The Tour of Flanders is without doubt one of the most important races on the women’s WorldTour calendar. This prestigious Monument is a thrill ride not just for the riders, but also for the spectators who line the Belgian roads and for those of us who watch along on the TV.
With brutal bergs and plenty of pavè tightly packed into the 153 kilometre-long route, only the strongest of riders survive De Ronde. This is not the first time in the season that the peloton have come head-to-head with the cobbled roads of Flanders, only a few days prior to this the women raced the Dwars door Vlaanderen as a warm-up to this race.
The 2022 edition of the Tour of Flanders ended in a sprint between Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx), Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar), and Chantal van den Broek-Blaak (SD Worx). The year before, Van Vleuten won the race with a solo victory, breaking away from the peloton with 14km to go.
Last year, for the first time, the notorious Koppenberg climb was on the menu for the women’s peloton. This year the climb will return, along with another killer duo: Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg. But at the Tour of Flanders, there are plenty of opportunities for riders to make their move. Just 10km into the race, they will face their first climb, which will provide any daring riders an early opportunity to attack for an early breakaway. Towards the back end of the race, there is also the killer Koppenberg, which will see an enormous fight for position at the foot of the climb.
Read more: Men’s Tour of Flanders 2023 – contenders and prediction
We look at the riders who could fighting for a first–place finish this year.
Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig
The FDJ-Suez rider looked to be in great form at Strade Bianche this year, taking third place behind Vollering and Kopecky, keeping world champion Van Vleuten from passing her on the crest of Via Santa Caterina. She also came 20th at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad in the chasing group, displaying great riding abilities over the cobbles. The Danish rider also put in an explosive effort at Dwars door Vlaanderen on Wednesday, riding in the front group for over 30km until dropping out of contention in the finale of the race.
Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig looked strong at Dwars door Vlaanderen on Wednesday (Image by Getty Images)
For the Tour of Flanders she’ll be supported by Australian Grace Brown, who proved she can put down the power at Gent-Wevelgem last weekend, splitting up the peloton on the…