Dwars door Vlaanderen 2023: Favourites

One could argue that Dwars door Vlaanderen is a final test before Sunday’s showdown. But not all big guns show up. In fact, the biggest guns keep their powder dry until De Ronde. Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert and Tadej Pogacar are saving fuel, so lesser gods will be eyeing their chances. But, still gods to be reckoned with. For instance Strade Bianche winner Tom Pidcock and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne king Tiesj Benoot.

The Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg have been taken out of the last 35 kilometres since Dwars door Vlaanderen was moved to the Wednesday before the Tour of Flanders. The idea was to make the race less demanding, but Dwars door Vlaanderen is a brutal test anyhow with its relentless series of short and often cobbled climbs and stretches of pavé.

The Flemish classics of this season were won by Van Baarle (Omloop Het Nieuwsblad), Benoot (Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne), Philipsen (Brugge-De Panne), Van Aert (E3 Saxo Classic) and Laporte (Gent-Wevelgem). Mathieu van der Poel (Milan-Sanremo) and Tom Pidcock (Strade Bianche) celebrated in the Italian Classics.

Favourites 2023 Dwars door Vlaanderen

**** Tiesj Benoot, Tom Pidcock, Jasper Philipsen
*** Tim Wellens, Stefan Küng, Jasper Stuyven, Valentin Madouas
** Filippo Ganna, Mads Pedersen, Taco van der Hoorn, Sep Vanmarcke
* Michael Matthews, Julian Alaphilippe, Christophe Laporte, Magnus Sheffield