Mechanicals. Crashes. A world champion forced to dismount and push. When Belgium brandishes its bergs to the cycling world, what often follows is an exhibition of chaos of the highest order. 164 kilometres, six cobbled sectors and nine climbs constitute the women's Ronde van Vlaanderen, the Tour of Flanders, or, as it is informally known, ‘Flander’s Finest’. For the titans lining up for a day of pain and pursuit on perhaps the toughest parcours of the cobbled Classics, that nickname bears the smirk of a cruel irony.
Flanders’ cruelty, however, brings out the absurd capabilities of the best in the business, as the strongest riders must reveal themselves relentlessly over the the sport’s most villainous profiles – the Koppenberg, Oude Kwaremont, and the Paterberg – until the finale in Oudenaarde. As to the contenders for the women’s race this year, we’re spoilt for choice in what promises to be the finest feat of racing this Spring.
Contenders
Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime)
At last year's edition, Lotte Kopecky brandished her bicep in an iconic celebration after outsprinting Ferrand-Prévot (Visma- Lease a Bike) and Liane Lippert (Movistar) to become the first female rider to win the Tour of Flanders three times. Her muscular might that day amounted to one conclusion: when Kopecky has a Monument goal, she achieves it. And so to March’s Milan-Sanremo, where the Belgian climbed well on the Poggio, followed a move by Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Premier Tech) towards the top of the final climb, and opened the sprint with nobody able to come around her. Fast legs in the furnace always triumph after a 170km day out on the cobbled climbs, so there is no doubt as to a top result from the former world champion at her home race on Sunday.
With both Kopecky and her teammate Lorena Wiebes on the start-line, Kopecky will no doubt have the edge over the harder hills, and will be the one to make the split over her teammate.
Lotte Kopecky defeated Pauline Ferrand-Prévot and Liane Lippert at the line last year (Image credit: Getty)
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma-Lease a Bike)
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot’s much-anticipated appearance at Flanders makes her perhaps the most exciting contender, purely on the premise that we haven’t seen her race much this season. An underwhelming 29th place at Strade Bianche Donne was the result of a mechanical, and the same wrong-turn drama that took Demi Vollering and Anna van der Breggen out of that race.
With no gauge of her current form, we must instead turn to last year’s feats over the cobbles: second at the Tour of Flanders last year, after battling in the final four-rider sprint against Kopecky, Lippert and Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-Sram), was followed by a dream Paris-Roubaix debut, where she broke clear with 15 kilometres remaining. As a 15-time world champion across road, cyclocross, mountain bike and gravel racing, those results can only be the outcome of years of experience on rougher terrain.
Ferrand-Prévot lines up alongside Marianne Vos as two of the greatest riders in the history of the sport in a stacked Visma team: Imogen Wolff, who thrives on punchy climbs, will be hustling in the chaos alongside Lieke Nooijen.
Ferrand-Prévot's form is somewhat of an unknown going into De Ronde (Image credit: Getty)
Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime)
Would Lorena Wiebes have been top of our list for a Tour of Flanders win a year ago? Probably not. But this season’s central saga continues: Wiebes is not just a sprinter. We know that now. What began as a quiet vow to herself at the end of last year came into full fruition last weekend, where the SD Worx-Protime rider proved herself to be a Classics specialist like no other with a phenomenal ride at In Flanders Fields (formerly Gent-Wevelgem). Another Wiebes win is never a shock. But the the most important takeaway from that race as we look to De Ronde was just how she won, attacking on the second ascent of the Kemmelberg to make a five-rider selection on the front going into the finish. This was not just a sprinter following moves until the line, but a rider with maturity and craft making the right choices.
The main consideration with Wiebes will be whether she and Kopecky can work together tactically on Sunday. At Milan-Sanremo, it played out like clockwork: the team’s decisive move allowed Lotte Kopecky to take main leadership, with Wiebes finishing sixth after winning the sprint from the chasing peloton. But Flanders will no doubt be a very different race, and one can’t help but think back to last year’s Paris-Roubaix, where a lack of chemistry allowed Ferrand-Prévot to ride away. The two will have to be on the same page on Sunday.
Wiebes showed cobbled prowess at In Flanders Fields (Image credit: Getty)
Demi Vollering (FDJ United-Suez)
A win at Omloop het Nieuwsblad, an unfortunate navigational mishap at Strade Bianche Donne – and then, quiet. Then came Dwars on Wednesday, where Vollering was clearly eager to light the race up from the front, forcing a breakaway with Marlen Reusser who would eventually pip her at the post in the final sprint. A dominant ride nonetheless, and one that shows the European champion to be in top climbing form going into the weekend.
A relatively light campaign so far may have kept Vollering under the radar, but the trajectory of her season so far closely mirrors 2023, when she finished second at Flanders before going on to take the Ardennes triple. Could we be in for a repeat? Physically, it looks like Vollering is exactly where she needs to be.
Vollering returns after a period of altitude training. Her strength at Dwars follows an early Classics win at Omloop (Image credit: Getty)
Marlen Reusser (Movistar)
Reusser made a striking return to racing at Dwars, where she edged out Vollering in a tight two-up sprint, shunning any doubts as to her form post injury. That event marked only the fifth day of racing this season for the Swiss rider, who withdrew from the UAE Tour following a crash. While the world time trial champion’s previous results at Flanders don’t look to be anything outstanding on paper (she finished tenth last year, with her best result fifth in 2022), her sheer power over the bergs makes her a firm favourite – especially given the strength of the team around her. Cat Ferguson, who played a key role for Reusser in the chasing group at Dwars, will also be present at the startline in Antwerp, as will Liane Lippert, who finished third last year. The Spanish team clearly has plenty of options.
Reusser went head-to-head with Vollering at Dwars door Vlaanderen (Image credit: Getty)
Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Premier Tech)
If there’s anyone well-suited to a race which often ends up with riders slipping, sliding, and dismounting amongst the chaos, it’s Puck Pieterse. Not only does the Dutchwoman’s cyclocross background give her a technical edge over the cobbles, but her attacking instincts have cemented her status as a dangerous classics rider: the 23-year-old made her mark last year when she surged past Vollering in the final 150m of La Flèche Wallonne last year to take her first major Classics victory. That same aggressive instinct came into play at the top of the Poggio at this year’s Milan-Sanremo, where she initiated a decisive attack to reduce the front group to five riders, an effort which earned her a spot just shy of the podium.
Sunday will be Pieterse’s second attempt at Ronde van Vlaanderen, following a ninth place finish last year. While she may not be the favourite for top spot, she’ll definitely be a rider to break the script of the race.
Read more: Planet Puck: Mountains, mud, cobbles, gravel – Pieterse can do it all
The Dutch rider has shown her aggressive instincts this season (Image credit: Getty)
Other contenders
UAE Team ADQ's Elisa Longo Borghini, who came out on top in the 2024 edition, can definitely cause upset for SD Worx on Sunday, after a strong finish at Strade Bianche and a win at Trofeo Oro. The Italian champion will be looking to reclaim that title after an unfortunate DNF last year.
A breakthrough spring has quickly pushed Fleur Moors (Lidl-Trek) from promising talent to a competitor in her own right, finishing second behind Lorena Wiebes after making a select front group of five over the Kemmelberg at In Flanders Fields. The Belgian rider has already shown she can survive decisive climbs and still sprint to the finish, and was active in the front group at Dwars with Pietrerse, Vollering, and Reusseur at Dwars until an unfortunate mechanical took her out the race. As ever Visma have strength in depth and could depend on the exploits of ome of the greatest riders of all time, Marianne Vos. They also have Lieke Nooijen, who underlined her own form at Dwars, bridging solo from the chasing group in the final phase to stun Vollering and Reusser.
Prediction
We think Kopecky will record-extending fourth Tour of Flanders on Sunday.
