The 273.4km Tour of Flanders route over the cobbles and hills of Flanders towards Oudenaarde has few alterations from the 2022 route, so it's a game of spot the difference compared to last year.
This year's race is slightly longer, 900 metres more, and the race start has switched from Antwerp in the north to Brugge in the west. As a result, the run to the first major climb of the day at Oude Kwaremont is also changed, though viewers at home won't notice much substantive difference on the flat roads. A cobbled sector at Huisepontweg (seen recently at Dwars door Vlaanderen) and the day's first climb at Korte Ast are also new.
From that climb of Oude Kwaremont (2.2km at 4.6%) – the first of three visits during the race – after 136.5km, the route is more or less a carbon copy of 2022, barring the replacement of the Achterberg with the Eikenberg as the fourth hill of the day.
After the first ascent of Oude Kwaremont, the cobbled hills of the Eikenberg, Molenberg, and Berg Ten Houte are among the highlights of the eastern loop towards Zwalm and Brakel in the east and back around to the famous climb and its neighbour, the Paterberg.
Along the way, the tarmac climbs of the Kortekeer, Marlboroughstraat, Berendries, Valkenburg, and Kanarieberg also line the route along with cobbled sectors at Holleweg, Kerkgate, and Jagerij. It's an obstacle-packed mid-section of the route, even if the major race-altering moves come a little later on.
The second visit to the Oude Kwaremont, after 220km of racing, and the first to the Paterberg (360 metres at 12.9%), 3.5km later are where the action has really kicked off in the last few editions of the race.
In 2020 the key hills hosted the first major attacks from the favourites including Julian Alaphilippe, a year later it was eventual one-two finishers Kasper Asgreen and Mathieu van der Poel who showed themselves as the strongest as Wout van Aert led the chase behind, while last spring Tadej Pogačar sent contenders into a panic as his attack kicked off the finale.
That first Kwaremont-Paterberg duo, coming at around 15:30 local time, is the must-watch point of the afternoon, then. The equally famous Koppenberg (600 metres at 11.6%) is up next as the riders head onto the smaller loop to Maarkedaal and Ronse before the final run over Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg.
The 30km or so loop takes the riders over the cobbles of the Marieborrestraat and Stationsberg and the cobbled climbs of Steekbeekdries, Taaienberg, and Kruisberg/Hotond before the final showdown beginning at 17km from the line.
The final Oude Kwaremont-Paterberg challenge was controversial when first introduced all the way back in 2012 as the traditional finale of the Muur van Geraardsbergen-Bosberg duo was replaced when the finish moved from Ninove to Oudenaarde. But now it's a well-loved closing combination which has played host to several epic showdowns ahead of the final 10km run to the line.
What happens on that last stretch, a north-eastern run on the N453 from Kerkhove, can depend on the wind, though the flat, straight road often plays host to one last moment of tension with a final chase or cat-and-mouse games among the leaders. Finally, unlike the Champs-Elysèes or the Roubaix velodrome, it might not be the most iconic or picturesque end to one of the biggest races of the season, but the outskirts of Oudenaarde host the finish.
Tour of Flanders key climbs
- Korte Ast (158.7km to go)
- Oude Kwaremont (136.6km to go)
- Kortekeer (126.1 km to go)
- Eikenberg (118.4km to go)
- Wolvenberg (114.3km to go)
- Molenberg (101.8km to go)
- Marlboroughstraat (97.9km to go)
- Berendries (93.8km to go)
- Valkenberg (km 184.9/88.5km to go)
- Berg Ten Houte (km 197.4/76km to go)
- Kanarieberg (202.9/70.5km to go)
- Oude Kwaremont (54.6km to go)
- Paterberg (51.1km to go)
- Koppenberg (44.6km to go)
- Steenbeekdries (39.2km to go)
- Taaienberg (36.8km to go)
- Kruisberg/Hotond (26.5km to go)
- Oude Kwaremont (16.7km to go)
- Paterberg (13.3km to go)
Tour of Flanders key cobble sectors
- Huisepontweg (km 109/164.4km to go)
- Holleweg (km 156.5/116.9km to go)
- Kerkgate (km 162.7/110.7km to go)
- Jagerij (km 165.3/108.1km to go)
- Mariaborrestraat (km 232.8/40.6km to go)
- Stationsberg (km 234.7/38.7km to go)
