Joining the early breakaway paid off with podium spots in the velodrome
The Spring Classics 2023 (Image credit: Getty Images Sports)
The Spring Classics are the heart and soul of the early months of the pro cycling season. While the Grand Tours represent the long-form version of cycling, unfolding over more than three weeks, the major one-day races are where the more immediate, high-impact drama unfolds.
There are major one-day races dotted throughout the calendar but the spring represents the main period where the action is condensed, with all-out no-tomorrow racing unfolding across Belgium, Italy, France, and the Netherlands.
The term 'Spring Classics' is open to interpretation. In fact, both words are. Different people draw different lines in the sand as to where the spring officially begins and as to which races merit the title of 'Classic'.
The importance of certain events and the structure of the calendar has fluctuated in recent years, but we're taking an all-encompassing view and running from Omloop Het Nieuwsblad in last February through to Liège-Bastogne-Liège in late April.
We've included some of what are sometimes described as semi-classics, but also four of the five so-called Monuments of cycling: Milan-San Remo, Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. These are cycling's biggest and most historic one-day races and the only one that doesn't take place in the spring is the late-season Il Lombardia.
The Classics season begins with the so-called 'Opening Weekend' in Belgium, comprising Omloop Het Nieuwsblad - men's and women's races - on the Saturday and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne on the Sunday. Strade Bianche, a modern Classic, on Italian gravel, then follows in Italy, before a stage racing break in the form of the concurrent Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico.
On the other side is the main spring period, where there's no let-up. The men's Milan-San Remo and the women's Trofeo Alfredo Binda continue the Italian flavour before things move over to Belgium and onto the cobbles. E3 Classic signals the start of Flemish Holy Week, moving through Gent-Wevelgem, Dwars door Vlaanderen and then, finally, the mighty Tour of Flanders - or Ronde Van Vlaanderen.
The cobbles usually continue via Scheldeprijs and then over to border to Paris-Roubaix, the famous French cobblestone race also known as 'The Hell of the North'. Due to regional elections, it has been moved back a week this year, creating a messy link between the cobbles and the 'Ardennes' Classics.
Not to be confused with the Flemish Ardennes, where Tour of Flanders and the rest play out, these races take place in the Wallonia region of French-speaking southern Belgium and are much more hilly affairs. Amstel Gold Race is technically its own entity over the border in the Netherlands but is often packaged in with La Flèche Wallonne and Liège - the oldest of the Classics - to form the Ardennes treble.
Cyclingnews will bring you full live coverage, reports, results, news, interviews and analysis of the 2023 Spring Classics. Find out how to watch the races via live stream, no matter your location, with ExpressVPN in the links below.
Taking place on the Tuesday after the Opening Weekend, Le Samyn is a rough ride over flatter and rougher cobblestones held in Dour, near Belgium's border with France. Both men's and women's Le Samyn are smaller than most other races in the spring, and often come down to small group sprints.
Tom Pidcock charges to victory in Strade Bianche 2023 (Image credit: Getty images)
Having only been created in 2007, Strade Bianche pales in comparison to the history of other one-day events in the spring but has quickly established itself as one of the biggest and most iconic races on the entire calendar.
The race translates from Italian to 'white roads', taking its name from the gravel tracks that twist, rise, and fall through the rolling Tuscan countryside. The men's race was created as a spin-off from the Eroica events in 2007, while a women's Strade Bianche was added in 2015. Both races tackle the gravel before finishing in Siena's striking Piazza del Campo.
Tom Pidcock (Ineos) attacked to bridge across to the breakaway with 45km to go and then used his offroad descending skills to burn the others off his wheel. A chase group could never get it together to bring him back, and Valentin Madouas beat Tiesj Benoot to second place.
Teammates Lotte Kopecky and Demi Vollering sprint for the win in Strade Bianche (Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Lorena Wiebes proved to be the queen of the Ronde van Drenthe, winning her third edition in a row in a bunch sprint. One of the biggest races on the Women's WorldTour series. Taking place in the Netherlands, it includes cobbled sections but the most decisive aspect of the route is the VAM Berg, a climb built over a former waste dump. Snow forced organisers to shorten the race by almost 60km.
There is also a race for men, ranked 1.1, won by Jumbo-Visma devo rider Per Strand Hagenes.
Nokere Koerse
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Lotte Kopecky powered to victory with a solo move in Nokere Koerse(Image credit: Getty Images)
Tim Merlier wins Nokere Koerse(Image credit: Luc ClaessenGetty Images)
Another race that would fall under the moniker 'semi-classic' for many, Nokere Koerse is based on the Nokereberg climb hasn't traditionally been one for the big names.
Milano-Torino was a new addition to the spring calendar in 2022. It used to take place during the main swing of late-season Italian Classics in the autumn but now leads up to Milan-San Remo, so the organisers created a flatter course.
In 2023, the race had a slightly surprising winner in Arvid De Kleijn (Tudor Pro Cycling), who prevailed in the bunch sprint.
GP de Denain
Another small race that's a semi-classic at most, the GP de Denain nevertheless offers an early glimmer of Paris-Roubaix. Once a sprinter's race, the organisers have introduced more and more of the flat cobblestone sectors found in northern France in a bid to develop the race.
Van der Poel's solo triumph in San Remo (Image credit: Tim de WaeleGetty Images)
The first Monument of the season, Milan-San Remo is a venerable race that dates back to 1907. Also known as La Classicissima (the big classic) and La Primavera (the spring), it is the most important day in Italian cycling.
The long-running Trofeo Alfredo Binda is named after the first road World Champion Alfredo Binda. First held as a regional competition in 1974, it is the seventh round of the Women’s WorldTour. The race takes place in northern Italy, with loops around Cittiglio. It is a hilly affair that suits the strongest riders and is settled on an uphill drag to the line in Cittiglio. There is no men's race.
The Classic Brugge-De Panne, formerly known as the Three Days of De Panne, shrunk to a one-day race that now sits between Milan-San Remo/Trofeo Alfredo Binda and Gent-Wevelgem. The Women's Classic Brugge-De Panne was added in 2018. Both start in Bruges before heading into the windswept swamp plains of De Moeren, before heading for the finish in De Panne. If the race hasn't been broken apart in the wind, it's a likely bunch sprint.
Van Aert celebrates his E3 Saxo Classic victory (Image credit: Tim de WaeleGetty Images)
The E3 Saxo Classic, often described as a mini Tour of Flanders, borrows much of the same parcours as De Ronde, heading into the Flemish Ardennes for a helping of cobbles and climbs that you can't match anywhere else. The race takes its name from an old motorway that is now called the E17, and it used to be known as E3-Harelbeke, which is the town where it starts and finishes. There is no women's race.
The race brought a showdown between the 'big three' of Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma), Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), with Van Aert coming out on top in the final sprint.
Gent-Wevelgem
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Wout van Aert and Christophe Laporte attack on the Kemmelberg(Image credit: Chris Auld)
Marlen Reusser (SD Worx) on her solo esacape(Image credit: Getty Images)
Gent-Wevelgem is another historic Flandrien Classic but has its own flavour. Instead of repeating the runs through the main Flemish Ardennes region, it heads north, up through windswept De Moeren and over to the North Sea coast. It then heads down along the French border to take in some climbs in the very west of Flanders, the iconic and decisive one being the Kemmelberg.
The men's race was first held in 1934 while the women's Gent-Wevelgem was created in 2012 and now acts as the fifth event on the WorldTour calendar.
In a cold, wet version of Gent-Wevelgem in 2023, Wout van Aert and Christophe Laporte attacked on the Kemmelberg and soloed in for a 1-2 for Jumbo-Visma, with Laporte being given the win by his teammate.
The women's Gent-Wevelgem in 2023, Marlen Reusser braved the foul conditions with a long-range attack after a crash split the peloton. The SD Worx rider build an unassailable lead over 44km to win by 2:42 over the bunch sprint, won by American Megan Jastrab (Team DSM) over Maike van der Duin (Canyon-SRAM).
Dwars door Vlaanderen
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Demi Vollering wins Dwars door Vlaanderen(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Dwars door Vlaanderen used to be held in the De Panne slot but now occupies the pre-Flanders Wednesday. Still, it doesn't always attract a full host of big names, with some cautious about over-exerting themselves four days before the biggest day of all. The men's race was first held in 1945 while the Women's Dwars door Vlaanderen was established in 2012.
Tour of Flanders
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Tadej Pogacar soloed to victory in the Tour of Flanders(Image credit: Chris Auld)
Lotte Kopecky made it two in a row(Image credit: Getty Images)
Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) added a fourth Monument to his palmares, winning the Tour of Flanders with an exceptional performance on the cobbled climbs. He soloed to victory over the Oude Kwaremont to claim the Ronde Van Vlaanderen - is one of the most special days on the cycling calendar.
Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx) made it two in a row to win the women's Tour of Flanders becoming the first Belgian double winner in the race since its inception in 2004. The courses have changed over the years but the current iteration places the Oude Kwaremont - where Kopecky launched her winning move - and super-steep Paterberg as the grand finale ahead of the 13km run-in.
Scheldeprijs
Sam Welsford, Jasper Philipsen and Mark Cavendish on the Scheldeprijs podium (Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) claimed his second Scheldeprijs victory in the sprinter's one-day Classic, bursting out of the bunch sprint to win ahead of Sam Welsford and Mark Cavendish.
Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx) sprinted to her third straight win in the women's 1.1-ranked race.
Scheldeprijs is often referred to as a 'world championship for sprinters' and indeed bunch gallops have been a consistent outcome. The race takes its name from the Schelde river up near Antwerp in the east of Flanders, and there can be a threat of wind before the races heads to Schoten for laps of a finishing circuit.
The men's race was created in 1907 while a women's Scheldeprijs was introduced in 2021.
Paris-Roubaix
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(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Alison Jackson won the third Paris-Roubaix Femmes from the breakaway(Image credit: Getty Images)
Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) notched up the victory in Paris-Roubaix, setting the record for the fastest edition of the race. The Dutchman attacked in the final five-star sector on the Carrefour de l'Arbre along with fellow favourite Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma). The Belgian soon suffered a puncture and left his rival to solo in for the win.
The Hell of the North, Paris-Roubaix is one of the most brutal and gripping races in cycling. It's the only Spring Classic in France, but it's utterly iconic, heading over the old cobblestone tracks that made their way through war-torn northern France. The men's race was first held back in 1896, while a women's Paris-Roubaix was only introduced in 2021.
Dorian Godon won Brabantse Pijl and teammate Benoit Cosnefroy made it an AG2R Citroën 1-3. Godon out-powered Ben Healy (EF-EasyPost) in the two-man breakaway.
Usually acting as a bridge between the cobbled and Ardennes Classics, De Babantse Pijlhas names in both Flemish and French (La Flèche Brabançonne) and takes place near the border with the two regions. First held in 1961 and the women's Brabantse Pijl since 2016, both races feature cobbled climbs that wouldn't look out of place in the Flemish Ardennes, but also longer climbs and paved roads like the S-bend in Overijse.
Amstel Gold Race
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Tadej Pogacar wins the Amstel Gold Race(Image credit: Getty Images)
Amstel Gold Race, dating back to 1966, is considered one of the three main Ardennes Classics, even if it takes place in Limburg in the lower corner of the Netherlands. Named after a beer, it's a snaking and undulating ride through the hills of Limburg, with climbs like the Cauberg forming a puncheur's delight.
A women's Amstel Gold Race was added in 2001 and both take place on the same day and start and finish near Valkenburg. Whereas the routes used to come down to a charge up and over the Cauberg, the organisers have opened things up and made the Bemelerberg the final act with just over 7km to go.
Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) made it two in a row with a victory in La Flèche Wallonne. The Slovenian proved the strongest at the top of the Mur de Huy to take the win over Mattias Skjelmose (Trek-Segafredo) and Mikel Landa (Bahrain Victorious).
In the women's race, Demi Vollering (SD Worx) put on an unusually powerful display by attacking at the base of the Mur de Huy and holding it to the line after splitting the peloton on the final lap.
La Flèche Wallonne is midweek special and all about the Mur de Huy. There are other climbs, but they're almost not worth mentioning, as the race always comes down to a mass charge up the super-steep final climb in Huy. The men's race was first held in 1936 and the women's La Flèche Wallonne in 1998.
Liège-Bastogne-Liège
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Demi Vollering did the triple(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Remco Evenepoel makes the winning move(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
A highly anticipated duel between Amstel and Flèche winner Tadej Pogacar and defending Liège-Bastogne-Liège champion Remco Evenepoel failed to materialise after Pogacar crashed out with a broken hand.
Evenepoel won Liège-Bastogne-Liège, duplicating his unmatched climbing ability on La Redoute and soloed to a second win after dropping Tom Pidcock (Ineos).
The oldest of the Classics, Liège-Bastogne-Liège is an institution in Belgian cycling and beyond. It's known as La Doyenne (the old lady) and was first held in 1892, with 106 men's editions under its belt. The women's Liège-Bastogne-Liège was set up by Tour de France organisers ASO in 2017.
The races start and finishes in Liège, heading south to Bastogne before returning back. The finish is in the centre of Liège, although the routes were modified a few years ago after the old finish in Ans was considered too predictable. We've had some solo winners since but the past couple on both sides have come down to sprints from small star-studded groups.
