Dwars door Vlaanderen 2016

The 2016 Dwars door Vlaanderen opens the door to Flanders

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The 2016 Dwars door Vlaanderen, which takes place on Wednesday, March 23, is the annual lead in to Gent-Wevelgem the following Sunday and the Tour of Flanders a week after that.

Belgian Jelle Wallays (Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise) won the 2015 race, following Niki Terpstra in 2014, Oscar Gatto in 2013 and Terpstra again in 2012. Nick Nuyens, riding for Saxo Bank-SunGard, won in 2011.

The 71st Dwars door Vlaanderen is a 200km one-day race through the heart of the Flanders region of Belgium. Dwars door Vlaanderen starts in Roeselare and sends the peloton up and over a dozen classic Flemish bergs like the Kwaremont and Paterberg before the traditional finish in Waregem.

The Flanders region means cobblestones, and Dwars door Vlaanderen will offer a taste of the ancient stone roads to the peloton before the main course is served at the Tour of Flanders on April 3.

Wallays will be back at the race this year with a new team, Lotto Soudal, while Terpstra (Etix-QuickStep) Gatto (Tinkoff), Alejandro Valverde (Movistar), recent Tirreno-Adriatico winner Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing) and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne winner Jasper Stuyven (Trek Segafredo) are all on the provisional start list. Other WorldTour teams in Dwars door Vlaanderen are Orica-Greenedge, IAM Cycling, Katusha, AG2R La Mondiale, LottoNl-Jumbo and Giant-Alpecin.

Twenty-three teams in all will be on the start line on March 23, including 12 WorldTour teams and 11 Pro Continental teams. Click here here for the provisional start list