It’s hard to believe, but we are now less than a week away from the Tour of Flanders, with only a further week after that until Paris-Roubaix. Together they mark the climax of the early-season Classics, although there will still be the Ardennes races to enjoy for those who prefer their Classics served with fewer cobbles and more hills.
For the riders, the training is well in the past now and their race skills are being sharpened at the coalface – at events such as the weekend’s E3 Saxo Classic and In Flanders Fields (which used be called Gent-Wevelgem). Both are big races in their own right, offering up a major tick on any palmarès and, as we saw at the weekend, a bucketful of action for fans to enjoy. Let’s reflect on a few scoops from that bucket.
Don’t write off Wout van Aert
The Belgian has had a mercurial couple of seasons in which it has never been easy to predict which Wout van Aert we’ll get on a given day. The imperious winner, the below-par also ran, or even the unlucky crash victim.
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In Flanders Fields was a reminder that the Visma-Lease a Bike rider can still come up with the goods, and while he was nowhere near the podium in the final reckoning, his two-up breakaway stint with Mathieu van der Poel – a rider who was once considered his Classics nemesis but has since left him behind – proved he is still a contender.
The best evidence of this was Van der Poel doing his utmost to drop Van Aert on the Kemmelberg, and failing. In the end it was all in vain, but unlike the Dutch rider, for Van Aert it will be a confidence boost going into the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.
Lorena Wiebes comes back swinging
(Image credit: Getty Images)
When Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) takes part in a bunch sprint, she tends to win – but not always, as young British rider Carys Lloyd (Movistar) demonstrated at the Ronde van Brugge last week. No doubt keen to show that her ninth place that day was a blip rather than a new trend, Wiebes came back and took things on in a different way to a sprint, attacking on the Kemmelberg and changing the race.
The smaller sprint wasn’t as clear-cut as many Wiebes wins though; Lidl-Trek‘s Fleur Moors came up fast on her left and as the Dutch rider sat up to celebrate she was very nearly pipped on the line. But the win belonged to Wiebes and to make it even more impressive, she had spent a lot of time driving the break and covering the moves too.
Mathieu van der Poel is still untouchable
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As the defending champion all eyes were on Mathieu van der Poel at the E3 Saxo Classic. In fact, the Alpecin-Premier Tech rider was looking for a third consecutive victory at the hilly Belgian race. His status as the clear favourite meant the Dutchman was a marked man, but it didn’t stop him pulling off another lone victory, despite a hand injury from crashing at Milan-San Remo a week before.
He rode the race almost as a time trial, skipping from one chasing group to another until he was out front solo with 42km remaining. And his bloody-minded insistence on continuing to ride, even when the front chase group were only a few bike lengths behind him with a kilometre to go, is testament to his mental strength. The clear favourite for the Tour of Flanders, and, with Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), the joint favourite at Roubaix.
Jasper Philipsen reminds us that he’s more than a sprinter
After winning Milan-San Remo in 2024 and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne last year, Jasper Philipsen added another significant Classics victory to his palmares at In Flanders Fields. With eight classified bergs on the parcours, it’s a win that emphasises the Belgian’s all-round ability and serves as a reminder that he has more in his quiver than just a lightning-fast sprint.
Not that his sprint has disappeared – his win at In Flanders Fields was taken at the head of a 40-rider finish – but it certainly works well with his more rounded strengths. He will once again miss the Tour of Flanders, but is due to ride Paris-Roubaix, in which he has finished second twice and is capable, on the right day, of winning.
The big teams are finally back on top
Fleur Moors propels Lidl-Trek into second place
(Image credit: Getty Images)
A glance down the top-10 of the women’s In Flanders Fields shows a striking pattern – with the possible exception of Fenix-Premier Tech, it’s a who’s who of major Classics teams. We’ll include UAE Team ADQ in that, who have emerged as heavy hitters in the past year and are currently riding the top of the UCI rankings thanks to one fine performance after another this season.
More notable perhaps is the presence in second place of Lidl-Trek thanks to Fleur Moors – a great team who have taken a while to hit their stride this year. And then there are two riders each from FDJ United-SUEZ and SD Worx-Protime, with winner Lorena Wiebes asserting what many would consider SD Worx’s rightful place at the top in the Classics.
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