2024 Danilith Nokere Koerse (1.Pro), Belgium

Nokere Koerse podium history | 2023 edition | Start list

Deinze - Nokere: 188.1 km, 25.8km of cobbles

Race map

Tim Merlier can sit up and celebrate his win. Photo: Luc Claessen/Getty Images

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Weather at the finish city of Nokere at 12:50 PM, local time: 13C (55F), cloudy, with the wind from the southwest at 19 km/hr (12 mph). There is a 4% chance of rain.

The course: Nokere Koerse will be 188.1 kilometres long in 2024. The start remains at the Markt in cycling city Deinze and the finish is of course on top of Nokereberg.

Nevertheless, there are some novelties. First, there is a 94.2 km run-up that takes the riders along Nazareth, Gavere, Oosterzele, Zwalm, Oudenaarde, Horebeke, Maarkedal, Anzegem and Wortegem-Petegem towards Nokere. After 25 kilometres, the famous Lange Munte is the first cobbled stretch of the day, 15 kilometres later the Kattenberg, Holleweg and Jagerij are the next obstacles. This is followed by a loop around the Roman Brewery with an ascent of the Varent hill. From Oudenaarde we head to Anzegem with the cobblestones of the Varent, the hill Hellestraat and Holstraat and in Wortegem-Petegem the lesser-known Petegemberg (500m at 7.6%), with a beautiful view over the Flemish Ardennes at the top.

Needless to say, these obstacles will only serve as a warm-up. After the riders first ascent of Nokereberg (350m at 5.7%, maximum 7%), 3 more local laps of 31.3 km will follow.

The local lap is spiced up with numerous cobbled sections: the Herlegemstraat, the Lange Aststraat, the Kloosterstraat, the reconstructed Doorn, Lededorp and the Huisepontweg. That is where the differences have to be made. Very important, on leaving Wannegem-Dorp follow the last 3 km!

The race: Here's the report from winner Tim Merlier's Team Soudal Quick-Step.

Tim Merlier confirmed he is the most in-form sprinter of the season as he celebrated his third consecutive success on the Nokereberg, joining fellow countryman Hendrik Van Dijck as the only riders to have scored a hat-trick of victories in Nokere Koerse, the Flemish one-day race created in 1944.

The 31-year-old came at the start incredibly motivated to repeat his victories of 2022 and 2023, and rode a perfect race with the support of his Soudal Quick-Step teammates, who annihilated the original breakaway and later in the day all the dangerous moves that came on the last lap, keeping him at the front all the time, which helped Tim avoid the many crashes that ended up having an impact on the race. The last of these incidents came around two kilometers from the finish line, when a pile-up split what already was a depleted peloton, leaving only a dozen or so men in contention as they rode under the flamme rouge.

Knowing fortune usually favours the brave, Merlier launched a devastating sprint from the very bottom of the Nokereberg, the blistering speed he produced on the 300m cobbled hill averaging 4.3% leaving all his opponents trailing and incapable of reacting. It was a crushing victory for the two-time Belgian Champion, who put several bike lengths into the chasers and could even afford to stop pedalling in the last 40 meters as he celebrated together with the fans this electrifying win, maybe his most impressive of the year.

“The race was very nervous, but the team did a great job, and I want to thank them for that. As soon as we arrived at the bottom of the Nokereberg I saw an opportunity and went immediately, trying from afar just like I did in the previous two years. This success means a lot, because it was the first time that my son came to see me at a race, and this made me very emotional at the finish. It’s a great feeling to win in front of your family, just five kilometers from where we live. I am very happy with my sprint and with getting to six victories so early in the season”, Tim said after his 40th pro win.