Tour of Flanders 2025 Preview 🇧🇪 🚴♂️
A preview for the 109th edition of the Tour of Flanders, my favourite race of the season. Tadej Pogačar and Mathieu van der Poel head line what is set to be another epic edition.
🏁 Bruges - Oudenaarde 🏁 (269 kilometres/167.1 miles)
The 109th edition of De Ronde van Vlaanderen (English: The Tour of Flanders) takes place on Sunday, April 6, beginning from the Markt in Bruges and concluding 269 kilometres later in Oudenaarde. It is a race characterised by the many steep and cobbled hills on the route and passionate Belgian crowds packed on the side of the road. De Ronde marks the start of the Holy Week of Cycling, which is tailended by Paris-Roubaix the following Sunday. As the second monument of the season and the first of two major cobbled classics, the Tour of Flanders is considered one of the most prestigious races in the sport, and any rider who wins it can consider themselves a hero.
An integral reason behind its importance is the rich history of the race, which can be traced to the first edition back in 1913. The Ronde has been organised without hiatus since 1919, the longest uninterrupted streak of any cycling classic. Another key element as to why the Ronde is such a special race is the brutality of its nature. The unforgiving steep cobbled climbs and sections, and the unrelenting fight for position into every key section on rough narrow roads leave the riders nowhere to hide.
Key Information
Date: Sunday 6 April 2025
Location: Bruges - Oudernaarde
Distance: 269 kilometres / 167.1 Miles
Estimated Times
Start 10:00
Finish: 16:15
Race Statistics
Most Wins: 7 Riders - 3 Times
Achiel Buysse 🇧🇪 1940, 1941, 1943
Fiorenzo Magni 🇮🇹 1949, 1950, 1951
Eric Leman 🇧🇪 1970, 1972, 1973
Johan Museeuw 🇧🇪 1993, 1995, 1998
Tom Boonen 🇧🇪 2005, 2006, 2012
Fabian Cancellara 🇨🇭2010, 2013, 2014
Mathieu van der Poel 🇳🇱 2020, 2022, 2024
Most starts: Briek Schotte 🇧🇪 - 20 Times (20 Finishes from 1940-1959)
Youngest Winner: Rik Van Steenbergen 🇧🇪 19 Years and 206 Days - 1944
Oldest Winner: Andrei Tchmil 🇧🇪 37 Years and 71 Days - 2000
Most top 3 finishes - Johan Museeuw and Briek Schotte 🇧🇪 (8 times)
Most top 3 finishes (Active Rider) - Mathieu van der Poel 🇳🇱 - 5 times
Fastest Edition - 2024 (44.481 km/h)
The previous two editions of the Ronde van Vlaanderen are the fastest in the race’s history.
Active Winners;
2015 Alexander Kristoff 🇳🇴
2019 Alberto Bettiol 🇮🇹
2021 - Kasper Asgreen 🇩🇰
2020, 2022, 2024 - Mathieu van der Poel 🇳🇱
The Route
Antwerp and Bruges have alternated as the start town for the race since the 2022 edition, with the latter having the privilege to do so this year. The terrain covered over the first 100 kilometres is tame compared to what the riders will eventually face.
The Tour of Flanders is characterised by the many steep and cobbled hills on the route. Known as hellingen, these steep climbs, with some being cobbled, are the key points of action in De Ronde. Not even for just the climbs themselves, but the fight for position at the base of the climb, as well as the way the peloton stretches and splits over the top of the summit.
The hellingen on course suits both Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogačar since the steep gradients and cobbled surfaces on some sections enable the duo to maximise their explosivity over a short effort. The route is designed impeccably for leaving the riders with barely a kilometre of road for recovery. When the peloton hits the Oude Kwaremont for the first time 128.9 kilometres into the race, this marks the true start of where the action will begin to occur.
The entrance onto the Kwaremont for the first time is the Tour of Flanders version of entering the Pantheon. It is from this point onwards that the real action begins to occur. From the foot of the Eikenberg at 148.8 kilometres to the Kruisberg at 204.4 kilometres, the race will likely enter an anticipation phase. This is where the other teams that aren’t UAE and Alpecin should try to send key riders up the road to force the hand of the favourites’ teams. This will give riders that get clear a good chance of being ahead in the final 60km, where Van der Poel and Pogačar will likely rip the race apart. It could be the key to being involved in a race for a podium finish too if a strong group can form and cooperate. The key for many is trying to be ahead of the duo ahead of one climb in particular, the Koppenberg with around 45 kilometres to the finish in Oudenaarde.
The Koppenberg is arguably the hardest and most significant climb in the race, due to the severity of the gradient of the climb, and rough cobblestone surface. The climb isn’t particularly long, standing at only 600 metres long, but it is the history of the climb and the viciousness which strikes fear into many and has given the Koppenberg the reputation as one of the most iconic climbs in the sport. Due to the steepness and rough surface, we have many riders lose balance on the climb, leading to iconic images of riders running up the hill such as last year. As a result, the race typically splits significantly on the Koppenberg, as the strongest riders come to the fore and big gaps form. Mathieu van der Poel even made his race-winning move here last year, whilst the majority of the peloton was forced to run up the climb due to the slickness of the cobblestones.
First featuring in 1976, the climb appeared in every edition following up until 1987. In that year’s edition, Danish rider Jesper Skibby was knocked down on the climb by the race commissaire’s car, running over his back wheel, narrowly missing Skibby’s leg and ending the Dane’s race. Consequently, the climb was removed from De Ronde for 15 years until 2002 and was once again taken out of the race in 2008 due to its deterioration. Since 2008, once renovations took place, the climb has been featured in every edition and remains a brutal test of will and power. As we saw in last year’s race, one small incident on the Koppenberg can lead to half of the peloton resorting to running up the climb, thus is the steepness and slickness of the cobbles when damp, which causes a lack of grip.
Since 2012, the climax of the Ronde has taken place on the Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg combination. Over the top of the paterberg, there are just over 13 kilometres to the finish line in Oudenaarde. The combination works well in the since that the Kwaremont is the more gradual climb in gradients, which serves as an opportunity to split the front of the race. This then leaves the strongest riders who have survived the Kwaremont to battle it out on the very steep Paterberg climb, where the race can be won. Following the summit, a short but fast descent follows before a flat run-in of just over 10 kilometres to the finish in Oudenaarde, which is dead straight and often plays host to a nervous and tactical small group sprint. Equally, the final kilometre can serve as the setting for a solo winner to soak up what they have just achieved and celebrate their victory in style, as we have seen in recent editions courtesy of Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogačar.
The Key Climbs/Cobble Sectors
There are 19 key climbs and cobble sections on route with some set to be tackled multiple times. Here is a list of each key section highlighted by the race organisers, along with the km at which the race passes them, as well as the lengths and gradients of the climbs.
Doorn - km 109
Oude Kwaremont - km 128.9/214.6/252.2 | 2km at 4.6%. Max gradient - 9.9%
Eikenberg - km 148.8 | 1.2km at 5%. Max gradient - 10.6%
Wolvenberg - km 149.9 | 0.7km at 6.7%. Max gradient - 13.8%.
Holleweg - km 148
Karel Martelstraat - km 149.2
Jagerij - km 152
Molenberg - km 157.9 | 0.5km at 5.7%. Max gradient - 10.9%
Paddestraat - km 162.8
Berendries - km 177.4 | 1.2km at 5%. Max gradient - 10.6%
Valkenberg - km 182.8 | 1km at 10.9%. Max gradient - 5.6%
Berg Ten Houte - km 195.2 | 1.1km at 6.2%. Max gradient - 13%
Oude Kruisberg/Hotond - km 204.7/242/4 | 2.7km at 4.1%. Max gradient - 9.4%
Paterberg - km 218/255.7 | 0.4km at 12.9%. Max gradient - 18.5%
Koppenberg - km 224.3 | 0.6km at 11.1%. Max gradient - 20.8%
Mariaborrestraat - km 228.3
Steenbeekdries - km 229.7
Stationsberg - km 230.2
Taaienberg - km 232.1 | 0.6km at 8.4%. Max gradient - 16.1%
Contenders
Mathieu van der Poel 🇳🇱 (Alpecin-Deceuninck)
Fresh off his victories at Milano-Sanremo and E3 Harelbeke, Mathieu van der Poel is continuing to prove himself as one of the greatest one-day racers of all time.
The Flying Dutchman has won 8 of the last 20 major one-day races, and he has the opportunity to win a 3rd Paris-Roubaix in a row and a record 4th Tour of Flanders over the next fortnight. Van der Poel also has the opportunity to become the first rider ever to finish on the podium in the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix for three consecutive seasons. It’s safe to say that Van der Poel is cementing his legacy as one of the all-time greats, and a record 4th Ronde would only compound that fact.
A key characteristic of a typical Van der Poel win in a cobbled classic is the sheer dominance of the former world champion. Van der Poel has illustrated he is capable of obliterating the field, long before the finish, and we have seen some huge winning margins from the Dutchman in previous years. Even a puncture or mechanical is unlikely to stop a peak-shaped Van der Poel, which is a scary prospect for the opposition. Last year, Van der Poel won the race with the longest recorded solo victory and the fourth-biggest winning margin (1:31) in the race’s history.
Tadej Pogačar 🇸🇮🌈 (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)
The world champion has shown that he is capable of winning the Ronde, after storming to victory in his maiden participation back in 2023.
In 2025, Pogačar is currently 1-0 down versus Mathieu van der Poel, after the Dutchman got the better of the Slovenian at Milano-Sanremo. This is set to be the second of three battles between the duo in the Classics season, with the final set for Paris-Roubaix next week. Arguably, the Tour of Flanders has the course which best suits Tadej Pogačar out of the three, due to the steep cobbled climbs, and selective nature of the race. The Oude Kwaremont climbs suit Pogačar in particular as it is long enough for Pogačar to drop a 3-minute plus-watt bomb.
Pogačar will no doubt aim to make the race as difficult as possible for Van der Poel, and this likely means attacking early. We could be set to see another epic mano o mano battle between the duo, with the pending outcome finely poised.
Mads Pedersen 🇩🇰 (Lidl-Trek)
We have seen many dominant performances in recent years from the likes of Van der Poel and Pogačar on a regular, but Mads Pedersen produced one of the best performances of his career last Sunday to win a joint-record third Gent-Wevelgem with a 56 km solo expedition.
Whilst Pedersen is still unlikely to topple Van der Poel and Pogačar this weekend, he is arguably the favourite to join the duo on the podium in Oudenaarde, especially after his performance in E3. Like everyone else, it seems as though Pedersen and Lidl-Trek will need to anticipate the devasting attacks set to come from MVDP and Pogačar by getting up the road early.
Filippo Ganna 🇮🇹 (INEOS Grenadiers)
Filippo Ganna has been one of the stand-out riders of 2025 so far and has proven himself to be a bona fide cobbled classics contender. After a brilliant performance at Milan-San Remo, Ganna turned his hand to the cobbles with ease, making the key split with Van der Poel and Pedersen, eventually finishing 3rd. Unlike the other main contenders, Ganna hasn’t consistently raced in the Ronde, with his last participation coming back in 2019, where he finished 98th. It’s safe to say that Ganna’s stature in the sport has increased significantly since then, with the Italian set to be one of the key animators this Sunday.
Wout van Aert 🇧🇪 (Team Visma | Lease a Bike)
The Belgian star has had a widely recognised difficult twelve months after nasty crashes in Dwars door Vlaanderen and La Vuelta. There has been plenty of pressure on Van Aert’s shoulders created by the Belgian press, and the pressure cooker looked like it was about to cool down after Dwars door Vlaanderen, where Van Aert found himself in a front quartet featuring two teammates. However, after losing the sprint to Neilson Powless, only more questions have been raised rather than resolved, and it seems as though Van Aert isn’t currently firing on all cylinders like he has done so consistently for many years.
His results have taken a dip as a consequence so far this season, but one thing that can never be doubted about Van Aert is that he is a fighter and a class act. The Visma | Lease a Bike has taken a different approach to Van der Poel and Pogačar ahead of the cobbles, choosing to skip both Strade Bianche and Milan-Sanremo. Van Aert was combative at Omloop Het Niewsblad and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne but didn’t have the results to show. This isn’t necessarily a bad omen as Van Aert has won these races in previous years, then suffered bad luck come his two major goals, Flanders and Roubaix. In fact, in the history of cycling, the winner of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad has never also won the Tour of Flanders in the same year.
Perhaps the fact that we haven’t seen Van Aert flying as he has done in previous seasons could play to the Belgian’s advantage. A rider of Van Aert’s status will never be able to truly fly under the radar, but with Van der Poel and Pogačar pulling away from the Belgium rider in terms of success, perhaps slightly less expectations and pressure will be on his shoulders. On paper, Paris-Roubaix suits his current skillset better and thus De Ronde is loosely “a free hit.”
Key Teams
Last year, in the absence of Tadej Pogačar at De Ronde, UAE Team Emirates-XRG still managed 3rd, 4th and 5th with Nils Politt, Mikkel Bjerg, and António Morgado respectively. All three return to the race once more, to help Pogačar be victorious once more. Added to this, the new signings of Florian Vermeersch and Jhonatan Narváez, who have further bolstered the team’s strength, as well as the reliable Tim Wellens. Pogačar is set to have the upper hand over Van der Poel in terms of team strength with his UAE squad, whilst the Alpecin boys have bags of experience to call upon. Gianni Vermeersch is likely to be the key lieutenant to Van der Poel, as the former world gravel champion has done so for many major races in the past.
Team Visma | Lease a Bike last won the Tour of Flanders back in 1997 when they were still known as Rabobank, with Rolf Sørensen. The team have struggled to make their mark in the Classics this season, ahead of the two major cobbled monuments. Wout van Aert hasn’t been able to reach his best level so far, with more bad luck plaguing the team after Olav Kooij crashed out of Gent-Wevelgem. Based on current form, Matteo Jorgenson looks most likely to be competitive for a podium finish this weekend, after a strong showing at the E3 Saxo Classic and Gent-Wevelgem. After defending his Paris-Nice title a few weeks earlier, Jorgenson illustrated that he is arguably better than this time last year, and could be a major player in this weekend’s events. Tiesj Benoot and Dylan van Baarle have both featured in the top 10 of previous editions.
Lidl-Trek are one of the strongest teams on the start list, and after a brilliant display at Gent-Wevelgem, the team will need to use their force and intelligence to battle with Pogačar and Van der Poel. Jasper Stuyven has always been a reliable partner of Mads Pedersen, and has plenty of experience at the Ronde, finishing 4th in 2021. Mathias Vacek, Daan Hoole, Toms Skujiņš, Tim Declercq and Edward Theuns round out the super strong Lidl-Trek line-up.
Beyond Filippo Ganna, the INEOS Grenadiers have other strong riders to call upon, Magnus Sheffield, Connor Swift, Ben Turner and Josh Tarling. However, Paris-Roubaix may suit this team better, but they will no doubt still give it a good go this weekend.
After toppling the Visma | Lease a Bike trio to win Dwars door Vlaanderen on Wednesday, Neilson Powless has shot up the rankings in terms of a potential podium candidate. The EF Education rider is joined by two riders who also looked good in that race, Mikkel Honoré and Marijn van den Berg
Here are some other riders who could feature in the top 10 mix this weekend; Dylan Teuns and Aimé De Gendt (Cofidis), Fred Wright (Bahrain-Victorious), Dries De Bondt (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team), Michael Matthews (Team Jayco Alula), Luca Mozzato (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Iván García Cortina (Movistar Team), Matis Louvel and Joe Blackmore (Israel Premier Tech), Stefan Küng and Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ), Biniam Girmay and Laurenz Rex (Intermarché-Wanty), Lennert van Eetvelt, Alec Segaert and Arjen Livyns (Lotto), Yevgeniy Fedorov and Mike Teunissen (XDS Astana Team), Casper Pedersen and Yves Lampaert (Soudal Quick-Step), Tim van Dijke and Laurence Pithie (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Marco Haller and Matteo Trentin (Tudor Pro Cycling Team), Jonas Abrahamsen and Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X Mobility).
It is going to be a fantastic race! Thanks for the preview!
Great piece Joe