Annemiek van Vleuten dialed in ahead of Tour of Flanders

European champion's long-range sprint nets first win of the season for Movistar at Dwars door Vlaanderen
Van Vleuten outsprints Niewiadoma to win Dwars door Vlaanderen Women

Ryan takes third in reduced bunch sprint
Neve Bradbury starts racing with Canyon-SRAM at Dwars Door Vlaanderen

Australian Zwift Academy winner leaps into racing on the cobbles while Ella Harris also rejoins the team in Europe

(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)

The ninth edition of Dwars door Vlaanderen will be held March 31 in Belgium as a UCI 1.1 contest for the women's peloton, with a course slated to cover 122km. After cancellation last year due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, the event returns as a showcase between two Women's WorldTour classics - Gent-Wevelgem and Tour of Flanders.

Like many Belgian classics this year, the official route has not been made public to discourage spectators along the roads. This year's route, like the men's, will end in Waregem.

In 2019, Ellen van Dijk (Trek-Segafredo) won the women's Dwars door Vlaanderen using a powerful solo attack in the final seven kilometres of the rain-soaked race.

Since the race was established for the women in 2012, a Dutch rider has won the race seven of eight times, with Amy Pieters (SD Worx) holding the current record of three consecutive victories. Finland's Lotta Henttala broke the Dutch stronghold in 2017.