Preview: Dwars door Vlaanderen. Pogacar and van der Poel versus strong sprinter field

Dwars door Vlaanderen will be the final race in preparation for the Tour des Flandres and it marks another important step in the cobbled classics campaign as it features World Tour status and a route that gives plenty riders the possibility of fighting for the win.

With 183 kilometers it comes far from the distance of the big classics, and the bergs and mostly paved, with a few cobbled sectors positioned towards the end which will see a very open race but one that may see a sprint towards the end. 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. From there on, there will be a few bergs and cobbled sectors, spread throughout the final 60 kilometers. The final 40 kilometers are mostly flat, with only a few cobbled sector inbetween, but the differences have to be made beforehand for the classics specialists and the puncheurs.

The final 8 kilometers will mostly 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.

The final startlist includes the likes of Greg van Avermaet, Oliver Naesen, Sep Vanmarcke, Mads Pedersen, Jasper Philipsen, Mathieu van der Poel, Dylan Groenewegen, Stanislaw Aniolkowski, Timothy Dupont, Alexander Kristoff, Taco van der Hoorn, Dylan van Baarle, Tom Pidcock, Magnus Sheffield, Sam Bennett, Nils Politt, Alberto Bettiol, Michael Valgren, Soren Kragh Andersen, Cees Bol, Alberto Dainese, Victor Campenaerts, Tim Wellens, Florian Vermeersch, Arnaud De Lie, Tiesj Benoot, Davide Ballerini, Fabio Jakobsen, Yves Lampaert, Zdenek Stybar, Tadej Pogacar, Matteo Trentin, Stefan Küng, Valentin Madouas, Bryan Coquard, Alex Aranburu, Ivan Cortina, Amaury Capiot, Dries van Gestel and Anthony Turgis.

You will be able to keep up with the race here on CyclingUpToDate as we bring you the race report and interviews surrounding Milano-Sanremo.