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Antwerpen - Oudenaarde, 259.5 km

A nice day's work. Philippe Gilbert gets a brilliant solo win at the Tour of Flanders.

The 18 climbs:

• Oude Kwaremont (115 km)
• Kortekeer (126 km)
• Eikenberg (133 km)
• Wolvenberg (136 km)
• Leberg (145 km)
• Berendries (149 km)
• Tenbosse (154 km)
• Muur van Geraardsbergen (165 km)
• Pottelberg (183 km)
• Kanarieberg (189 km)
• Oude Kwaremont (205 km)
• Paterberg (209 km)
• Koppenberg (215 km)
• Steenbeekdries (220 km)
• Taaienberg (223 km)
• Kruisberg (233 km)
• Oude Kwaremont (243 km)
• Paterberg (247 km)

Weather in Oudenaarde at 2:10 PM, local time: 15C (59F), Partly cloudy with the wind from the WNW at 8 km/hr (5 mph). There is no chance of rain in the forecast for today.

The race: Here's the story from second-place Philippe van Avermaet's BMC team.

Greg Van Avermaet fought to the very end at the 101st edition of the Tour of Flanders in a nail-biting race that saw the Belgian step on the podium for the third time in his career.

Van Avermaet was left to battle for second place in the sprint with Niki Terpstra (Quickstep-Floors) and Nathan Van Baarle (Cannondale-Drapac Pro Cycling Team), behind solo winner Philippe Gilbert (Quickstep-Floors).

Earlier in the 260km race, eight riders went clear in the opening 10km and gained an advantage of more than ten minutes after it clear that the peloton was happy to ease into the action.

The peloton rolled on slowly behind the breakaway until the Muur-Kapelmuur when Quickstep-Floors launched an attack and 14 riders went clear, from which Gilbert eventually launched his winning move.

BMC Racing Team missed the attack and the whole team chased hard with the help of Orica-Scott and Bora-Hansgrohe, however the group's advantage stayed around the one-minute mark. As the peloton advanced through the cobbled climbs and the second group caught the breakaway, Gilbert went clear from the group and launched his solo mission to the finish.

Meanwhile, Van Avermaet showed his strength and went clear with a few riders to eventually catch the chase group and began to eat into Gilbert's lead, following which Van Avermaet attacked with Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Olivier Naesen (AG2R-La Mondiale) on the Taiienberg.

With 15km to go the trio were trailing Gilbert by 50 seconds when Sagan crashed in first position and took Van Avermaet and Naesen down with him on the Oude-Kwaremont. Van Avermaet was able to quickly get back on the bike and join Terpstra, Van Baarle, and Matteo Trentin (Quickstep-Floors) in the run in to the finish, but the time lost in the crash was enough to secure the victory for Gilbert.

Van Avermaet showed he still had the legs, after 260km and the crash, to take second place at the second Monument of the season in an excellent show of strength and determination.

Greg Van Avermaet: "It's disappointing for me because I was going for the win but it didn't happen. But that's how racing is, you have high expectations and you try to achieve them. I did my best and I came second so it is like it is. It was just a little bit of bad luck but there are still more races to come."

"I think Peter Sagan was close to the barrier or the people and maybe he hit somebody on the side of the road and I was just behind so I couldn't avoid the crash. That was the moment when maybe we could have still done something with Peter and Olivier Naesen. We could have worked together but then you stop, you crash, and you lose another 30 seconds and then the race is over. If you see how close we still came at the finish I think the race was not over until that point."

"Gilbert was really strong and he went early. We were a bit behind and it was hard to work together with some guys and then I had to wait until I could get away and try and close the gap. Then it was still one minute so it was a bit too far. But maybe if the crash hadn't have happened it would have been a different story. Chapeau to Philippe."

Fabio Baldato, Sports Director: "In the end, even after the crash, we got the podium and Greg was amazing. He jumped back on the bike quickly and was able to go for second place. For sure it was a hard race and we were in trouble for a moment after the Muur. Then we were able to almost close the gap and bring Greg back into the race. At that point it was up to him to do his race but you can't control what happened with the crash with Sagan. Greg was amazing to fight like that and bring the podium back. That was the good point for the day but of course, we only want to win. Greg was already on the podium two times; this was his third time. But, we'll come back and try again."

"I think without the crash Greg would have had a good shot at bringing Gilbert back because we saw in the last 10km that Gilbert was looking really tired. Already with the crash, Greg was able to bring the gap back to under 30 seconds just with Van Baarle because Terpstra was on the wheel. With Sagan and Naesen they had a strong group and then it would have been another win. Greg may not have won but he would have been able to fight for the win.  This makes up even more motivated for Paris-Roubaix next week. We saw again that Greg is in great shape and he is a fighter. He wants to fight and we as a team want to fight as a team."

Complete results:

Photos

198 starters, 121 classified finishers and 77 abandons

259.5 kilometers raced at an average speed of 40.573 km/hr (25.211 mph)

1	Philippe GILBERT	Quick-Step	6hr 23min 45sec
2	Greg VAN AVERMAET	BMC	@ 29sec
3	Niki TERPSTRA	Quick-Step	s.t.
4	Dylan VAN BAARLE	Cannondale Drapac	s.t.
5	Alexander KRISTOFF	Katusha Alpecin	@ 53sec
6	Sacha MODOLO	UAE Abu Dhabi	s.t.
7	John DEGENKOLB	Trek-Segafredo	s.t.
8	Filippo POZZATO	Wilier Triestina-Selle Italia	s.t.
9	Sylvain CHAVANEL	Direct Energie	s.t.
10	Sonny COLBRELLI	Bahrain-Merida	s.t.
11	MICHAEL VALGREN ANDERSEN	Astana	s.t.
12	Luke DURBRIDGE	Orica-Scott	s.t.
13	Matteo TRENTIN	Quick-Step	s.t.
14	Yoann OFFREDO	Wanty-Groupe Gobert	s.t.
15	Gianni MOSCON	Sky	s.t.
16	Scott THWAITES	Dimension Data	s.t.
17	Tony GALLOPIN	Lotto Soudal	s.t.
18	Nelson OLIVEIRA	Movistar	s.t.
19	Fabio FELLINE	Trek-Segafredo	@ 1min 1sec
20	André GREIPEL	Lotto Soudal	+2:29
21	Baptiste PLANCKAERT	Katusha Alpecin	s.t.
22	Edvald BOASSON HAGEN	Dimension Data	s.t.
23	Oliver NAESEN	Ag2r La Mondiale	+2:32
24	Alberto BETTIOL	Cannondale Drapac	s.t.
25	Alexander EDMONSON	Orica-Scott	+3:30
26	Adrien PETIT	Direct Energie	s.t.
27	Peter SAGAN	Bora-hansgrohe	s.t.
28	Nikias ARNDT	Sunweb	s.t.
29	Pim LIGTHART	Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij	s.t.
30	Magnus Cort NIELSEN	Orica-Scott	s.t.
31	Julien DUVAL	Ag2r La Mondiale	s.t.
32	Matti BRESCHEL	Astana	s.t.
33	Marco MARCATO	UAE Abu Dhabi	s.t.
34	Matthieu LADAGNOUS	FDJ	s.t.
35	Julien VERMOTE	Quick-Step	s.t.
36	Yves LAMPAERT	Quick-Step	s.t.
37	Tom BOONEN	Quick-Step	s.t.
38	Boy VAN POPPEL	Trek-Segafredo	s.t.
39	Frederik BACKAERT	Wanty-Groupe Gobert	s.t.
40	Florian SENECHAL	Cofidis	s.t.
41	Stefan KÜNG	BMC	s.t.
42	Nils POLITT	Katusha Alpecin	s.t.
43	Luka PIBERNIK	Bahrain-Merida	s.t.
44	Preben VAN HECKE	Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise	s.t.
45	Stijn VANDENBERGH	Ag2r La Mondiale	s.t.
46	Thomas SPRENGERS	Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise	s.t.
47	Alexey LUTSENKO	Astana	s.t.
48	Guillaume VAN KEIRSBULCK	Wanty-Groupe Gobert	s.t.
49	Silvan DILLIER	BMC	s.t.
50	Eugert ZHUPA	Wilier Triestina-Selle Italia	s.t.
51	Jasper STUYVEN	Trek-Segafredo	s.t.
52	Tom VAN ASBROECK	Cannondale Drapac	s.t.
53	Andrea PASQUALON	Wanty-Groupe Gobert	s.t.
54	Huub DUYN	Veranda's Willems-Crelan	s.t.
55	Marcus BURGHARDT	Bora-hansgrohe	s.t.
56	Arnaud DEMARE	FDJ	s.t.
57	Edward THEUNS	Trek-Segafredo	s.t.
58	Bram TANKINK	Lotto NL-Jumbo	s.t.
59	Reinardt JANSE VAN RENSBURG	Dimension Data	s.t.
60	Reto HOLLENSTEIN	Katusha Alpecin	s.t.
61	Daniel OSS	BMC	s.t.
62	Gaetan BILLE	Veranda's Willems-Crelan	+3:35
63	Alex TURRIN	Wilier Triestina-Selle Italia	s.t.
64	Ian STANNARD	Sky	+3:36
65	Bryan COQUARD	Direct Energie	s.t.
66	Maciej BODNAR	Bora-hansgrohe	s.t.
67	Zdenek ŠTYBAR	Quick-Step	s.t.
68	Ivan GARCIA CORTINA	Bahrain-Merida	+4:15
69	Sam BEWLEY	Orica-Scott	+4:32
70	Olivier LE GAC	FDJ	+6:59
71	Mark MCNALLY	Wanty-Groupe Gobert	s.t.
72	Sebastian LANGEVELD	Cannondale Drapac	s.t.
73	Michael MORKOV	Katusha Alpecin	s.t.
74	Søren Kragh ANDERSEN	Sunweb	+8:02
75	Koen DE KORT	Trek-Segafredo	s.t.
76	Pieter VANSPEYBROUCK	Wanty-Groupe Gobert	s.t.
77	Federico ZURLO	UAE Abu Dhabi	+8:35
78	Ramon SINKELDAM	Sunweb	s.t.
79	Laurens DE VREESE	Astana	s.t.
80	Christoph PFINGSTEN	Bora-hansgrohe	s.t.
81	Mike TEUNISSEN	Sunweb	s.t.
82	Ryan MULLEN	Cannondale Drapac	s.t.
83	Iljo KEISSE	Quick-Step	s.t.
84	Dries VAN GESTEL	Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise	s.t.
85	Antoine DUCHESNE	Direct Energie	s.t.
86	ANDREY GRIVKO	Astana	s.t.
87	Imanol ERVITI	Movistar	s.t.
88	Dion SMITH	Wanty-Groupe Gobert	s.t.
89	Jasha SÜTTERLIN	Movistar	s.t.
90	Roy CURVERS	Sunweb	s.t.
91	Mathew HAYMAN	Orica-Scott	s.t.
92	Mitch DOCKER	Orica-Scott	s.t.
93	Wesley KREDER	Wanty-Groupe Gobert	s.t.
94	Jonas RICKAERT	Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise	s.t.
95	Julien MORICE	Direct Energie	s.t.
96	Mickael DELAGE	FDJ	s.t.
97	Lars BOOM	Lotto NL-Jumbo	s.t.
98	Dimitri CLAEYS	Cofidis	s.t.
99	Jean-Pierre DRUCKER	BMC	s.t.
100	Stijn STEELS	Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise	s.t.
101	Dries DE BONDT	Veranda's Willems-Crelan	s.t.
102	Christian KNEES	Sky	+11:31
103	Hugo HOULE	Ag2r La Mondiale	s.t.
104	Bernhard EISEL	Dimension Data	s.t.
105	Twan CASTELIJNS	Lotto NL-Jumbo	s.t.
106	Lukasz WISNIOWSKI	Sky	s.t.
107	Kiel REIJNEN	Trek-Segafredo	s.t.
108	Owain DOULL	Sky	s.t.
109	Stijn DEVOLDER	Veranda's Willems-Crelan	s.t.
110	Tom SCULLY	Cannondale Drapac	s.t.
111	Rudy BARBIER	Ag2r La Mondiale	s.t.
112	Juraj SAGAN	Bora-hansgrohe	s.t.
113	Rafael ANDRIATO	Wilier Triestina-Selle Italia	s.t.
114	Bert VAN LERBERGHE	Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise	s.t.
115	Gijs VAN HOECKE	Lotto NL-Jumbo	s.t.
116	Amund Grondahl JANSEN	Lotto NL-Jumbo	s.t.
117	Yohann GENE	Direct Energie	s.t.
118	Alexandre PICHOT	Direct Energie	s.t.
119	Gregory RAST	Trek-Segafredo	s.t.
120	Luke ROWE	Sky	s.t.
121	Tyler FARRAR	Dimension Data	s.t.

2017 Tour of Flanders race map:

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Photos by Fotoreporter Sirotti:

Philippe Gilbert and Tom Boonen before the race start

Philippe Gilbert is alone and away on the Oude Kwaremont

Just before he crashed, Peter Sagan ascends the Oude Kwaremont

Fabio Felline

Matteo Trentin

Phillipe Gilbert is the King of Flanders

Gilbert stops his bike just before the line....

To celebrate a fabulous win

The podium, from left: Greg van Avermaet (2nd), Philippe Gilbert & Niki Terpstra (3rd)

Some well-earned kisses for Flanders winner Philippe Gilbert

Start list with back numbers, April 1, 2017:

	BORA-HANSGROHE
1	SAGAN Peter
2	PFINGSTEN Christoph
3	BURGHARDT Marcus
4	POSTLBERGER Lukas
5	SAGAN Juraj
6	BODNAR Maciej
7	SELIG Rüdiger
8	SCHILLINGER Andreas
	TEAM QUICK-STEP FLOORS
11	BOONEN Tom
12	VERMOTE Julien
13	GILBERT Philippe
14	KEISSE Iljo
15	LAMPAERT Yves
16	STYBAR Zdenek
17	TERPSTRA Niki
18	TRENTIN Matteo
	LOTTO-SOUDAL
21	BENOOT Tiesj
22	DEBUSSCHERE Jens
23	GALLOPIN Tony
24	GREIPEL André
25	MAES Nikolas
26	ROELANDTS Jurgen
27	SIEBERG Marcel
28	DE BUYST Jasper
	BMC
31	VAN AVERMAET Greg
32	DILLIER Silvan
33	DRUCKER Jean Pierre
34	ELMIGER Martin
35	KÜNG Stefan
36	QUINZIATO Manuel
37	OSS Daniel
38	VENTOSO Francisco José
	CANNONDALE-DRAPAC
41	VANMARCKE Sep
42	VAN ASBROECK Tom
43	LANGEVELD Sebastian
44	BETTIOL Alberto
45	PHINNEY Taylor
46	SCULLY Thomas
47	MULLEN Ryan
48	VAN BAARLE Dylan
	TREK-SEGAFREDO
51	STUYVEN Jasper
52	THEUNS Edward
53	DEGENKOLB John
54	FELLINE Fabio
55	RAST Grégory
56	REIJNEN Kiel
57	DE KORT Koen
58	VAN POPPEL Boy
	ORICA-SCOTT
61	HAYMAN Mathew
62	KEUKELEIRE Jens
63	DURBRIDGE Luke
64	DOCKER Mitchell
65	BEWLEY Sam
66	EDMONDSON Alexander
67	MEZGEC Luka
68	CORT NIELSEN Magnus
	AG2R LA MONDIALE
71	VANDENBERGH Stijn
72	NAESEN Oliver
73	BAGDONAS Gediminas
74	DENZ Nico
75	DUVAL Julien
76	HOULE Hugo
77	GOUGEARD Alexis
78	BARBIER Rudy
	KATUSHA-ALPECIN
81	KRISTOFF Alexander
82	MARTIN Tony
83	HOLLENSTEIN Reto
84	PLANCKAERT Baptiste
85	ZABEL Rick
86	HALLER Marco
87	MORKOV Michael
88	POLITT Nils
	ASTANA
91	BRESCHEL Matti
92	DE VREESE Laurens
93	GATTO Oscar
94	GRIVKO Andriy
95	GRUZDEV Dmitriy
96	KORSAETH Truls Engen
97	LUTSENKO Alexey
98	VALGREN ANDERSEN Michael
	SKY
101	STANNARD Ian
102	ROWE Luke
103	MOSCON Gianni
104	PUCCIO Salvatore
105	KNEES Christian
106	DOULL Owain
107	DIBBEN Jonathan
108	WISNIOWSKI Lukasz
	DIMENSION DATA
111	BOASSON HAGEN Edvald
112	DOUGALL Nick
113	EISEL Bernhard
114	FARRAR Tyler
115	JANSE VAN RENSBURG Reinardt
116	REGUIGUI Youcef
117	THOMSON Jay Robert
118	THWAITES Scott
	MOVISTAR
121	BETANCUR Carlos Alberto
122	ARCAS PEÑA Jorge
123	CARRETERO Hector
124	SANTOS SIMOES Nelson Filipe
125	ERVITI Imanol
126	BICO Nuno Miguel
127	DOWSETT Alex
128	SÜTTERLIN Jasha
	BAHRAIN-MERIDA
131	INSAUSTI Jon Ander
132	BONIFAZIO Niccolo
133	BOZIC Borut
134	GARCIA Ivan
135	COLBRELLI Sonny
136	FENG Chun Kai
137	WANG Mei Yin
138	PIBERNIK Luka
	LOTTO NL-JUMBO
141	BOOM Lars
142	CASTELIJNS Twan
143	GROENDAHL JANSEN Amund
144	TANKINK Bram
145	VAN HOECKE Gijs
146	VAN EMDEN Jos
147	LAMMERTINK Steven
148	WYNANTS Maarten
	FDJ
151	DEMARE Arnaud
152	DELAGE Mickael
153	GUARNIERI Jacopo
154	LE BON Johan
155	KONOVALOVAS Ignatas
156	LADAGNOUS Matthieu
157	LE GAC Olivier
158	SARREAU Marc
	TEAM SUNWEB
161	ANDERSEN Søren Kragh
162	ARNDT Nikias
163	BAUHAUS Phil
164	CURVERS Roy
165	DE BACKER Bert
166	SINKELDAM Ramon
167	TEUNISSEN Mike
168	WAEYTENS Zico
	UAE-TEAM EMIRATES
171	CONSONNI Simone
172	GUARDINI Andrea
173	KUMP Marko
174	LAENGEN Vegard Stake
175	MARCATO Marco
176	MODOLO Sacha
177	TROIA Oliviero
178	ZURLO Federico
	SPORT VLAANDEREN-BALOISE
181	VAN HECKE Preben
182	PLANCKAERT Edward
183	RICKAERT Jonas
184	VAN ROOY Kenneth
185	SPRENGERS Thomas
186	STEELS Stijn
187	VAN GESTEL Dries
188	VAN LERBERGHE Bert
	WANTY–GROUPE GOBERT
191	VAN KEIRSBULCK Guillaume
192	BACKAERT Frederik
193	KREDER Wesley
194	OFFREDO Yoann
195	MCNALLY Mark
196	PASQUALON Andrea
197	VANSPEYBROUCK Pieter
198	SMITH Dion
	VERANDA'S WILLEMS-CRELAN
201	DEVOLDER Stijn
202	BILLE Gaetan
203	CORDEEL Sander
204	DE BONDT Dries
205	DUYN Huub
206	KRUOPIS Aidis
207	VAN ZUMMEREN Stef
208	GOOLAERTS Michael
	DIRECT ENERGIE
211	CARDIS Romain
212	GENE Yohann
213	CHAVANEL Sylvain
214	DUCHESNE Antoine
215	COQUARD Bryan
216	MORICE Julien
217	PETIT Adrien
218	PICHOT Alexandre
	COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CRÉDITS
221	CHETOUT Loïc
222	CLAEYS Dimitri
223	HOFSTETTER Hugo
224	LAPORTE Christophe
225	LEMOINE Cyril
226	SENECHAL Florian
227	VAN STAEYEN Michael
228	VAN BILSEN Kenneth
	ROOMPOT-NEDERLANDSE LOTERIJ
231	ASSELMAN Jesper
232	DE VRIES Berden
233	LIGTHART Pim
234	LOOIJ André
235	VAN DER HOORN Taco
236	REINDERS Elmar
237	VAN GOETHEM Brian
238	VERMELTFOORT Coen
	WILIER-SELLE ITALIA
241	POZZATO Filippo
242	BERTAZZO Liam
243	DRAPERI Matteo
244	FONZI Giuseppe
245	MARECZKO Jakub
246	ANDRIATO Rafael
247	TURRIN Alex
248	ZHUPA Eugert

 

Organizer's race details:

30 November 2016

Today the press was called together in the city hall of Geraardsbergen to anounce the route of the 2017 Ronde van Vlaanderen. With Antwerp as the new starting spot, three new bergs added and the presentation of the finale, there was a lot of news. We sumarize it all for you.

For the first time in Tour history, the riders are departing from the bustling city of Antwerp. The starting shot for “Flanders’ Finest” will be fired at 10.30 a.m. at Het Steen. Prior to that, cycling fans are invited to gather on the Grote Markt, around the stage in front of the city hall, where the riders will sign in and be presented to the public. The riders then make their way to the start along Suikerrui, through what is certain to be a massive crowd. A fan village, with a big TV screen, will be set up on the Groenplaats for all fans from home and abroad. The riders’ coaches can be seen in the riders’ village on the Scheldekaaien.

The new approach route for the Tour of Flanders has already been announced. With Antwerp behind them, the riders wend their way to the Flemish Ardennes via seven “Villages of the Tour”. From Antwerp they head, via Linkeroever and Brecht, to Sint-Niklaas, the starting point for the Tour between 1977 and 1997.

After passing through the “capital of the Waasland”, the pack roars past the village of Hamme-Zogge, birthplace of Olympic Champion Greg van Avermaet, along the Donkmeer and through Berlare town centre. The festivities continue in Aalst, where residents plan to turn the Tour into a second “Aalst Carnival”. Erpe-Mere, where they celebrated Lucien van Impe last year, is the next town along the way.

Passing through Herzele and Zottegem, where they run into the first cobblestones of the day on Lippenhovestraat and Paddestraat, the riders begin pounding on the door to the Flemish Ardennes. The pack is expected to pass through Oudenaarde for the first time at around 1 p.m, when the hill climbs begin.

On Sunday 2 April the riders can expect a total of 259.5 km, 18 climbs and five cobble sections. Once through Oudenaarde, the convoy heads to Oude Kwaremont for the first time (1st climb, at 115 km). The route takes them up the Kortekeer, the Eikenberg, the Wolvenberg, the whole of Holle Weg (a cobble section, at 138km), the Haaghoek (cobble section, at 144km), the Leberg and the Berendries.

Three climbs have been dropped since the jubilee Tour of 2016: the Molenberg, the Valkenberg and the Kaperij. In their place the riders tackle Ten Bosse (the 7th climb of the day, at 154 km), the Muur van Geraardsbergen/Kapelpuur (the 8th of 18 climbs, at 164 km) and the Pottelberg (the 9th, at 181 km). No longer do the riders have last year’s cobblestones to fear at Huisepontweg, Ruiterstraat, Kergate and Jagerij.

The attention-grabber in this succession of steep climbs through the Flemish Ardennes is, of course, the Muur van Geraardsbergen. After five years of absence, the decision to include the Muur on the route once again has met with a warm welcome both at home and abroad.

Past battles on the Oudeberg cobbles have been known to unlock the path to victory, and now the Muur - the eighth of 18 climbs, 95 kilometres from the finish line - could prove to be an important benchmark on the route. Favourite riders feeling strong will undoubtedly be able to test their competition for a first time on this legendary hill with its 9.5% average gradient: an important indicator of how the race might go from then on.

The men are expected to pass at about 2.15 p.m. An hour before that, at about 1.15 p.m., the women tackle the climb of just over a kilometre and attempt to tame the 20% gradient at its steepest section. The Muur van Geraardsbergen also separates the wheat from the chaff in the Tour of Flanders for Juniors on 2 April. They face the rigours of De Muur three times before finding out, at about 12.30 p.m., at the Vesten along the Kapelmuur, who will succeed the Dutchman, Timo De Jongh.

The Muur van Geraardsbergen is the third most frequently climbed hill section in the history of the Tour, after the Oude Kwaremont in Kluisbergen and the Kruisberg in Ronse. At de Muur, thousands of fans saw an unfettered Eric Vanderaerden pull away from the rest in 1985, watched an unrivalled Johan Museeuw extend the gap on its cobblestones in 1995 and witnessed the legendary battle between Fabian Cancellara and Tom Boonen in 2010.

The return of de Muur will undoubtedly be celebrated by thousands of fans at a huge party in Geraardsbergen. The city council and the race organisers, Flanders Classics, anticipate a huge influx of people, from home and abroad, and are putting all the necessary measures in place.

As the riders pass through the centre of Geraardsbergen, fans can follow the elite men, elite women and Juniors live from this iconic location. A huge fan village will be set up at the Vesten and a big screen will be provided, so that the fans don’t have to miss a single second of the final stretches of the 101st Tour of Flanders.

“The walk to the Muur is a pilgrimage; awaiting the riders an intense ritual,” says Mayor Guido De Padt of Geraardsbergen, revealing his great satisfaction with the return of this Flemish race monument. “The Muur is a sacred place for race lovers and exerts a tremendous pull, at home and abroad. The Muur is an ambassador for Flemish cycle racing.”

“The Muur van Geraardsbergen is monumental in the world of cycle racing, and far beyond,” adds race director Wim Van Herreweghe of Flanders Classics, the event organiser. “The return of this iconic climb is a win-win-situation for both parties: the Tour brings prestige to the city of Geraardsbergen; the Muur adds allure to ‘Flanders’ Finest’”.

Last 75 kilometres unchanged. Formula of Oude Kwaremont x 3 and Paterberg x 2 remains in place.

The last 9 climbs and the last cobble section of the 101st Tour of Flanders remain as they were in previous races. After the Kanarieberg (the 10th climb), the riders take on the Oude Kwaremont (the 11th climb, 55 km from the finish) and Paterberg (the 12th climb, 51 km from the finish).

After this, the riders are served yet another plateful: first they face the monument of the Koppenberg, and after that the front runners head on, via Mariaborrestraat (cobble section), to Steenbeekdries, the Taaienberg and the Kruisberg/Hotond. The ultimate knock out combination is then the Oude Kwaremont, (17th climb), 17 km from the finish, and the Paterberg (18th and final climb), 13 km from the finish.

“These last six climbs on the modern day route are typical Tour of Flanders climbs - they are all inclines on cobblestones. They produce an instantly recognisable and intense rhythm, which has yielded memorable finals in recent years. The most recent highpoint was only last year, in the jubilee 100th edition, when world champion Peter Sagan triumphed, forcing Fabian Cancellara to miss out on an absolute record. We just want to keep the last 75 kilometres as a feature of the race. Its instant recognisability should become a real race tradition,” concludes race director Wim Van Herreweghe.