A WorldTour one-day race that rewards tactical sharpness and the willingness to commit when the biggest names are still calculating their Sunday chances.
Dwars door Vlaanderen is the women's WorldTour cobbled classic held each spring in Belgium. First run in 2012, it sits in the narrow window between Gent-Wevelgem and the Tour of Flanders, offering a midweek test across the same Flemish terrain that defines Monument weekend.
Elisa Longo Borghini's repeated wins showed how often this race rewards riders strong enough to attack before the Monument weekend.
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This race occupies unusual territory on the calendar. It arrives when contenders are sharp but not yet fully committed, which creates space for opportunistic racing and late attacks that would be shut down on Sunday. The field includes Monument favorites confirming form, domestiques given rare freedom, and riders willing to spend energy before the bigger weekend arrives. The winner is usually someone who read the closing moves better than the rest or seized a moment when hesitation cost everyone else.
The race typically covers around 130 kilometers, linking cobbled sectors and short climbs across East and West Flanders. The terrain is rarely decisive on its own, but the frequency of obstacles and the positioning battles they create wear down anyone without the handling skills or tactical awareness to stay near the front. The race often fractures and reforms multiple times before the finale, which means the decisive move can come from a late acceleration, a well-timed counter, or simply better legs in the closing kilometers. Small groups are common, and the winner is usually someone who combined patience with the ability to react when the race finally broke for good.
Over a dozen short climbs accumulate damage. None is long enough to create a decisive solo selection on its own.
Held on Wednesday between E3 and the Ronde, the race catches riders at peak form and fatigue, producing wild tactical racing.
Less controlled than the Ronde, Dwars rewards early aggression and tactical improvisation.
Most recent winner: Elisa Longo Borghini (2025)
Elisa Longo Borghini attacked early and rode alone for 30 kilometers to take her 50th career victory, one of the most dominant displays in the race history.
Demi Vollering outsprinted the remaining favorites after the final bergs, confirming her Flemish classics credentials.
Annemiek van Vleuten launched one of her trademark long-range moves and held off the chasers, classic Dwars racing.
Her 2025 solo win from 30km showed the race rewards courage. Longo Borghini is becoming the dominant Flemish classics rider of her era.
Won in 2023, adding Dwars to an Ardennes and Flemish palmares that spans the full classics spectrum.
Her 2021 victory from distance was a masterclass in long-range attacking. Van Vleuten treated midweek classics as seriously as Monuments.
Won in 2019 with her characteristic time-trial power. Van Dijk showed the flat sections between bergs can be as decisive as the climbs.
Dwars shares many climbs with the Ronde but strings them together in a faster, more chaotic sequence.
The long cobbled climb shared with the Ronde. In Dwars it comes earlier, testing legs before the decisive final section.
A brutally steep cobbled wall. One of the most feared climbs in Flemish cycling, regardless of gender category.
The finish town sits after a flat approach from the last berg, rewarding breakaway riders or strong sprinters from select groups.
