Date Late March English name Across Flanders Competition UCI World Tour | Region Flanders, Belgium Discipline Road | |
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Local name(s) Dwars door Vlaanderen (Dutch) | ||
Dwars door Vlaanderen (English: Across Flanders) is a semi-classic road bicycle race in Belgium, held annually since 1945. The race starts in Roeselare and finishes in Waregem, both in West Flanders. As from 2017 the event will be included in the UCI World Tour.
Contents
Held in late March, the event traditionally marks the start of the Flemish Cycling Week, which also includes E3 Harelbeke, Gent–Wevelgem, the Three Days of De Panne, and the Tour of Flanders. Dwars door Vlaanderen has always been contested on a Wednesday, four days after Italy's monument race Milan–San Remo and a week and a half before the Tour of Flanders.
Since 2012, a women's edition of Dwars door Vlaanderen is held on the same day as the men's race, starting and finishing on the same location, of approximately 130 kilometres distance. Both events are organized by Flanders Classics.
History
The race was first run in 1945 from Sint-Truiden to Waregem and was named Dwars door België (English: Across Belgium) – a name it kept until 1999. Belgian cycling icon Rik Van Steenbergen won the inaugural race. From 1946 to 1964 the event was run as a stage race over two days – with the exception of 1948. The first stage started in Waregem and finished in the eastern Belgian provinces of Limburg or Liège; from which it returned to Waregem the next day. In 1948 and since 1965, it has been held as a one-day race. One edition, in 1971, was cancelled.
In 2000 the event was renamed Dwars door Vlaanderen and Roeselare became the new starting place. The race was included in the inaugural UCI Europe Tour in 2005, classified as a UCI 1.1 event, and from 2013 to 2016 as a 1.HC race. The 2017 edition will be promoted to the UCI World Tour, cycling's highest tier of professional races.
The 2016 edition nearly had to be cancelled as it was scheduled one day after the 2016 Brussels bombings, causing security alert to be raised to the highest level in all of Belgium. On the evening of the event, organizers decided to continue as planned and the Belgian government gave clearance on the day of the race. The edition was won by Jens Debusschere.
Route
Dwars door Vlaanderen is one of several cobbled races in Flanders during Spring classics season. The race starts in Roeselare and finishes in Waregem, for a total distance of 200 km. The bulk of the course is set in the hilly Flemish Ardennes.
The first 100 km in West Flanders are mainly flat, after which the course becomes more selective with a dozen climbs in the hill zone in East Flanders. Despite annual changes, some of the regular climbs in the race are the Eikenberg, Taaienberg, Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg. The top of the last climb, Nokereberg, comes at 10 km from the finish. Additionally, there are several flat stretches of cobbles. Due to its hilly course in the Flemish Ardennes, the race is similar in nature to the Tour of Flanders, and is often used in preparation for the bigger event 11 days later.
Winners
Source: www.dwarsdoorvlaanderen.be
Multiple winners
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