Tour of Flanders 2024 in the live blog
Besides Milan-San Remo, Paris-Roubaix, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Tour of Lombardy, the Tour of Flanders is one of the five monuments of professional cycling. Traditionally held at the end of March or beginning of April, it takes a very special type of rider to win here. A good puncheur who can hold his own in position battles and also knows how to shine on cobblestones is required, because there is a lot of that at the Ronde.
Ronde van Vlaanderen 2024: cobblestones and slip roads characterise the race
Although the pavé in Flanders is not as rough as a week later at Paris-Roubaix, the numerous short climbs, also known as hellingen, make the riders' legs even more tired. In 2024, there will be a total of 17 climbs on the programme. There are also seven cobbled sections.
Tour of Flanders 2024: Mathieu van der Poel aims for third victory
The big favourite for 2024 Mathieu van der Poel at the start. His permanent rival Wout van Aert is not taking part in the game. The Belgian has suffered several broken bones in a crash at Dwars door Vlaanderen during the week and is therefore cancelled for the remaining spring classics.
Van der Poel, meanwhile, is aiming for his third victory at the Ronde, which would put him on a par with record winners Johan Museeuw, Fabian Cancellara, Tom Boonen, Eric Leman, Fiorenzo Magni and Achiel Buysse, who each have three victories to their name. You can find out whether van der Poel can join this illustrious list here in the TOUR Tour of Flanders live ticker.
Steffen Wesemann last German winner of the Tour of Flanders
A total of two German riders have won the Tour of Flanders to date. Rudi Altig in 1964 and Steffen Wesemann in 2004. 20 years after his triumph at the Ronde, TOUR spoke at length with Wesemann, who is now a Swiss citizen.
In 2023, Tadej Pogacar prevailed on the roads of Flanders. However, the Slovenian cycling star will not be competing this year as he is focussing on the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France double. TOUR takes another look back at Pogacar's victory at the Ronde 2023. Tim Farin was there and collected impressions on site that impressively describe the myth of the Tour of Flanders.
