While only a midweek Classic, Dwars door Vlaanderen is a key race for multiple reasons. It’s the final chance for a showdown before the Tour of Flanders on Sunday, allowing riders to test their legs one more time on the characteristically punchy climbs of Belgium. Last year, the race made headlines for unfortunate reasons after a big crash took out many key favourites including Wout van Aert, though a changed route in 2025 will certainly shift the race dynamics and the type of riders we can expect to contest the win.
Beginning in Roeselare, the route covers 184.2 kilometres and finishes in Waregem. There are ten climbs and seven sectors of pavé, the first of which comes after 70 kilometres of racing. The famous climbs of the Flemish Ardennes – Paterberg, Oude Kwaremont, de Muur, and Koppenberg – will not be included in the 2025 edition, which will work in the favour of the sprinters in the bunch. It will be a showdown between those who want to win the race solo or from a small breakaway group and the fast men who are hoping to come to the finish in Waregem with a relatively big peloton. The likes of Visma-Lease a Bike are under pressure to save a disappointing Classics season so far, while sprinters such as Jasper Philipsen and Tim Merlier will be dreaming of a bunch kick to the line. Who will come out on top? Here are the key contenders and our prediction for victory on Wednesday.
Wout van Aert
Visma-Lease a Bike have had a tricky Classics campaign in 2025, struggling with their leader, Wout van Aert, not looking his best on the punchy parcours of his home country. The Belgian was out of position and unable to follow the likes of Mathieu van der Poel at E3 Saxo Classic last weekend and will be hoping for a good performance at Dwars door Vlaanderen to give him confidence heading into De Ronde. The slightly easier route in this year’s edition could be beneficial to Van Aert if it is his physical form that has been causing him to struggle on the climbs so far – it will be interesting to see what the Visma rider can do in a reduced bunch sprint. We should also remember that Van Aert has some troubling memories of Dwars door Vlaanderen after his high-speed crash in this race last season which left him sidelined from racing for months. While organisers have removed the descent where the collision occurred in this year’s edition, Van Aert will still be having to fight the recollections of his previous misfortune.
Should Van Aert struggle on Wednesday, Visma-Lease a Bike do have options with Matteo Jorgenson who comes to Dwars door Vlaanderen as defending champion after his impressive solo victory here last year. The 2025 route won’t suit Jorgenson as much as he will prefer as hard a race as possible, but if Visma can improve their positioning then they should have strength in numbers to play with when it matters. Tiesj Benoot is another card that the Dutch team have when it comes to attacking on the climbs in order to try and drop the pure sprinters in the peloton. It’s a loss for the team that their fast man Olav Kooij won’t start in Dwars door Vlaanderen following his recent crash which has left him with a broken collarbone, but they have a strong roster nonetheless. Once the world-beating Classics team, Visma-Lease a Bike are in dire need of a good performance to help with morale ahead of the two upcoming Monuments in Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. With slightly easier parcours and a less stacked field of superstars, Wednesday’s race is the perfect opportunity for them to turn things around – they just need to ensure they can handle the pressure.
Mads Pedersen
Lidl-Trek’s frontman Mads Pedersen has had an imperious Classics campaign so far with his solo win at Gent-Wevelgem last weekend firmly placing him among the great one-day racers of this generation. The Danish rider isn’t afraid to attack and surprise his rivals – while many consider him a sprinter, his performance on a Sunday showed he has the versatility to match the likes of Van der Poel too. Pedersen suffered the same fate as Van Aert in last year’s edition of Dwars door Vlaanderen, coming down in that famed crash alongside his teammate Jasper Stuyven, though the team had been leading the race up key climbs such as the Kanarieberg before then.
It’s unlikely that Lidl-Trek will have problems with confidence heading into Wednesday’s final key warm-up race for De Ronde given that their leader simply seems to be getting better and better as the races roll on. Pedersen’s unpredictability to his rivals is a strength – no one knows if he is going to try and blow the race up again or whether he will be content to follow the moves of other teams and trust himself in a fast finish. He’s not the only potential winner of Dwars door Vlaanderen on Lidl-Trek either, as their Italian sprinter Jonathan Milan also takes to the start in Roeselare. This relieves some pressure off Pedersen’s shoulders as it means the team should always have a back-up plan in the peloton if the Dane fancies another big attack, however it could also mean some tricky decisions if both riders come to the finish in a reduced bunch. Would Pedersen sacrifice his own chances to lead out Milan? This remains to be seen, though it’s clear that Pedersen is a born leader who has rightfully earned this title after his performances for Lidl-Trek this season.
Jasper Philipsen
When it comes to those with a fast finish, Alpecin-Deceuninck’s Jasper Philipsen is one rider who no one will want to take to the line with them on Wednesday. The Belgian rider’s nine Tour de France stage wins are proof enough that Philipsen thrives in the chaos of a bunch kick, and he will be licking his lips if it comes down to this at Dwars door Vlaanderen. He has already got a victory this season at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, where he shouldered the expectation of being pre-race favourite to get his wheel in front of Visma’s Kooij and take the spoils. However, crashes and mishaps have impacted his performances at both Brugge-De Panne and Gent-Wevelgem, so Philipsen will be dreaming of turning things around at this midweek semi-Classic. He has a good team around him, filled with fellow Belgians who know these roads extremely well which should help him with positioning at key moments – the slightly easier route of this year’s edition will suit Alpecin well as they have the race craft but sometimes lack the collective pure strength to be there when it matters. Individually, however, Philipsen has looked impressive on the bergs so far this season, showing no signs of struggle on the Kemmelberg last weekend before his flat tyre prevented him from contesting the race.
It’s going to take a lot to drop the 27-year-old on the parcours of Dwars door Vlaanderen – if Philipsen is on a good day then he is a stand-out favourite to win here. Unlike some of his competitors, Philipsen isn’t taking part in the Tour of Flanders a few days later given the difficulty of the parcours there, so it will be all-out for the win at Dwars door Vlaanderen. After this race, the sprinter’s Classic Scheldeprijs is next on Philipsen’s calendar before he will try and repeat his impressive result from last year at Paris-Roubaix. We should also not forget that Kaden Groves is on the start list for Alpecin on Wednesday too – he’s another fast finisher with the ability to get over the climbs if Philipsen is on a bad day.
Tim Merlier
Another sprinter who will be hoping to make it to the line with the front group is Soudal-Quick Step’s Tim Merlier. The Belgian rider’s recent second place at Gent-Wevelgem proved him the fastest finisher in the peloton as Pedersen stormed to a solo win – if Merlier’s team can control things and keep it together for a bunch finish in Dwars door Vlaanderen, it’s going to be tough to beat the European champion. However, the parcours on Wednesday are slightly more challenging than the ones that Merlier had to tackle last weekend, and he’s yet to fully prove his climbing abilities against the best of them – though he is looking especially good this year.
The 32-year-old has a strong team around him who have multiple options when it comes to the finale: Yves Lampaert is a Classics veteran and Merlier has been vocal in the past about how well he works with close friend and lead-out man Bert Van Lerberghe. French up-and-coming sprinter Paul Magnier is another good option for Quick-Step and he has proven his abilities in the one-day races with second places in Ename Samyn Classic and Omloop Nieuwsblad. It remains to be seen which rider the team will support if both Merlier and Magnier come to the finish line together.
Biniam Girmay
While he’s yet to get a big result so far this Classics season, Biniam Girmay shouldn’t be counted out in a race like Dwars door Vlaanderen. The Eritrean sprinter made history by winning Gent-Wevelgem in 2022 and has backed that up with a top-10 every year since. He is good on the cobbles and can make it over some tricky climbs with a respectable performance at E3 Saxo Classic earlier this season, the stars just need to align for a good result for Girmay. It will be a case of following the wheels and remaining vigilant for Intermarché-Wanty – there are plenty of other teams with the interest of keeping it together for a bunch kick so they shouldn’t need to take on too much responsibility themselves, especially given the fact that Girmay is yet to really perform yet this season. In terms of the team that Girmay has around him, there are some strong engines who can do a good job for him in the lead out as well as pull on the front if needed. Taco van der Hoorn is a breakaway specialist who could be a plan-B for the team if he gets in a promising move while Girmay waits for the sprint behind. It’s undoubtedly going to be a tall order for the 24-year-old to compete at the finish with riders like Merlier and Philipsen, but he has beaten them before and his form could steadily be building as the season continues.
Other contenders
UAE Team Emirates come to this race without their world champion Tadej Pogačar which leaves the door open for other riders to have a shot at the win. Jhonatan Narváez would ordinarily be well-suited to Dwars door Vlaanderen, though the 28-year-old is coming back from illness. The Emirati team also has options with Tim Wellens and Juan Sebastián Molano. The trio of Stefan Küng, Lewis Askey and Valentin Madouas make a formidable force for Groupama-FDJ – they will be doing their best to make the race as hard as possible. Likewise the Ineos Grenadiers have a strong line-up with riders such as Josh Tarling, Magnus Sheffield and Sam Watson, while Fred Wright will be Bahrain-Victorious’ leader of choice for this race.
For Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, Kiwi rider Laurence Pithie will be hoping to make his mark and the team bring a full lead-out squad to support him should it be a bunch finish. EF Education-EasyPost will be looking for key moments to attack with Nielson Powless, likewise Uno-X Mobility should not be forgotten with Omloop winner Søren Wærenskjold and Alexander Kristoff who both enjoy a tough race.
Prediction
We’re backing Jasper Philipsen to take the win in this race. The Alpecin rider is climbing well, has a good team around him and has looked strong so far this season – he also has a point to prove ahead of Paris-Roubaix.
