Dwars door Vlaanderen returns on Wednesday, 1 April 2026, with the men’s and women’s races again finishing on the Verbindingsweg in Waregem. Organisers have confirmed two notable tweaks to the men’s route, plus a fresh addition for the women, as the peloton tackles another midweek dress rehearsal for the Tour of Flanders.
The 2026 edition also marks a milestone on the women’s side, with Dwars door Vlaanderen Women Elite stepping up to the UCI Women’s WorldTour for the first time. Both races will look to produce new winners to follow Neilson Powless and Elisa Longo Borghini, whose victories underlined the event’s familiar pattern: relentless pressure in the Flemish Ardennes, then a finale where only the strongest legs and sharpest positioning survive.
Photo Credit: Flanders ClassicsWhat’s new for 2026
The headline changes are concentrated in the men’s race, where the organisers have introduced Hellestraat as a new climb early on, and added the Onderbossenaarstraat later in the day, described as a flank of the Taaienberg with a long run-out that can stretch the bunch even before the decisive loops.
For the women, Hellestraat is the single newcomer, but the overall balance remains consistent with what has made the race so selective: short climbs, cobbles, and repeated passages that reward teams who can keep forcing the pace rather than waiting for one explosive move.
Men’s course, start time and key sectors
The men set off from Stationsplein in Roeselare at 11:55 for a route of around 185 km to Waregem, with the race expected to finish at roughly 16:05.
The opening phase includes the first new feature, Hellestraat, before the course leans into the familiar Flemish Ardennes rhythm, where the bunch is repeatedly thinned out. The organisers have again built the day around key climbs and cobbled stretches that encourage constant stress rather than one defining mountain-style effort. The peloton will tackle Berg Ten Houte, Côte de Trieu, Hotond, and the cobbles of Mariaborrestraat twice, ensuring that any hesitation is punished and that domestiques are steadily stripped away.
The second new addition, Onderbossenaarstraat, comes with around 77 km remaining, and its placement matters. This is the point in Dwars door Vlaanderen where teams often begin to sense the finish coming closer than it looks on paper, and a stinging section here can force early selections, isolate leaders, or make a chase far more expensive than intended.
From there, the route continues via Eikenberg, Doorn, and Huisepontweg, before the race heads towards a double loop featuring Nokereberg and Herlegemstraat, sections that regularly turn a tense stalemate into outright racing. The run-in to Waregem is still likely to reward riders who can hit the final climbs at the front, then carry speed and momentum all the way to the line.
Photo Credit: GettyWomen’s course, start time and key sectors
The women start from the HippoLoggia site in Waregem at 14:10, with a 129 km course featuring 6 cobbled sectors and 8 climbs. A fan zone will again be in place at the start location, setting up a lively backdrop for the race’s first year at Women’s WorldTour level. The women’s finish is scheduled for around 17:25.
The only new climb is Hellestraat, but the core of the route remains built around the same attritional logic. The women will tackle Berg Ten Houte, Côte de Trieu, Hotond, and Mariaborrestraat once, which should be enough to force an early hierarchy without exhausting the course before the finale.
Crucially, the final phases mirror the men’s structure. The women will face two ascents of Nokereberg and two passages over the cobbles of Herlegemstraat, a pairing that tends to make “waiting for a sprint” an uncomfortable strategy. If the strongest teams commit to the front over those repeated efforts, it can quickly become a race of small groups and late attackers rather than a controlled finish.
Teams confirmed for Dwars door Vlaanderen 2026
Men’s teams
- Alpecin-Premier Tech
- Bahrain Victorious
- Decathlon CMA CGM Team
- EF Education – EasyPost
- Groupama – FDJ United
- INEOS Grenadiers
- Lidl-Trek
- Lotto Intermarché
- Movistar Team
- NSN Cycling Team
- Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe
- Soudal Quick-Step
- Team Jayco AlUla
- Team Picnic PostNL
- Team Visma | Lease a Bike
- UAE Team Emirates XRG
- Uno-X Mobility
- XDS Astana Team
- Burgos-Burpellet-BH
- Cofidis
- Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team
- Team Flanders – Baloise
- TotalEnergies
- Tudor Pro Cycling Team
- Unibet Rose Rockets
Women’s teams
- AG Insurance Soudal Team
- CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto
- EF Education Oatly
- FDJ United – Suez
- Fenix-Premier Tech
- Human Powered Health
- Lidl-Trek
- Liv-AlUla-Jayco
- Movistar Team
- Team Picnic PostNL
- Team SD Worx – Protime
- Team Visma | Lease a Bike
- UAE Team ADQ
- Uno-X Mobility
- Laboral Kutxa – Fundación Euskadi
- Lotto Intermarché Ladies
- Ma Petite Entreprise
- Mayenne Monbana My Pie
- VolkerWessels Cycling Team
Recent edition context: why Dwars door Vlaanderen so often explodes
Dwars door Vlaanderen has earned its reputation by offering very few “easy” kilometres once the race reaches the Ardennes climbs and cobbles. Recent winners have typically come from the same kind of storyline: the peloton is steadily reduced by repeated efforts, then a decisive selection forms when teams stop riding defensively and start treating every hill as a launchpad.
That is why the placement of Onderbossenaarstraat in the men’s race is intriguing, and why the women’s step up to the WorldTour feels timely. With stronger fields and deeper teams, the race is more likely to be shaped by sustained tactical pressure rather than a single late gamble, which is exactly the kind of racing that makes this midweek classic such a revealing pointer ahead of Flanders.
