Docx

As the peloton assembles in Belgium's Semois valley region, there's a mix of late season winding down and excitement for the races that are...

The Grote Prijs Beerens is quickly becoming one of the exciting races in the women's cycling calendar. Taking place this year on 3rd September...

The 2023 Baloise Ladies Tour sees 6 stages over 5 days as we get a rare split stage. An opening prologue will introduce some time gaps and whilst there are hills on Stage 1 and 2, they shouldn't be decisive in the overall general classification.

There isn't an extensive history at Scheldeprijs Women, it was first held coming out of the Covid pandemic with Lorena Wiebes winning in 2021. She doubled up in 2022, confirming that the women's Scheldeprijs is very much like the men's race. Over the years, the men's edition has been seen as a sprinter's world championships or a teaser before the Champs Elysees at least.

A women's Exterioo Classic Brugge-De Panne has only been in existence since 2018, the same year the men's race stopped being 3 stages long. Instead, the new women's Brugge-De Panne helped create a festival of cycling style approach lasting for 3 days. The flat parcours means it's a sprint heavy classic.

The Women's Nokere Koerse has a relatively short history compared to some of the other classics, just 3 editions have been held, with one postponed due to Covid as well. So far we've seen two big sprint finishes, both won by Lorena Wiebes and one slightly different finish with a break.

Lotto Soudal Ladies will join their male counterparts in taking on the Dstny name in 2023. Formerly one of the strongest teams in women's...

After a 20-year wait, the Tour de Suisse Women made a return to the calendar in 2021. There'd been a few editions around the turn of the millennium, with Zulfia Zabirova winning two of them. There's a link with the last edition of the Tour de Suisse Women when Olga Zabelinskaya took part in last year's race, 20 years after her last Tour de Suisse Women race.

Dwars Door de Westhoek takes place in the corner of Belgium, next to the French border, called Heuvelland. It’s the area most commonly associated with the Gent Wevelgem races. Starting and finishing in Boezinge, the riders are treated to 3 ascents of the Rodeberg before heading back into town.

This week Belgian Mieke Docx speaks to ProCyclingUK