It's one of the biggest and most exciting races of the year and the second monument of the season. For many, the most exciting cycling day of the year, the Tour des Flandres will be taking place this 3rd of April and will be the culmination of a Flandrien cobbled classic campaign.
272 kilometers on the menu this year. The distance will make for a
brutal race, the Tour des Flandres has always been a race for the riders who
are capable of performing on a bike at top level for a large number of hours
and this year that capacity will be put to the limit. The start at Antwerpen
will then see just a bit over 130 kilometers that are mostly set to be calm,
approximately half of the race. However in the second half everything changes,
as the Oude Kwaremont will open things up.
From 137 to 88 kilometers to go there will be a long succession of bergs
and cobbled sectors that will thin down the peloton. Big attacks will no happen
here, as the main favourites need to save their bullets wisely, however set-up
attacks, split attempts and a lot of fatigue buildup may happen here.
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The crucial section of the race starts with the second passage over the
Oude Kwaremont. Kwaremont, Paterberg and the Koppenberg come in quick
succession and this trio of ascents will not only destroy the peloton, it will
also provide opportunities to launch potentially decisive attacks. They come
with 54.5, 51 and 44.5 kilometers to go. Not many riders will survive the
peloton afterwards, and with a thinned down group decisive attacks can also
come after as the chasing power will not be so meaningful.
Antwerp - Oudenaarde, 272Km
Steenbeekdries (39Km to go), Taaienberg (36.5Km to go) and Oude
Kruisberg (28Km to go) follow afterwards and provide further launching pads for
dangerous attacks. After a small descent the race will enter it’s final
sectors.
For the third and last time, the Oude Kwaremont. A grueling berg with
inconsistent gradients, it summits with 16.5Km to go. And after a short section, the final berg of the race is always one that
may see the differences, the Paterberg. Short but sharp, essentially a
one-minute all-out effort after around 6:30h of hard racing where slipstreaming
is not a thing. A climb most will know like the back of their hand, it will
summit with 13 kilometers to go.
Oude Kwaremont
As every year, the run-up to Oudenaarde then is quite excruciating.
Pan-flat after the small descent from the Paterberg, it is a place where
attacks can still happen, but whatever happens depends on what will happen over
the ascents.
Paterberg
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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