PREVIEW | Dwars door Vlaanderen 2025 - Wout van Aert's final chance to make an impact before Flanders

Dwars door Vlaanderen takes place on the 2nd of April. This Belgian World Tour classic is the final warm-up race ahead of the Tour of Flanders; a very important step and race that tests many of the world's best classics riders. We preview the race ahead.

Between two historical cycling cities, Roeselare and Waregem, takes place the 2025 edition of Dwars door Vlaanderen. It's a big day for the classics specialists specially now that it's a World Tour event. It's the one major cobbled classic where endurance won't play a meaningful role as it's only 183.5 kilometers long. It's one that is very open for outsiders and sprinters to fight for victory, but simultaneously should see the experts on their best legs.

The last 120 kilometers will see the entry in the bergs. They won’t be overly hard, mostly climbs that can put on the hurt in some but mostly just that, possible to open up some attacks early on. The action should open up in the Knokteberg (1Km; 7.6%; 54Km to go). The cobbled Eikenberg (1.2Km; 5%) will be another key point in the race, being the final climb to tackle with 38.5Km to go.

With 28.5, 25, 22, 18 and 5 kilometers the riders leave five consecutive sectors (with a small ascent ending with 9 kilometers to go). They will not be selective sectors, however attacks can come at any time specially right after the sectors as many domestiques will not have the legs to close down the moves right away.

The final 5 kilometers will be flat. It’s not a long run-up to the line so to reel attacks in won’t be easy, however it’s possible. The final straight is short, 250 meters long so if it does come down to a sprint positioning will be crucial going into it.

Strong eastern wind throughout the day will be felt, meaning that in several points echelons are very possible and collective strength will be key for this race. Without big climbs, definitely it is a race for attacks and tactics will be key. The final 25 kilometers will also mostly have a tailwind which greatly favours attackers.

Visma - Positioning has been a great struggle for Wout van Aert, and although Flanders and Roubaix are the goal, he has to do something here to at least psychologically boost himself. He needs the confidence and the positioning hunger... In this field he can attack, he can win, and there will be pressure for him to do so. The team can absolutely win with defending champion Matteo Jorgenson, whilst Tiesj Benoot is also a great card. They can play with tactics, but I'm sure van Aert will want to take initiative and early on.

Lidl - Trek - The exact same tactics as in Gent Wevelgem. Mads Pedersen is present and as he always does, he will go all-out with attacks. And in his current form, he can actually make the difference and win alone once again, however even in a small group sprint there's very few who can actually beat him. Jasper Stuyven is a brilliant card for attacks but may not even be necessary, whilst Jonathan Milan will likely be able to just follow wheels and fight for a strong result in a final sprint - or even a win, if the decisive attacks goes away outside the climbs.

UAE - Juan Sebastián Molano provides a card for a sprint, but this is a team that wants - and needs - to attack. but they do have the men for it, with certainty Tim Wellens and Jhonatan Narváez will do all-out efforts on the climbs to try and split things up as much as possible to create a small group fighting for victory. If not too much damage is done, both Nils Politt and Mikkel Bjerg can be extremely dangerous in the flat and cobbled finale where they have the engine and the raw power. An extremely dangerous team, if they get positioning right and don't lose riders unnecessarily.

Jasper Philipsen - The Alpecin rider did not have luck on his side at Gent Wevelgem, and punctured when Mads Pedersen attacked. We never got to see what he could potentially do, but it looked certain that he is in prime form, even attacking on the climbs. The Belgian won't get dropped with a direct attack here, but legs won't be everything and the team may struggle to race tactically against the above teams.

Tim Merlier - The European champion is likely going to struggle, but he is a man with a lot of resistance and as long as he can hang on to some groups on the climbs, he will have the power to be there or thereabouts in the fight for a strong result. Regardless of which group he comes in at the end, he's got good chances of winning the sprint for it. Quick-Step also have interesting cards in Paul Magnier and Casper Pedersen who brilliantly outsmarted the competition at E3.

This is a race specially where the solo attacks will be very dangerous and potentially deadly. INEOS specially are a huge threat to everyone else I recon, they have been racing aggressively and with their top riders in great form and I believe that with both Joshua Tarling and Magnus Sheffield present they not only have the cards to play but they have a legitimate chance of taking a win. Men like Stefan Küng, Alec Segaert and Stefan Bissegger can also be incredibly dangerous and can't be given space in such terrain. The likes of Neilson Powless, Aimé de Gendt, Arjen Livyns, Matej Mohoric, Fred Wright, Laurence Pithie and the Mick van Dijke from BORA will be riders that will likely try to make it within the key moves of the day and have a good chance of fighting for a podium in such way.

The race is not going to end in a bunch sprint, the weather conditions make it hard to chase in the finale and honestly with some of the riders we have present we know we'll have plenty attacks. Still lots of the top positions can indeed be decided in a sprint and there are some very strong riders present. The likes of Jordi Meeus, Soren Waerenskjold, Alexander Kristoff, Biniam Girmay and Luca Mozzato are specialists in these kinds of races; men like Astana's Davide Ballerini and Mike Teunissen have looked in tremendous form over the past week; and we add to them the likes of Jake Stewart, Marijn van den Berg, Madis Mihkels, Bryan Coquard, Sam Bennett, Arnaud Démare, Maikel Ziljaard and Rick Pluimers who can sprint and also have their teams work to keep things compact.

*** Mads Pedersen, Jasper Philipsen
** Matteo Jorgenson, Wout van Aert, Magnus Sheffield, Tim Wellens
* Jonathan Milan, Jasper Stuyven, Tim Merlier, Joshua Tarling, Stefan Küng, Jordi Meeus, Soren Waerenskjold, Alexander Kristoff, Davide Ballerini, Biniam Girmay, Jhonatan Narváez, Nils Politt, Mikkel Bjerg

Pick: Mads Pedersen

How: Small group sprint.