Van Aert, Sagan, Alaphilippe and Uttrup Ludwig among top riders scouting the De Ronde course
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Wout van Aert heads up the Koppenberg with Jumbo-Visma teammates on Friday(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Wout van Aert tests out a new way of descending after the UCI's rule change on April 1(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Sun out for Jumbo-Visma on cobbled climb(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Wout van Aert out on the Tour of Flanders course with his Jumbo-Visma teammates(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Spectators watch Wout van Aert during his recon of the Tour of Flanders route(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Jumbo-Visma team on preview of 2021 Tour of Flanders course Friday(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Qhubeka Assos hit the road on Friday, too(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Victor Campenaerts leads the way on home roads for Qhubeka Assos(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
John Degenkolb leads Lotto Soudal on the cobbles(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Lotto Soudal's John Degenkolb got in some speed work during his ride(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Peter and Juraj Sagan with their Bora-Hansgrohe teammates on the recon ride(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Peter Sagan and Bora-Hansgrohe team on recon for Sunday's De Ronde(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Edward Theuns of Trek-Segafredo gets a ride in(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig of FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitane Futuroscope on one of five cobbled sectors the women will tackle(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Van Avermaet testing himself ahead of Sunday's race(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Greg Van Avermaet tackles a cobbled climb during his recon ride(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Lisa Klein on front of climb with her Canyon-SRAM teammates(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Canyon-SRAM team ride their recon of women's 152km Women's Tour of Flanders(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
World champion Julian Alaphilippe recons the course with Deceuninck-QuickStep teammates Kasper Asgreen and Florian Senechal(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Deceuninck-QuickStep recon the course(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Swiss champion Stefan Kung of Groupama-FDJ rides his recon(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Riders from Movistar Women and Bahrain Victorious focus on cobbles during team recons(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
EF Education-Nippo under the Belgian sun(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
EF Education-Nippo brings 2019 Flanders rider Alberto Bettiol and hopes for good result Sunday(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Bahrain Victorious in full force for Friday training(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
A typical day in the Belgian countryside(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Bahrain Victorious on recon ride for Tour of Flanders(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
This Sunday, all eyes are on the biggest race in Belgium for the finale of the spring cobbled Classics with the Tour of Flanders and Tour of Flanders Women.
As a group of major, one-day races for the men, it began in late February with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne, starting up again in late March with the Classic Brugge-De Panne and Gent-Wevelgem, among others. Flanders concludes this block of Classics, with Paris-Roubaix moved to early October due to the COVID-19 situation in France.
On Friday afternoon, teams took to the roads – cobbled and paved – to check out sections of this year's parcours. For the men it will be a mammoth 263.7 kilometres, with 20 climbs including the fearsome Koppenberg and the closing Oude Kwaremont-Paterberg circuit.
Last year's runner-up Wout van Aert will be back to try to take the title. Along with his Jumbo-Visma team, other big names were seen out on the course, including past winner Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe), World Champion Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-QuickStep), 2019 winner Alberto Bettiol (EF Education-Nippo) and Victor Campenaerts (Qhubeka Assos).
The women's Tour de Flanders is the biggest one-day race on the Women's WorldTour. The 2021 route will cover 152 kilometres with 13 climbs and five cobblestone sections, with the final two climbs over the Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg, before the 13km run-in to Oudenaarde.
"I'll risk everything because either you take a risk and win big, or lose big," said Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope), who was out training Friday, about the race.
Among the Women's WorldTour teams taking advantage of sunshine on Friday in Belgium were Canyon-SRAM, with Lisa Klein seen riding on the climbs and cobbles with teammates, and Movistar Women.
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“The race has everything, and even without the crowds it’s still one of the most iconic and prestigious races we have on the calendar,” said Tiffany Cromwell (Canyon-SRAM) about Tour of Flanders after the pre-ride.
Cyclingnews will provide full reports, results, news, interviews, and analysis throughout the races on Sunday. Find out how to watch both races, wherever you are, with our handy guide.
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