling since the summer of 1989 after watching Greg Lemond battle Laurent Fignon in the Tour de France. Although not having what it took to beat the best, he found his forte was racing up hills and so began his fascination with steep roads. This resulted in his 2010’s best-selling 100 Greatest Cycling Climbs , followed to date by 14 more guides to vertical pain. Covering the British Isles, Belgium, France, Italy and Spain he has been riding and racing up hills and mountains for over 30 years now. He hosts talks, guides rides, has written columns for magazines and in 2020 released his first book of cycling routes, RIDE BRITAIN . Simon splits his time between working as a graphic designer and running his 100 Climbs brand and lives in Sheffield on the edge of the Peak District with his wife and two children.

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Are your legs raring to go now that spring is in the air in Flanders? With the Tour of Flanders Challenge, it’s your turn to shine on the final roads of the ultimate Flemish spring classic: the Tour of Flanders. From 9 to 20 March inclusive, ride as many cobbled kilometres as possible and win amazing prizes in our last virtual challenge of the season!

The aim is to cover as many kilometres as possible on the cobbles of Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg. These two gruelling cobbled climbs are the decisive points in the finale of the Tour of Flanders. One lap of these virtual roads is good for 1,771 metres of cobblestones. It’s up to you to cycle this circuit as many times as possible and by doing so rack up as many cobbled kilometres as you can.

A formidable challenge, don’t you think? That’s for sure! But now that spring is in full swing, we are sure you’ll be thrilled to conquer these virtual sacred roads one more time! Find out the prizes to be won here .

Tour of Flanders past winners

Tour of Flanders winners 1913-2020

OUDENAARDE BELGIUM OCTOBER 18 Sprint Arrival Mathieu Van Der Poel of The Netherlands and Team AlpecinFenix Wout Van Aert of Belgium and Team Team Jumbo Visma during the 104th Tour of Flanders 2020 Ronde van Vlaanderen Men Elite a 2433km race from Antwerpen to Oudenaarde RVV20 FlandersClassic on October 18 2020 in Oudenaarde Belgium Photo by Luc ClaessenGetty Images

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