Dwars door Vlaanderen 2026 preview - Visma to take revenge on 2025 fiasco?

Dwars door Vlaanderen marks the final race before the Tour of Flanders, and the last opportunity to boost confidence with a strong performance or to fine-tune the legs ahead of one of the biggest races on the calendar. 

It’s a prestigious race to win in its own right, one which began back in 1945 when Rik Van Steenbergen took the honours. Over its 79 editions, there have been 65 different winners with 14 riders tied on two victories. 

Twelve months ago, the race produced one of the most memorable finishes in recent times. The odds were stacked against Neilson Powless as he came into the final kilometre locked in a battle with a trio of Visma | Lease a Bike riders in Wout van Aert, Matteo Jorgenson, and Tiesj Benoot. 

The Dutch team gambled on the sprint ability of Van Aert. But the plan backfired as the American channelled his inner Ian Stannard and dismantled the trio by producing the sprint of all sprints at the finish in Waregem, beating a deflated Van Aert to the post.

There are set to be three former winners on the start list, including a Visma rider, Christophe Laporte, who won in 2023, alongside two-time winner Yves Lampaert and Dylan van Baarle, both racing for Soudal Quick-Step.

Key information: 

• Date - Wednesday, April 1
• Distance - 184.6km
• Start Location - Roeselare
• Finish Location - Waregem
• Neutral start  (CET) - 11:55
• Expected finish (CET) - 16:05

The race is 184.6km in length and kicks off in the town of Roeselare, with nearly the first 50km of the route being mainly flat and free of categorised hills and cobbles. 

Things change when the riders hit the first hill of the day, the Hellestraat (1.2km at 5.2%) with 136.9km remaining, the first of a dozen categorised hills, alongside seven cobbled sectors. The Volkegemberg (1.4km at 5.3%) and Holleweg follow in the next 20km before the first of two ascents of the Berg Ten Houte with 108.6km remaining. 

The run-in to the Berg Ten Houte has been altered from the previous edition, with a more testing approach to the ascent. The climb itself is 1.1km in length and has an average gradient of 6%, but more importantly, steep maximum gradients of 21%.

From here, the riders will head towards an important section of the race which features four key climbs. First is the Knokteberg - Trieu with 91.6km remaining, another climb that will be tackled on more than one occasion. 

The climb is one of the toughest in the race at 1.1km in length with an average gradient of 7%, and a maximum of 11.8%. Hotond (1.2km at 3.1%) and the Maria Borrestraat cobble sector follow inside the next ten kilometres; then the Onderbossenaarstraat (1.4km at 5.3%) with 77.7km remaining, and the Berg Ten Houte once more with 71.6km remaining.  

This is one of the toughest sections of the race in terms of the amount of climbing, and therefore, the fight for position into each section will be fierce. 

A lull of around 15km without any categorised hills follows, before the route then repeats the trio of the Knokteberg-Trieu with 54.7km remaining, Hotond with 51km, and the Maria Borrestraat cobble sector with 44.5km to go.

The Eikenberg (1.2km at 5.2%) makes an appearance as the milestone tenth categorised hill of the day, with its unrelenting cobbles coming with 39.1km remaining, followed by a duo of cobble sectors, Doorn and Huisepontweg.

With 21.8km remaining, the riders will get a taste of the Nokereberg, which they will tackle one more time in the finale with 9.2km to go. It’s one of the shorter climbs on the menu at 0.5km in length, with an average gradient of 5.7%. But at this point in the race, it’s difficult enough to create differences.

The riders will also pass through the Herlegemstraat cobbled sector twice, with 19.1km and 6.3km remaining. This double loop of the Nokereberg and Herlegemstraat is the final opportunity to make a difference on the climbs or cobbles before the final run-in to Waregem. 

The race-winning attack can come late, as illustrated by both Christophe Laporte in 2023 and Matteo Jorgenson in 2024, both riders surging clear inside the final 10km before soloing to victory. In the previous five editions, three riders have ridden into Waregem solo, with Dylan van Baarle also in 2021.

In the event of a sprint, whether that be between two riders or a larger bunch, there’s a sweeping right-hand corner with around 400 metres to go, before a wide and straight road to the finish line.

Visma | Lease a Bike will be aiming for revenge and have a very strong squad. Wout van Aert continued to impress at Gent-Wevelgem on Sunday, and although the Belgian didn’t get the result he desired, his performance indicated that he is in the form that he wants to be ahead of Flanders and Roubaix.

Former winner Christophe Laporte finished on the podium at Gent-Wevelgem and has been in the top 10 or at least on the cusp of it in almost every race he has ridden so far this season. 

Along with Per Strand Hagenes, who was runner-up at the E3 Saxo Classic and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne winner Matthew Brennan, who will be one of the favourites in a sprint, Visma | Lease a Bike have many cards to play and give themselves a strong opportunity of making last year's finish feel like a distant memory.

Florian Vermeersch has been one of the strongest riders in the peloton so far in 2026. The Belgian featured at the pointy end of proceedings in his last two outings at Gent-Wevelgem and the E3 Saxo Classic, taking 3rd in the latter. Vermeersch’s raw power always keeps him in the mix when the going gets tough, and the Belgian is a rider that the competition won’t want to let gain an advantage, as he will be difficult to catch. António Morgado and Nils Politt also feature for UAE Team Emirates-XRG.

While Alpecin-Premier Tech don’t have Mathieu van der Poel to call upon, they still have cards. Jasper Philipsen arrives fresh off winning Gent-Wevelgem, a big boost to the Belgian’s confidence, but Dwars door Vlaanderen will pose a different test, with the race often being too selective for the sprinters in recent years. 

The Belgian team have another option to play with the talented Tibor Del Grosso, potentially having an opportunity to shine. Meanwhile, unsung hero Edward Planckaert looked particularly strong at the E3 Saxo Classic, finishing 20th, and Florian Sénéchal was a key part of Philipsen’s victory at Gent-Wevelgem.

Mads Pedersen was ruled out of competing for a record-breaking fourth Gent-Wevelgem for Lidl-Trek due to illness, and combined with his ongoing recovery from his injuries, it's difficult to expect that the Dane will be fighting at full capacity if he takes to the start line.

Despite that, Pedersen is one of the best in the business, and even if he is missing a couple of per cent, he always remains in contention as a rider who can win. 4th at Milan-Sanremo and 9th at E3 in his first races after returning from injury illustrate the former World Champion's grit and determination, and he will do everything possible to be at his best for Flanders and Roubaix.

Jonathan Milan is one of the fastest riders in the peloton in a sprint, but it will be a stern task after the Italian missed out on fighting for the win at Gent-Wevelgem. Mathias Vacek is like a Swiss Army knife and could be another key rider for Lidl-Trek.

Filippo Ganna is the standout name on the start list for Ineos Grenadiers. Ganna was instrumental in the catch of Van Aert, Van der Poel and Segaert in the finale of Gent-Wevelgem, indicating that the form is building ahead of his big Spring target, Paris-Roubaix. Magnus Sheffield ended 12th at E3, indicating that the American is a top 10 candidate here also for Ineos. 

Meanwhile, Red Bull have options with the likes of Gianni Vermeersch, Tim van Dijke, and Laurence Pithie, all providing different outlets.

Tobias Lund Andresen’s Classics stock continues to rise after 6th at E3, and 2nd at Gent-Wevelgem, for the Decathlon CMA CGM team. The Dane has proven that he can manage the cobbles better than most sprinters, and thus often features in more selective groups in the finale. He has been knocking on the door, and it wouldn't be a big surprise if said door swings open in the very near future. 

Stan Dewulf was one of the strongest riders at E3 and was rewarded with 4th, and Oliver Naesen is one of the most experienced riders in the bunch on the cobbles for Decathlon.

Alec Segaert for Bahrain-Victorious is another rider who has flourished so far on the Cobbles. The Belgian is bold, always willing to try an attack, and he nearly stole a march at Gent-Wevelgem on Sunday. 

Segaert demonstrated why he was a two-time Under-23 time trial World Champion after bridging a 10-second gap to Van Aert and Van der Poel in the final 5km before attacking under the flamme rouge and nearly holding on for victory. 

A confident and in-form rider is a dangerous prospect for the opposition, and that’s exactly what Segaert is right now. The experienced Matej Mohorič is also set to feature for Bahrain-Victorious, and the Slovenian has the know-how about being in the mix. 

Also watch out for the Danish duo from EF Education EasyPost, Kasper Asgreen and Michael Valgren, as well as the combative Norwegian from Uno-X Mobility, Jonas Abrahamsen.

The last mass sprint finish was back in 2016 when former Belgian champion Jens Debusschere outsprinted Bryan Coquard and Edward Theuns to victory. 

Therefore, while the likes of Philipsen, Milan, Brennan, Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step), Arnaud De Lie (Lotto-Intermarché) and Biniam Girmay (NSN) all feature on the start list, the sprinters will need many cards to fall into place to have an opportunity to sprint for the win in Waregem.

Other riders to watch out for include Jenno Berckmoes (Lotto-Intermarché), Alberto Bettiol (XDS Astana), Dries De Bondt (Jayco AlUla), Aimé De Gendt (Pinarello-Q36.5), Iván García Cortina (Movistar), Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ United), Lukáš Kubiš (Unibet Rose Rockets), Anthony Turgis (TotalEnergies), and former winners Yves Lampaert and Dylan van Baarle (Soudal Quick-Step).