Followed closely by E3 Harelbeke and Gent-Wevelgem and then the Tour of Flanders the following weekend, Dwars door Vlaanderen is a tried and true starting course for the one-day specialists. A 202-km trek through the heartland of the Classics, the event is set to draw an even higher caliber of competitors in 2017 than in years past thanks to a bump up to the WorldTour.
With cobblestones and hills aplenty on their road from Roeselare to Waregem, riders can expect hard-nosed racing throughout the day, though the parcours eases off somewhat in the finale. That sets Dwars door Vlaanderen up as a battleground where the attackers and the more well-rounded sprinters both have a shot at victory.
The fast finishers triumphed in 2016, with Jens Debusschere (Lotto Soudal) sprinting to victory ahead of Bryan Coquard and Edward Theuns after an escape attempt by BMC's Greg Van Avermaet was reeled in. A similar 2017 route will likely see another showdown between sprint trains and late aggressors in West Flanders.
