In Flanders Fields 2026 - women: Route

Sunday 29 March — The women's In Flanders Fields starts and finishes in Wevelgem. The riders cover 135.9 kilometres with three unpaved sectors and five climbs. The steep cobbles of the Kemelberg form the final obstacle, after which there are more than 35 kilometres of flat roads to the finish on the arrow-straight Vanackerestraat.

After the start, the riders tackle a north-westerly loop before reaching the unpaved 'plugstreets' around kilometre 60. The first two — Hill 63 and Christmas Truce — rise gently, and by the time they leave the third sector the riders will have covered 63 kilometres.

They then head towards the hilly zone, which opens with the Monteberg and is followed almost immediately by the Kemmelberg, while the Scherpenberg comes just over 7 kilometres later. And on it goes. Within 10 kilometres, the Baneberg and the Kemmelberg appear once more. This time the latter is tackled from the steep side, meaning an 800-metre slog at an average gradient of 10.1%. The cobbles make it even harder, as does the steepest section ramping up to 23%. From the summit, more than 35 kilometres remain to the finish in Wevelgem.

The past two editions have ended in a bunch sprint. Last year, Lorena Wiebes won convincingly, while two years ago she narrowly beat the 2022 winner Elisa Balsamo. Both line up again this year. The winner of the intervening edition, Marlen Reusser (2023, solo triumph), is not contending this time. The only other former winner on the start list is Floortje Mackaij, who won Gent-Wevelgem eleven years ago.

In Flanders Fields for Women starts at 14:10, with the finish expected at around 18:00 - both local times (CEST).