It’s time for Belgium’s biggest show on Sunday with the Tour of Flanders – the second Monument of the cycling season. The one-day race around the hilly Flanders region is one of the trickiest and well-respected events on the calendar, favouring all-rounders who can handle the steep gradients of climbs like the Koppenberg and Kwaremont, as well as ride the cobbles with skill and produce a sprint at the finish if needed. While the Ronde van Vlaanderen is extremely challenging, the climbs aren’t quite long enough to drop the puncheurs of the peloton which can often lead to close, exciting racing.
The atmosphere of the Belgian race is unmatched anywhere else on the calendar, with fans lining the sides of cobblestone streets, drinking beer and eating frites for one of the biggest sporting events in the country. The home crowd has a lot to cheer for in the women’s race with world champion Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) looking to take the third victory of her career in De Ronde this year after she missed out last season, beaten by UAE Team ADQ’s new signing Elisa Longo Borghini. The Italian rider is arguably looking stronger than Kopecky so far this year, but the Belgian has local knowledge and a nation behind her, which has spurred her on to victory before.
Some riders will be hoping for a reduced bunch kick and a more subdued race so that they can have the chance to sprint it out at the finish in Oudenaarde, whereas others – notably SD Worx’s comeback queen Anna van der Breggen – will need to use the climbs as springboards for attacks, allowing them to come to the line solo or with only a few other breakaway companions. Although FDJ-Suez superstar Demi Viollering isn’t riding in Flanders on Sunday, there’s still a stacked line-up for the women’s race and we can expect closer competition than ever.
Here are the favourites for victory in the 2025 edition of the women's Tour of Flanders and our prediction of who will win this prestigious event.
Lotte Kopecky
With two Ronde van Vlaanderen victories to her name, Lotte Kopecky starts with a target on her back in Flanders this Sunday. The Belgian rider excels on the cobbles that she grew up racing on and she knows the parcours of De Ronde by heart – it’s certainly not skills or lack of knowledge that will stop Kopecky taking a third victory in Oudenaade this weekend. Where she may struggle, however, is up against the pure strength of Elisa Longo Borghini, one of her key rivals for this race. She was unable to follow the Italian rider in Dwars door Vlaanderen on Wednesday and then couldn’t force collaboration within the chase group behind, allowing Longo Borghini to ride solo to an impressive win. Kopecky can’t let the same thing happen on Sunday.
Lotte Kopecky during the 2024 edition of the Tour of Flanders (Image: Tornanti)
It could be that the Belgian rider’s strength is still building with the aim of peaking for Flanders and Paris-Roubaix – her two key targets when it comes to one-day races this season. She has only competed three times so far this year unlike many of her rivals who have done more race days, so she may lack some sharpness but also will be absolutely fresh for the upcoming landmark races. Kopecky missed the decisive move in Flanders in 2024 when many backed her to make history by taking a third consecutive win in the Monument, so she has a point to prove this season and will be motivated to retake her crown as queen of the Classics. As usual, SD Worx-Protime have an imperiously strong team for Flanders, including Lorena Wiebes who will be a good option for a sprint finish if she can make it over the climbs with the front group. Blanka Vas and Mischa Bredewold are also cards to play for the Dutch team, though it’s likely that these riders will both be put in domestique roles for their team leaders.
Anna van der Breggen
Paradoxically, SD Worx’s strength could also be its downfall as the Dutch squad comes to the Tour of Flanders with so many options for victory. We saw friction within the team in previous seasons when Kopecky and Vollering (who left SD Worx for FDJ-Suez at the end of last year) sprinted against each other for wins in races like Strade Bianche. Although the Dutch rider is no longer part of the squad, her absence has been filled with the return of two-time former world champion, Anna van der Breggen. While she has spent four years away from the sport after retiring at the end of 2021, the 34-year-old has returned to the WorldTour peloton this season with a bang, and it almost feels as if she never left at all. Van der Breggen finished second at Strade Bianche this season while also playing an integral team role in other races – and she’s a former winner of the Ronde van Vlaanderen in 2018.
Anna van der Breggen finishes second at Strade Bianche 2025 (Image; Tornanti)
The Dutch rider will be hoping for a hard race on Sunday where she can make attacks that will test the legs of her rivals and potentially allow her to ride solo to the finish line as she won’t want this race to come down to a bunch kick. It’s expected that SD Worx will give Van der Breggen the freedom to do this on the climbs, but there could be tension over the team’s tactics if Kopecky or Wiebes are wanting full support for a bunch finish. Directions from the SD Worx team car have been surprising on occasion to say the least, and Longo Borghini managed to get the better of them even without a strong team around her on Wednesday at Dwars door Vlaanderen – they will need to ride smart as well as strong at De Ronde.
Elisa Longo Borghini
UAE Team ADQ’s Elisa Longo Borghini is the main rider who has a real chance of upsetting SD Worx’s dominance on Sunday. The Italian comes to the Tour of Flanders as defending champion and with supreme confidence following Dwars door Vlaanderen. She has been riding extremely well this season with a victory at the UAE Tour and she almost stole a march on her rivals at Milan-Sanremo a few weeks ago – her bolshy solo attack was brought back just metres before the finish line. Despite many being surprised by her move to UAE at the start of this year, Longo Borghini seems to be thriving in her new environment away from Lidl-Trek, though she has struggled with being isolated in the finals of big races so far this season. She resolved this at Dwars door Vlaanderen by simply riding away from her rivals with a strong attack, but we can expect SD Worx to be more alert to this threat at De Ronde on Sunday.
Elisa Longo Borghini wins Dwars door Vlaanderen 2025 (Image: Thomas Maheux/SWpix.com)
It’s possible that Longo Borghini will find herself in a group against multiple riders from the Dutch team and if this happens, she will have difficulties closing down their attacks. However, if her teammate Silvia Persico is in good form on the weekend she should be able to be at the pointy end of the race alongside her compatriot (Persico finished a respectable seventh place in last year’s edition of Flanders so she knows what it takes to finesse the cobbles.) Longo Borghini’s biggest assets are her tactical astuteness and her fearless racing style, something which paid dividends last Wednesday. If she can carry through her form and morale to Sunday, it is going to take a lot to beat the Italian.
Kasia Niewiadoma
Although she hasn’t had the start to her season she would have hoped for, Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift champion Kasia Niewiadoma should not be counted out for the Tour of Flanders. The rolling, punchy parcours of Belgium are well-suited to the Polish rider who relishes a tough race – repeated short accelerations are Niewiadoma’s strength and these come thick and fast on the bergs of De Ronde. The Canyon//SRAM rider’s hard crash at Strade Bianche has undoubtedly set her back somewhat in her training and preparation for the Classics, but she did ride well at both Sanremo and Dwars door Vlaanderen even if this did not quite pay off in terms of results. Niewiadoma’s performance in Flanders last year will give her confidence that she can compete with the very best in this race – she only narrowly lost out in the rain-soaked sprint against Longo-Borghini, eventually finishing in second place. If she can find the same type of form in 2024, there’s no reason that Niewiadoma can’t be hunting for a podium place in Belgium.
Kasia Niewiadoma on the podum after the 2024 edition of the Tour of Flanders (Image: Tornanti)
On paper, Canyon//SRAM should be able to produce a strong collective performance on Sunday: Soraya Paladin and Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig have both had good showings in Belgium before, with the Danish rider coming third in 2019 and finishing in the top-10 on multiple occasions. The German squad’s performances this year haven’t yet lived up to their incredible 2024 season, but they need to try and channel this disappointment into motivation to turn things around in Flanders.
Marianne Vos
Regarded by many as the G.O.A.T. (Greatest Of All Time) in women’s cycling, Marianne Vos comes into Flanders as a key contender every season. She’s won this race before back in 2013 and can use all of her years of experience to her advantage on the cobbles, completely aware of what she needs to do in order to go up against a stacked team of SD Worx stars – she’s done it season after season in the past. Vos may struggle to hold on if the race is aggressive on the climbs, it is here where she can often face difficulties alongside the likes of Niewiadoma or Longo Borghini.
Marianne Vos at the 2024 edition of the Tour of Flanders (Image: Tornanti)
However, if she does make it to the finish line in a group then the Dutch rider packs a serious punch at the finish – she can’t compete with the pure sprinters but has a better finish than many riders who she can climb as well as. Like Longo-Borghini, Vos hasn’t got a star-studded roster surrounding her, especially with Pauline Ferrand-Prévot not starting alongside her on Sunday, so it will be a case of following wheels and capitalising off the work of others, rather than riding offensively herself. Cyclo-cross star Fem van Empel could be up at the front with her older teammate, however. Vos is yet to secure a win this season and it would be historic for her to take the win at Flanders 13 years after she last took victory. Her performances so far this season where she finished fourth at Trofeo Alfredo Binda and second at are promising and will give Visma-Lease a Bike hope that they have a chance at success on Sunday, especially given the disappointing performances of their men’s squad so far this Classics season.
Puck Pieterse
While she doesn’t have the years of experience that a rider like Vos does, Fenix-Deceuninck’s Puck Pieterse has a real chance of a podium finish at De Ronde this season. With a background in mountain biking and cyclo-cross, Pieterse excels in tricky races which take places in tough conditions – she proved that with her victory on a wet and wild stage of the Tour de France Femmes last season. Pieterse’s versatility is what makes her really stand out against her rivals, she can climb up mountains with some of the best but also likes the sharp accelerations that are required of Classics riders (likely due to her off-road background.)
Puck Pieterse during the 2024 edition of the Tour of Flanders (Image: Tornanti)
Pieterse has performed well on the cobbles before, finishing sixth in the Tour of Flanders last year and this season she has already had a string of good results with top-10 finishes in Omloop Nieuwsblad, Strade Bianche, Trofeo Binda, Milan-Sanremo and Dwars door Vlaanderen. Like Vos, Pieterse will be responding to attacks from SD Worx and will not be expected to take up the responsibility of chasing down moves herself, something she should use to her advantage on Sunday. Pieterse is knocking on the door of a big one-day Classics win – it’s still early in her career to expect that to come on Sunday, but we shouldn’t count the young rider out as she has repeatedly surprised and impressed with her ability ever since turning professional.
Other contenders
While they don’t have a stand-out favourite for victory, we can rely on the American team of Lidl-Trek to animate the race on Sunday. Shirin van Anrooij had a heroic ride in Flanders last season to finish on the podium – she has been coming back from surgery so far in 2025 but if she is back to her best then she is also one to watch on the bergs. The team’s new signing Anna Henderson is also well-suited to Flanders, and we can’t forget cyclo-cross superstar Lucinda Brand who is another option for Lidl this weekend.
There are also riders who will be hoping that they can steal a march on SD Worx, especially if there is the type of stalemate we saw at Opening Weekend. Principal among these will be FDJ-Suez’s Elise Chabbey who has an attacking style and will be wanting to make the most of being at a race where she isn’t riding in support of her usual team leader, Demi Vollering. From Movistar, the duo of Liane Lippert and Marlen Reusser could be a force to be reckoned with – they can both follow attacks on crucial climbs if they are on a good day. Kim Le Court of AG Insurance-Soudal is a dark horse for De Ronde, the Mauritian rider has had a great season so far, finishing fifth at Milan-Sanremo. Her teammate Justine Ghekiere could also perform well on the cobbles if the stars align for the Belgian rider on Sunday.
Women's Tour of Flanders 2025 Prediction
We are betting on Elisa Longo Borghini to take her second Tour of Flanders win on Sunday. She looks unbeatable in her current form and will be able to use her tactical prowess to outsmart an SD Worx team, despite them looking collectively stronger than UAE Team ADQ on paper.
