Last year, Visma | Lease a Bike had the numbers in the final with Benoot and Jorgenson, and they played it to perfection. Benoot accelerated on the last climb, before Jorgenson attacked with 7 kilometres to go from the group that also included Jonas Abrahamsen, Stefan Küng, Dries De Bondt, and Joshua Tarling. No serious chase was organised, and that meant jackpot for Jorgenson.
However, it was a finale with a bitter aftertaste, as earlier in the race, favourites like Wout van Aert, Jasper Stuyven, Biniam Girmay, and Mads Pedersen were caught up in a big crash. Luckily all four are back in the mix this time.
The toughest part of Dwars door Vlaanderen is a 36-kilometre circuit south of Oudenaarde, in which the riders tackle Berg Ten Houte, Knokteberg-Trieu, and Hotond, as well as the cobbles of the Mariaborrestraat. After the second lap of this circuit, they head towards the finish in Waregem via the Eikenberg. This is the last tricky climb of the day – 1.2 kilometres at 5.2%, with ramps up to 10%. From the top, there are still 39 kilometres to go, featuring three cobbled sectors and two short climbs.
The Flemish classics of this season were won by Søren Wærenskjold (Omloop Het Nieuwsblad), Jasper Philipsen (Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne), Nils Eekhoff (Nokere Koerse), Sebastián Molano (Brugge-De Panne), Mathieu van der Poel (E3 Saxo Classic), and Mads Pedersen (Gent-Wevelgem). The latter also won a stage in Paris-Nice, where Matteo Jorgenson claimed the overall victory.
Favourites 2025 Dwars door Vlaanderen
**** Mads Pedersen, Tim Wellens, Wout van Aert
*** Jasper Philipsen, Jasper Stuyven, Matteo Jorgenson
** Magnus Sheffield, Tiesj Benoot, Dylan van Baarle, Jhonatan Narváez
* Stefan Küng, Biniam Girmay, Mike Teunissen, Neilson Powless, Alberto Bettiol