2024 Ronde van Vlaanderen Race Preview
The details of this year's 2024 Ronde van Vlaanderen are falling into place. Find the latest route profiles and maps below, followed by our strategic preview of the race.
The spring classics season reaches its magnificent crescendo this weekend as cycling's most celebrated cobbled monument, the Tour of Flanders, returns to the roads of East and West Flanders for another edition that promises brutality, beauty and the kind of tactical drama that only this race can produce. The 108th edition of this iconic Belgian race will once again challenge the world's best riders across more than 270 kilometres of Flemish countryside, with the usual collection of punishing climbs and bone-shaking cobbled sectors that have defined the race for over a century.
The course follows its now established modern format, funnelling the race towards that decisive finale around the Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg combination that has produced so many memorable moments in recent years. These two climbs, taken in succession with relatively little time to recover between them, have become the defining test of this race. The Oude Kwaremont stretches out its cobbled surface for nearly two kilometres while the Paterberg delivers a savage short punch that can shatter even the most prepared legs. The race passes over this combination multiple times before the final run into Oudenaarde, where the winner will celebrate on the Minderbroedersplein.
Mathieu van der Poel arrives as the overwhelming favourite after his stunning 2023 victory, where he delivered one of the great solo performances in the race's modern history. The Alpecin-Deceuninck leader is in superb form following his Milan-San Remo performance and looks every inch the man to beat. His ability to accelerate on the bergs with a ferocity that leaves rivals gasping makes him uniquely dangerous, and defending on these roads suits a rider of his enormous talent and experience.
Tadej Pogacar represents perhaps the most significant threat. The Slovenian Tour de France champion has made no secret of his desire to conquer the cobbled classics and his recent results suggest he has the power and the racing intelligence to compete at the very highest level here. UAE Team Emirates will be looking to use their collective strength to make the race difficult from an early stage, and Pogacar's ability to climb with explosive pace means the final ascents of the day could suit him enormously.
Wout van Aert will be desperate to end his recent run of near misses and frustrating results in this race that means so much to him as a Belgian. The Visma-Lease a Bike man carries enormous support from the home crowds and has the palmarès and the physical ability to win here. His team is well organised and capable of setting the race up perfectly for him, though his own form coming into the race will be scrutinised closely. He will be well aware that this is one of the few major classics that has so far eluded him.
Mads Pedersen of Lidl-Trek offers a fascinating alternative. The Dane has been quietly building an impressive spring campaign and his ability to handle the cobbles with confidence while also possessing the finishing speed to compete in reduced sprint finishes makes him a dangerous proposition. Van der Poel's Alpecin-Deceuninck teammate Jasper Philipsen adds another dimension, though Flanders typically rewards the pure climbers and punchers over the outright sprinters by the time the race reaches its decisive phase.
The weather is expected to play a role, as it so often does in Flanders. A cool and potentially wet day would add further complexity to an already unpredictable race, making the cobbled sectors even more treacherous and punishing any small mechanical or positional error with brutal efficiency. Teams will need to be alert throughout to avoid the kind of crash or puncture that can end a challenge before the real racing even begins.
There is a sense with this edition that the race is perfectly poised between a continuation of van der Poel's dominance and a genuine challenge from rivals who have spent the winter studying and preparing specifically to beat him. The roads of Flanders have a habit of producing surprises and the sheer physicality demanded by this course means that even the favourites must be vigilant throughout every kilometre. By Sunday afternoon in Oudenaarde, cycling will once again have its answer about who among the sport's finest truly belongs to the monuments.
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