Your guide to the Tour of Flanders 2022: route, participants and live at Sporza | Tour of Flanders

The history of 2020 repeated itself when 2 riders were the first to turn up the Minderbroedersstraat in Oudenaarde. Wout van Aert was not there this time, he had to watch out for the climbs.

The role of Van Aert was taken over by Kasper Asgreen, who had already won the E3 a good week earlier. In the sprint on paper a breeze for Mathieu van der Poel.

But where Van der Poel could surprise Van Aert a year earlier, this time the Dutch champion was served a biscuit from his own dough by the Danish champion.

The Tour of Flanders route is almost 20 kilometers longer this year than in 2021, making it the longest edition of this century at 273 kilometers. However, the route has 1 slope less than last year.

The child of the bill is the Kattenberg, which normally opens the dance of the knolls. Now that is the Oude Kwaremont, after 136 kilometers of course.

The only other change is that the Eikenberg will no longer be served between the Kortekeer and the Wolvenberg.

Nothing has changed in the final loops around Oudenaarde. The Oude Kwaremont and the Paterberg are climbed twice and are also the last two calf-biters. At the top of the Paterberg it is still 14 kilometers to the finish.

For a whole spring, the list of participants has been plagued by cancellations due to illness. The Tour of Flanders is no exception, because with Wout van Aert it may well lose its biggest favourite.

The road seems to be clear for the other “cyclocross riders” Mathieu van der Poel and Tom Pidcock. Tadej Pogacar will undoubtedly also walk with many stars. He is only the 2nd Tour winner since Eddy Merckx (after Lance Armstrong) who appears at the start of the Tour.

For the rest we get the familiar names: Sanremo winner Matej Mohoric, the duo Stuyven-Pedersen at Trek, an improving Greg Van Avermaet, the strong teammates of Van Aert Tiesj Benoot and Christophe Laporte and last but not least defending champion Kasper Asgreen , just about the only one from The Wolfpack that doesn’t perform below expectations.

Besides Van Aert, the most notable absentee is probably the winner of Gent-Wevelgem. Biniam Girmay has flown back to his homeland Eritrea to recharge his batteries with his family for the Giro.

Last year Annemiek van Vleuten won the Tour of Flanders for the second time in her career at the age of 38.

The European champion launched her decisive attack on the Paterberg and rode solo to the finish.

Lotte Kopecky’s chances were spoiled by bad luck, Lisa Brennauer and Grace Bown took the podium places.

The women can sleep in a little longer and, unlike the men, do not leave Antwerp.

They will be launched at 1.25 pm in Oudenaarde, where they will finish between 5.32 pm and 5.58 pm.

Their 158.6 kilometer route includes 11 slopes. The last 45 kilometers of this edition are a copy of the men’s race.

This means that the Koppenberg is being cut for the first time.

After that bulge, the Steenbeekdries, the Taaienberg, Kruisberg/Hotond and the Oude Kwaremont and the Paterberg follow. That couple is therefore 1 time on the board.

Annemiek van Vleuten can count on Emma Norsgaard in her Movistar team, but the Dutch don’t have a block like Trek-Segafredo and SD Worx.

In that first team, world champion Elisa Balsamo is surrounded by Elisa Longo Borghini and Ellen van Dijk, among others, at SD Worx Lotte Kopecky hopes to bring her Flemish mission to a successful conclusion with the support of Marlen Reusser, Chantal van den Broek-Blaak and Demi. completion.

Marianne Vos is the leader of Jumbo-Visma, Katarzyna Niewiadoma you have to keep an eye on in every classic and at FDJ they count with Grace Brown and Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig weapons that have been on the podium in recent years.

The attractive field of participants will be supplemented with, among others, Amanda Spratt, Lorena Wiebes, Liane Lippert, Marta Bastianelli, Lisa Brennauer and Julie De Wilde, who finished 2nd in Dwars door Vlaanderen on Wednesday.