Tour of Flanders 2024

The most iconic climbs and cobbles of Belgium will crown the next Monument winner

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Ronde van Vlaanderen

Dates 31 Mar
Race Length 270 kms
Start Antwerp
Finish Oudenaarde
Race Category Elite Men

Tour of Flanders: Mathieu van der Poel makes it a hattrick

Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) took his record-tying third Tour of Flanders title in a dominant ride on a rain-soaked day in Belgium.

The Dutch rider was flawless on the Koppenberg with 46km to go when most riders were forced to get off their bikes and walk to the fearsome climb. From that point, Van der Poel did not look back and clinched his third win solo with enough of a gap to get off his bike and hoist it into the air to celebrate his triumph.

From the Koppenberg until the finish, it was a battle for seconds amongst the remaining peloton behind. Dylan Teuns (Israel-Premier Tech) and Alberto Bettiol (EF Education-EasyPost) mounted a spirited rider for the remaining podium places, but the two riders were brought back in the final hundred metres by a strong group of nine. In the end, Luca Mozzato (Arkeá-B&B) finished second and Nils Politt (UAE Team Emirates) finished third after Michael Matthews (Jayco AlUla) was relegated for a sprint deviation.

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Tour of Flanders 2024 overview

The Tour of Flanders will run on Sunday, 31 March and marks the crown jewel of the Belgian Classics and one of the most important race days in cycling.

The Ronde van Vlaanderen, or simply De Ronde as it is called in Flanders, is known for its cobbled climbs and for the rabid atmosphere that comes from the hundreds of thousands of Belgian fans that make their way to the side of the road for the biggest Sunday in Belgium’s sporting calendar.

The Tour of Flanders is the second of cycling’s five Monuments and has been run for over a hundred years, with the only interruption coming during World War I. Not even World War II could stop De Ronde from crowing a winner as the race has endured in the memory of cycling fans since it began in 1913.

While last year’s winner Tadej Pogačar will be at an altitude camp rather than defending his crown in Flanders - as he prepares for his attempt at the Giro-Tour double this summer - the startlist will be stacked with some of cycling’s biggest names regardless.

Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) looks to add his name to the rare three-time winners club, while his victor from last week’s Gent-Wevelgem, Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), is in search of his first Monument win. They will square off against the strength of Alberto Bettiol (EF Education-EasyPost), Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious) and Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates) among many others who will have had the Tour of Flanders circled on their calendar since last November.

Tour of Flanders 2024 key information

When is the Tour of Flanders 2024? The Tour of Flanders will start on Sunday, 31 March.

Where does the 2024 Tour of Flanders take place? The Tour of Flanders takes place in Flanders, Belgium, starting in Antwerp and finishing in Oudenaarde.

Who won the Tour of Flanders in 2023? Tadej Pogačar soloed to victory in the 2023 edition, finishing ahead of Mathieu van der Poel who was also solo. Mads Pederson won the sprint for third behind.

When did the Tour of Flanders start? The first edition of the Tour of Flanders was run in 1913. The race has run every year since, with the only exception coming during World War I when Flanders was the epicentre of the fighting.

Who won the first Tour of Flanders? Paul Deman won the first edition of the Tour of Flanders ahead of Joseph Van Daele and Victor Doms. All three riders were Belgians.

Who has the most wins at the Tour of Flanders? Six riders have won the Tour of Flanders three times, including most recently Fabian Cancellara, Tom Boonen and Johan Museeuw.

Tour of Flanders 2024 route: the pinnacle of the Belgian Classics

The route of the Tour of Flanders changes often, however, the ending generally has stayed the same as the race has found its formula with the shift to the Oudenaarde finish in 2012.

The 271km race, starting in Antwerp and ending in Oudenaarde, has only 2,172 metres but the riders feel every one of those metres as the climbs are all packed in the back half of the race and many of them are accompanied by tough cobblestones. In total, there are 16 cobblestone sectors and 17 climbs.

While the action comes thick and fast at the end of the race, the parcours takes its time getting to the action with the first climb of the Oude Kwaremont coming after 135km of racing. The long, flat prelude to the climbs provides a big opportunity for domestiques and opportunists to get up the road early, ahead of the action. While the breakaway will undoubtedly be brought back by the favourites towards the end of the race, it is not uncommon for riders in the early breakaway to hang around and play some type of role in the finale.

After the preamble, the race begins the climbs and doesn’t return to flat roads until the final 11km flat run to the line once all the climbs and cobbles are done and dusted. From the first climb up the Oude Kwaremont through the finish, the race packs in all 16 of the climbs into 137km. The first ride up the Kwaremont is followed by the first lap around the Flemish Ardense and climbs like the Kappelberg, Wolvenberg, Molenberg, Bendries, Valkenberg and Berg Ten Haut before the race returns to the base of the Oude Kwaremont for the crucial second lap around the most famous climbs of Flanders.

The second of three times of asking on the Oude Kwaremont comes with 57km to go before it is followed by the first ascent of the Paterberg, the Koppenberg, Steenbeekdries, Taaienberg and Kruisberg which mark the start of the crucial endgame at the Tour of Flanders. The Koppenberg, Taaienberg and Kruisberg especially are the climbs where the race will often kick off as the big contenders begin to manoeuvre before the final few climbs.

All of this leads to the final crescendo of the final two climbs of the day which will ultimately decide the result of the stage. The Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg combo comes in the final 20km and sets the table for the final attacks before the flat run to the finish. The two final climbs have shown to be selective enough with six solo winners and a four-up sprint being the biggest group to contest for the win at the new finishing circuit.

Which teams are racing the Tour of Flanders 2024?

The Tour of Flanders is a WorldTour race and will see the full collection of 18 WorldTour teams take on the race. Seven ProTour teams will also be at the race making up the full 25-team peloton of 175 riders.

WorldTour teams:

Alpecin-Deceuninck
Arkéa-B&B Hotels
Astana Qazaqstan
Bahrain Victorious
Bora-Hansgrohe
Cofidis
Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale
EF Education-EasyPost
Groupama-FDJ
Ineos Grenadiers
Intermarché-Wanty
Lidl-Trek
Movistar Team
Soudal Quick-Step
dsm-firmenich PostNL
Jayco AlUla
Visma-Lease a Bike
UAE Team Emirates

ProTour teams:

Lotto Dstny
Israel-Premier Tech
Uno-X Mobility
Flanders-Baloise
Tudor Pro Cycling
Bingoal WB
Q36.5 Pro Cycling

What happened at the Tour of Flanders 2023?

Tadej Pogačar stormed to victory in the 2023 Tour of Flanders after an attacking ride saw him dispense Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel from his wheel after a long battle that saw the trio start the crux of the race on the back foot before they worked their way through the early attackers until it was just Pogačar and Van der Poel racing to the finish in a one-on-one drag race along the flat run to Oudenaard. The two matched each other the whole day with Van der Poel only trailing the Slovenian of the Oude Kwaremont the last time of asking. Mads Pedersen won the sprint from the select group of seven behind.

Tour of Flanders history

While the Tour of Flanders might not be the longest, the oldest, the hilliest or the roughest of the Monuments, it is Belgium’s biggest race and perhaps the race that is the hardest to win. Even the specialists who have dedicated their careers to the Classics have found it a difficult crown to take, as the likes of Roger De Vlaeminck and Peter Sagan only took one win each at the race. Famously, Sean Kelly never managed to win the race, even though he won all of the other monuments and countless other Classics. Flanders, in all its challenges, was his white whale.

Recently, Flanders have been defined by a couple of true rivalries. In the 2000s and first half of the 2010’s the race was dominated by Tom Boonen and Fabian Cancellara. The two Classics stars traded blows in all of the Classics, but Flanders was where they seemed to trade wins. All said and done, the two riders accounted for six victories out of ten editions from 2005 to 2014.

While Boonen and Cancellara are now out of the picture, Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel have taken on the role of central casting at Flanders in the 2020s. While one Tadej Pogačar has interrupted that rivalry on a few occasions, Van Aert and Van der Poel have been consistent as the furniture for the past few years at Flanders and are likely to continue turning up the race for the foreseeable future.

Tour of Flanders' previous winners

2023 Tadej Pogačar (Slo)
2022 Mathieu van der Poel (Ned)
2021 Kasper Asgreen (Den)
2020 Mathieu van der Poel (Ned)
2019 Alberto Bettiol (Ita)
2018 Niki Terpstra (Ned)
2017 Philippe Gilbert (Bel)
2016 Peter Sagan (Svk)
2015 Alexander Kristoff (Nor)
2014 Fabian Cancellara (Swi)
2013 Fabian Cancellara (Swi)
2012 Tom Boonen (Bel)
2011 Nick Nuyens (Bel)
2010 Fabian Cancellara (Swi)
2009 Stijn Devolder (Bel)
2008 Stijn Devolder (Bel)
2007 Alessandro Ballan (Ita)
2006 Tom Boonen (Bel)
2005 Tom Boonen (Bel)
2004 Steffen Wesemann (Ger)
2003 Peter Van Petegem (Bel)
2002 Andrea Tafi (Ita)
2001 Gianluca Bortolami (Ita)
2000 Andrei Tchmil (Bel)
1999 Peter Van Petegem (Bel)
1998 Johan Museeuw (Bel)
1997 Rolf Sörensen (Den)
1996 Michele Bartoli (Ita)
1995 Johan Museeuw (Bel)
1994 Gianni Bugno (Ita)
1993 Johan Museeuw (Bel)
1992 Jacky Durand (Fra)
1991 Edwig Van Hooydonck (Bel)
1990 Moreno Argentin (Ita)
1989 Edwig Van Hooydonck (Bel)
1988 Eddy Planckaert (Bel)
1987 Claude Criquielion (Bel)
1986 Adri Van Der Poel (Ned)
1985 Eric Vanderaerden (Bel)
1984 Johan Lammerts (Ned)
1983 Jan Raas (Ned)
1982 Rene Martens (Bel)
1981 Hennie Kuiper (Ned)
1980 Michel Pollentier (Bel)
1979 Jan Raas (Ned)
1978 Walter Godefroot (Bel)
1977 Roger De Vlaeminck (Bel)
1976 Walter Planckaert (Bel)
1975 Eddy Merckx (Bel)
1974 Cees Bal (Ned)
1973 Eric Leman (Bel)
1972 Eric Leman (Bel)
1971 Evert Dolman (Ned)
1970 Eric Leman (Bel)
1969 Eddy Merckx (Bel)
1968 Walter Godefroot (Bel)
1967 Dino Zandegu (Ita)
1966 Ward Sels (Bel)
1965 Jo De Roo (Ned)
1964 Rudi Altig (Ger)
1963 Noél Foré (Bel)
1962 Rik Van Looy (Bel)
1961 Tom Simpson (GB)
1960 Arthur De Cabooter (Bel)
1959 Rik Van Looy (Bel)
1958 Germain Derijcke (Bel)
1957 Fred De Bruyne (Bel)
1956 Jean Forestier (Fra)
1955 Louison Bobet (Fra)
1954 Raymond Impanis (Bel)
1953 Wim Van Est (Ned)
1952 Roger Decock (Bel)
1951 Fiorenzo Magni (Ita)
1950 Fiorenzo Magni (Ita)
1949 Fiorenzo Magni (Ita)
1948 Briek Schotte (Bel)
1947 Emiel Faignaert (Bel)
1946 Rik Van Steenbergen (Bel)
1945 Sylvain Grysolle (Bel)
1944 Rik Van Steenbergen (Bel)
1943 Achiel Buysse (Bel)
1942 Briek Schotte (Bel)
1941 Achiel Buysse (Bel)
1940 Achiel Buysse (Bel)
1939 Karel Kaers (Bel)
1938 Edgard De Caluwe (Bel)
1937 Michel D'Hooghe (Bel)
1936 Louis Hardiquest (Bel)
1935 Louis Duerloo (Bel)
1934 Gaston Rebry (Bel)
1933 Alfons Schepers (Bel)
1932 Romain Gijssels (Bel)
1931 Romain Gijssels (Bel)
1930 Frans Bonduel (Bel)
1929 Jef Dervaes (Bel)
1928 Jan Mertens (Bel)
1927 Gerard Debaets (Bel)
1926 Denis Verschueren (Bel)
1925 Julien Delbecque (Bel)
1924 Gerard Debaets (Bel)
1923 Henri Suter (Swi)
1922 Leon Devos (Bel)
1921 Rene Vermandel (Bel)
1920 Jules Van Hevel (Bel)
1919 Henri Van Lerberghe (Bel)
1915-1918 The race was not held due to WWI
1914 Marcel Buysse (Bel)
1913 Paul Deman (Bel)

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