2026 Dwars door Vlaanderen Race Preview
The details of this year's 2026 Dwars door Vlaanderen are falling into place. Find the latest route profiles and maps below, followed by our strategic preview of the race.
The final dress rehearsal before the Tour of Flanders arrives on Wednesday with the 80th edition of Dwars door Vlaanderen, a race that has quietly become one of the most revealing tests of form in the cobbled Classics.
Starting in Roeselare and finishing in Waregem, the 184.6-kilometre route packs twelve climbs and seven cobbled sectors into a compact, high-intensity parcours. Positioned just four days ahead of De Ronde, it offers both a proving ground and an opportunity, a race where contenders fine-tune their legs, and opportunists can seize a major win.
The opening phase is relatively straightforward. The first 70 kilometres ease the peloton into the race before the route begins to tighten, approaching Oudenaarde, the heartland of Flemish cycling. From there, the character of the race shifts decisively.
An 85-kilometre central block concentrates the bulk of the action. It begins with the Volkegemberg and the cobbled Holleweg, immediately placing a premium on positioning, before unfolding into two demanding laps that include Berg Ten Houte, Knokteberg–Trieu, Hotond and the cobbles of the Mariaborrestraat. A short rise on the Onderbossenstraat adds to the accumulation of fatigue at the end of the first lap.
Just before the second passage through Oudenaarde, the Eikenberg sharpens the race once more, after which the riders head back toward Waregem. By this point, the peloton is typically reduced to a select group, with the strongest teams beginning to dictate the outcome.
The finale is deceptively difficult. The Nokereberg, first encountered with 21.8 kilometres remaining, signals the start of the closing phase. A final circuit follows, featuring two cobbled sectors on the Herlegemstraat and a second ascent of the Nokereberg, this time from the opposite side via the Waregemsestraat, a 750-metre drag at 5.7%. From the summit, just 9.2 kilometres remain, with the last cobbles still capable of disrupting any fragile alliances before the run-in to Waregem.
Despite its status as a preparatory race, Dwars door Vlaanderen often produces aggressive, unpredictable racing. Last year was a prime example. Visma | Lease a Bike appeared to have complete control after placing Wout van Aert, Matteo Jorgenson and Tiesj Benoot into a decisive breakaway with around 60 kilometres to go. Yet it was Neilson Powless, the lone EF Education–EasyPost rider in the group, who turned the script on its head, outsprinting Van Aert to take a standout victory.
Recent editions underline the race’s openness. Powless became the latest American winner in 2025, following Matteo Jorgenson’s victory in 2024, while Christophe Laporte, Mathieu van der Poel and Dylan van Baarle have all taken wins in the past five years. It is a roll of honour that blends Classics specialists with riders capable of timing a single decisive move.
First held in 1945 as Dwars door België, the race evolved from a two-day stage race into a one-day Classic in 1965, adopting its current name in 2000. Belgian riders have historically dominated, claiming 55 victories, though no rider has ever won the race more than twice, underscoring its unpredictability.
That could yet change. Mathieu van der Poel, already a two-time winner, has the chance to become the first rider to claim a third victory, adding another layer of intrigue to a race that rarely follows a script.
As the final tune-up before the Tour of Flanders, Dwars door Vlaanderen offers more than just preparation. It is a race where form is revealed, tactics are tested, and, more often than not, the outcome hints at what is to come on cycling’s biggest cobbled stage just days later.
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