# Dwars door Vlaanderen

Dwars door Vlaanderen ('Across Flanders') is a semi-classic road bicycle race in Belgium, held annually since 1945. The race starts in Roeselare and finishes in Waregem, both in West Flanders. Since 2017 the event is included in the UCI World Tour.
Held in late March, the event is part of the Flemish Cycling Week, which also includes E3 Harelbeke, Gent–Wevelgem and the Tour of Flanders. Traditionally Dwars door Vlaanderen was held four days after Milan–San Remo and a week and a half before the Tour of Flanders. As from 2018, the race moved up one week on the international calendar and is now contested on the Wednesday before the Tour of Flanders, Flanders's foremost cycling classic, held on Sunday.
Since 2012, a women's edition of Dwars door Vlaanderen is held on the same day as the men's race, starting and finishing on the same location, over a shorter distance. From 2023, this event joined the UCI Women's ProSeries calendar, the second tier of women's races.
Both events are organized by Flanders Classics. In addition the Grand Prix de Waregem was formerly regarded as the Under 23 version of the race.

## History
### Dwars door België

The race was first run in 1945 from Sint-Truiden to Waregem and was named Dwars door België (English: Across Belgium) – a name it kept until 1999. Belgian cycling icon Rik Van Steenbergen won the inaugural race. From 1946 to 1964 the event was run as a stage race over two days – with the exception of 1948. The first stage started in Waregem and finished in the eastern Belgian provinces of Limburg or Liège; from which it returned to Waregem the next day. In 1948 and since 1965, it has been held as a one-day race. Two editions have been cancelled, in 1971 and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Held in late March, the event traditionally marked the start of the Flemish Cycling Week, which also includes E3 Harelbeke, Gent–Wevelgem, the Three Days of De Panne, and the Tour of Flanders. Dwars door Vlaanderen was contested mid-week, four days after Italy's monument race Milan–San Remo and a week and a half before the Tour of Flanders.

### World Tour race

In 2000 the event was renamed Dwars door Vlaanderen and Roeselare became the new starting place. The race was included in the inaugural UCI Europe Tour in 2005, classified as a UCI 1.1 event, and from 2013 to 2016 as a 1.HC race. The 2016 edition nearly had to be cancelled as it was scheduled one day after the 2016 Brussels bombings, causing security alert to be raised to the highest level in all of Belgium. On the evening of the event, organizers decided to continue as planned and the Belgian authorities gave clearance on the day of the race. The race was won by Jens Debusschere.
The 2017 edition was promoted to the UCI World Tour, cycling's highest tier of professional races. In 2018 Dwars door Vlaanderen was moved one week later on the calendar, from a position mid-week after Milan–San Remo to the Wednesday before the Tour of Flanders. At the same time the course was scaled down from 200 km to 180 km in length, and the Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg climbs were cut from the race.

### Women's race

Since 2012, a women's edition of Dwars door Vlaanderen is held on the same day as the men's race, starting and finishing on the same location, of approximately 130 kilometres distance. From 2023, this event joined the UCI Women's ProSeries calendar, the second tier of women's races. As with the men's race, Dwars door Vlaanderen is seen as a warm up event for the Tour of Flanders for Women.

## Route

Dwars door Vlaanderen is one of several cobbled races in Flanders during Spring classics season. The race starts in Roeselare and finishes in Waregem, for a total distance of ca. 180 km. The bulk of the course is set in the hilly Flemish Ardennes.
The first 80 km in West Flanders are mainly flat, after which the course becomes more selective with a dozen climbs in the hill zone in East Flanders. Despite annual changes, some of the regular climbs in the race are the Taaienberg, Kruisberg and Côte de Trieu. The top of the last climb, Nokereberg, comes at 11 km from the finish. Additionally, there are several flat stretches of cobbles. Due to its hilly course in the Flemish Ardennes, the race is similar in nature to the Tour of Flanders, and is often used in preparation for the bigger event four days later.

## Men's race winners

| Year | Country | Rider | Team |
| ↓ "Dwars door België" ↓ ||||
| 1945 | Belgium | Rik Van Steenbergen | Mercier–Hutchinson |
| 1946 | Belgium | Maurice Desimpelaere | Alcyon–Dunlop |
| 1947 | Belgium | Albert Sercu | Bertin–Wolber |
| 1948 | Belgium | André Rosseel | Alcyon–Dunlop |
| 1949 | Belgium | Raymond Impanis | Alcyon–Dunlop |
| 1950 | Belgium | André Rosseel | Alcyon–Dunlop |
| 1951 | Belgium | Raymond Impanis | Alcyon–Dunlop |
| 1952 | Belgium | André Maelbrancke | Peugeot–Dunlop |
| 1953 | Belgium | Briek Schotte | Alcyon–Dunlop |
| 1954 | Belgium | Germain Derycke | Alcyon–Dunlop |
| 1955 | Belgium | Briek Schotte | Alcyon–Dunlop |
| 1956 | Belgium | Lucien Demunster | Elvé–Peugeot |
| 1957 | Belgium | Noël Foré | Groene Leeuw |
| 1958 | Belgium | André Vlayen | Elvé–Peugeot–Marvan |
| 1959 | Belgium | Roger Baens | Peugeot–Dunlop |
| 1960 | Belgium | Arthur Decabooter | Groene Leeuw |
| 1961 | Belgium | Maurice Meuleman | Wiel's–Flandria |
| 1962 | Belgium | Martin Van Geneugden | Flandria–Faema–Clément |
| 1963 | Belgium | Clément Roman | Faema–Flandria |
| 1964 | Netherlands | Piet van Est | Televizier |
| 1965 | Belgium | Alfons Hermans | Lamot–Libertas |
| 1966 | Belgium | Walter Godefroot | Wiel's–Groene Leeuw |
| 1967 | Belgium | Daniël Vanryckeghem | Mann–Grundig |
| 1968 | Belgium | Walter Godefroot | Flandria–De Clerck |
| 1969 | Belgium | Eric Leman | Flandria–De Clerck–Krüger |
| 1970 | Belgium | Daniël Vanryckeghem | Mann–Grundig |
| 1971 | No race | No race | No race |
| 1972 | Belgium | Marc Demeyer | Beaulieu–Flandria |
| 1973 | Belgium | Roger Loysch | Watney–Maes |
| 1974 | Belgium | Louis Verreydt | IJsboerke–Colner |
| 1975 | Netherlands | Cees Priem | Frisol–G.B.C. |
| 1976 | Belgium | Willy Planckaert | Maes–Rokado |
| 1977 | Belgium | Walter Planckaert | Maes–Mini Flat |
| 1978 | Netherlands | Jos Schipper | Marc Zeepcentrale–Superia |
| 1979 | Belgium | Gustaaf Van Roosbroeck | IJsboerke–Warncke |
| 1980 | Netherlands | Johan van der Meer | HB Alarmsystemen |
| 1981 | Belgium | Frank Hoste | TI–Raleigh–Creda |
| 1982 | Netherlands | Jan Raas | TI–Raleigh–Campagnolo |
| 1983 | Belgium | Etienne De Wilde | La Redoute–Motobécane |
| 1984 | Belgium | Walter Planckaert | Panasonic–Raleigh |
| 1985 | Belgium | Eddy Planckaert | Panasonic–Raleigh |
| 1986 | Belgium | Eric Vanderaerden | Panasonic–Merckx–Agu |
| 1987 | Netherlands | Jelle Nijdam | Superconfex–Kwantum–Yoko–Colnago |
| 1988 | Netherlands | John Talen | Panasonic–Isostar–Colnago–Agu |
| 1989 | Belgium | Dirk De Wolf | Hitachi |
| 1990 | Belgium | Edwig Van Hooydonck | Buckler–Colnago–Decca |
| 1991 | Belgium | Eric Vanderaerden | Buckler–Colnago–Decca |
| 1992 | Germany | Olaf Ludwig | Panasonic–Sportlife |
| 1993 | Belgium | Johan Museeuw | GB–MG Maglificio |
| 1994 | Belgium | Carlo Bomans | GB–MG Maglificio |
| 1995 | Netherlands | Jelle Nijdam | TVM–Polis Direct |
| 1996 | Netherlands | Tristan Hoffman | TVM–Farm Frites |
| 1997 | Ukraine | Andrei Tchmil | Lotto–Mobistar–Isoglass |
| 1998 | Belgium | Tom Steels | Mapei–Bricobi |
| 1999 | Belgium | Johan Museeuw | Mapei–Quick-Step |
| ↓ "Dwars door Vlaanderen" ↓ ||||
| 2000 | Netherlands | Tristan Hoffman | Memory Card–Jack & Jones |
| 2001 | Belgium | Niko Eeckhout | Lotto–Adecco |
| 2002 | Australia | Baden Cooke | Française des Jeux |
| 2003 | Australia | Robbie McEwen | Lotto–Domo |
| 2004 | Belgium | Ludovic Capelle | Landbouwkrediet–Colnago |
| 2005 | Belgium | Niko Eeckhout | Chocolade Jacques–T Interim |
| 2006 | Belgium | Frederik Veuchelen | Chocolade Jacques–Topsport Vlaanderen |
| 2007 | Belgium | Tom Boonen | Quick-Step–Innergetic |
| 2008 | France | Sylvain Chavanel | Cofidis |
| 2009 | Belgium | Kevin Van Impe | Quick-Step |
| 2010 | Denmark | Matti Breschel | Team Saxo Bank |
| 2011 | Belgium | Nick Nuyens | Saxo Bank–SunGard |
| 2012 | Netherlands | Niki Terpstra | Omega Pharma–Quick-Step |
| 2013 | Italy | Oscar Gatto | Vini Fantini–Selle Italia |
| 2014 | Netherlands | Niki Terpstra | Omega Pharma–Quick-Step |
| 2015 | Belgium | Jelle Wallays | Topsport Vlaanderen–Baloise |
| 2016 | Belgium | Jens Debusschere | Lotto–Soudal |
| 2017 | Belgium | Yves Lampaert | Quick-Step Floors |
| 2018 | Belgium | Yves Lampaert | Quick-Step Floors |
| 2019 | Netherlands | Mathieu van der Poel | Corendon–Circus |
| 2020 | No race due to COVID-19 pandemic | No race due to COVID-19 pandemic | No race due to COVID-19 pandemic |
| 2021 | Netherlands | Dylan van Baarle | Ineos Grenadiers |
| 2022 | Netherlands | Mathieu van der Poel | Alpecin–Fenix |
| 2023 | France | Christophe Laporte | Team Jumbo–Visma |
| 2024 | United States | Matteo Jorgenson | Visma–Lease a Bike |
Source: www.dwarsdoorvlaanderen.be

### Multiple winners

Riders in bold are active
| Wins | Rider | Editions |
| 2 | André Rosseel (BEL) | 1948, 1950 |
| 2 | Raymond Impanis (BEL) | 1949, 1951 |
| 2 | Briek Schotte (BEL) | 1953, 1955 |
| 2 | Walter Godefroot (BEL) | 1966, 1968 |
| 2 | Daniel Van Ryckeghem (BEL) | 1967, 1970 |
| 2 | Walter Planckaert (BEL) | 1977, 1984 |
| 2 | Eric Vanderaerden (BEL) | 1986, 1991 |
| 2 | Jelle Nijdam (NED) | 1987, 1995 |
| 2 | Johan Museeuw (BEL) | 1993, 1999 |
| 2 | Tristan Hoffman (NED) | 1996, 2000 |
| 2 | Niko Eeckhout (BEL) | 2001, 2005 |
| 2 | Niki Terpstra (NED) | 2012, 2014 |
| 2 | Yves Lampaert (BEL) | 2017, 2018 |
| 2 | Mathieu van der Poel (NED) | 2019, 2022 |

### Wins per country

| Wins | Country |
| 54 | Belgium |
| 15 | Netherlands |
| 2 | Australia France |
| 1 | Denmark Germany Italy Ukraine United States |

## Women's race winners

| Year | Country | Rider | Team |
| 2012 | Netherlands | Monique van de Ree | Skil 1t4i |
| 2013 | Netherlands | Kirsten Wild | Argos–Shimano |
| 2014 | Netherlands | Amy Pieters | Giant–Shimano |
| 2015 | Netherlands | Amy Pieters | Team Liv–Plantur |
| 2016 | Netherlands | Amy Pieters | Wiggle High5 |
| 2017 | Finland | Lotta Lepistö | Cervélo–Bigla Pro Cycling |
| 2018 | Netherlands | Ellen van Dijk | Team Sunweb |
| 2019 | Netherlands | Ellen van Dijk | Trek–Segafredo |
| 2020 | No race due to COVID-19 pandemic | No race due to COVID-19 pandemic | No race due to COVID-19 pandemic |
| 2021 | Netherlands | Annemiek van Vleuten | Movistar Team |
| 2022 | Italy | Chiara Consonni | Valcar–Travel & Service |
| 2023 | Netherlands | Demi Vollering | SD Worx |
| 2024 | Netherlands | Marianne Vos | Visma–Lease a Bike |

### Multiple winners

Riders in italics are active
| Wins | Rider | Editions |
| 3 | Amy Pieters (NED) | 2014, 2015, 2016 |
| 2 | Ellen van Dijk (NED) | 2018, 2019 |

### Wins per country

| Wins | Country |
| 10 | Netherlands |
| 1 | Finland Italy |