Ronde van Vlaanderen
-
Peter Sagan has cut a frustrated figure of late and Tinkoff-Saxo have much to prove (pic: Sirotti)
-
Fabian Cancellara won the Tour of Flanders for the third time last year but misses out this year due to injury (pic: Sirotti)
-
Thomas has emerged as a leading contender at the Classics, where cycling's hardmen thrive, and this year won E3 Harelbeke (Pic: Sirotti)
-
Greg van Avermaet is becoming a serious contender at the cobbled Classics after his performance at the Ronde last year (pic: ©Sirotti)
-
Sep Vanmarcke is a perrenial Classics contender (pic: Sirotti)
-
Alexander Kristoff has won more times than anybody else this year (pic: Sirotti)
-
Zdenek Stybar twice finished second for Etixx-QuickStep, as did Niki Terpstra (pic: Sirotti)
-
Peter Sagan has cut a frustrated figure of late and Tinkoff-Saxo have much to prove (pic: Sirotti)
-
Fabian Cancellara won the Tour of Flanders for the third time last year but misses out this year due to injury (pic: Sirotti)
Ronde van Vlaanderen
The toughest of the season’s cobbled Classics takes place on Sunday, with the Tour of Flanders – or Ronde van Vlaanderen – seeing the WorldTour’s hardmen take on Belgium’s iconic cobbled bergs.
After tantalising previews at the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and E3 Harelbeke, the 99th Tour of Flanders is the real deal – just shy of 265km of brutal racing, tackling climbs such as the Koppenberg and Oude Kwaremont.
Even with the iconic Muur off the route – this year’s parcours follows the same formula as last year – the race remains a thrilling spectacle.
And further intrigue has been added to proceedings this year with modern Classics legends Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing) and Tom Boonen (Etixx-QuickStep) both having to miss the race through injury.
Spartacus won the last two editions – and three of the last five – while Tornado Tom is another to boast three victories at the race in all.
Even in the absence of two of the race’s most famous riders, however, the startlist is packed with talent.
So who will be celebrating come Sunday evening? We have taken a look at the leading contenders over the following pages.
Share