Dwars door Vlaanderen 2024: Without van der Poel, with van Aert - these are the favourites

>> To the race report from Dwars door Vlaanderen

Cross Flanders 2024 will have to do without last year's winner Christophe Laporte. The Frenchman from Team Visma | Lease a Bike has been struggling with a stomach flu since Milan-San Remo and will also miss the 'Ronde'. Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), on the other hand, will be absent of his own free will. The Winner of the E3 Saxo Classic and second in Gent-Wevelgem is taking another break before the Monument in four days.

Across Flanders 2024: the most important facts in brief

• Date: 27 March 2024, expected arrival ~ 16:30 hrs
• Distance: 188.6 kilometres
• StartRoeselare, GoalWaregem
• Profilehilly, several cobblestone passages
• UCI category: World Tour
• OrganiserFlanders Classics
• Premiere1945, 78th edition
• Last year's winnerChristophe Laporte
• Track, TV broadcast and live stream

The TOUR favourites by stars*

* Jan Tratnik, Jasper Philipsen, Rasmus Tiller, Anthony Turgis, Julian Alaphilippe

** Nils Politt, Toms Skujins, Laurence Pithie, Alberto Bettiol

*** Matteo Jorgenson, Jasper Stuyven, Oier Lazkano

**** Wout van Aert, Tim Wellens

***** Mads Pedersen

* The more stars a driver receives, the stronger he is rated

Pedersen and Lidl-Trek again with bright prospects

Mads Pedersen has beaten him - the hard to beat Mathieu van der Poel. And not just like that: The Dane was still so fast in the final of Gent-Wevelgem in the two-man sprintthat the world champion's legs burst when he tried to pass him. This alone makes Pedersen the top favourite for the Quer durch Flandern on similar, somewhat hillier terrain. The fact that the course is a little more difficult in terms of profile is likely to favour the 28-year-old, as he dictated the pace to van der Poel on the Kemmelberg.

What speaks against Pedersen, according to the team, is the almost 70 kilometre shorter course of Dwars door Vlaanderen compared to Gent-Wevelgem, where his enormous stamina does not come into play as much, according to the sports management, which was also proven to some extent by the Saxo Classic, which was also 'only' a good 200 kilometres long and which the former world champion finished eleventh.

However, other Lidl riders delivered there, with Jasper Stuyven finishing second behind van der Poel and Toms Skujins in eighth. Lidl-Trek is the dominant team in this classics season and can capitalise on the strength of the individuals in the team tactics, so that this duo also has a chance of the podium again.

Can Visma | Lease a Bike end the losing streak?

In the absence of van der Poel, Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike) will be Pedersen's biggest rival. The Belgian skipped Gent-Wevelgem and finished the Saxo Classic in third place after a crash. Surprisingly, van Aert has only raced across Flanders once in his career, which was in 2018, before his time with Visma.

However, the 29-year-old will not be lacking in route knowledge, he knows the Hellingen inside out. In addition, Visma, even without last year's winner Laporte, is coming with another strong team that has lacked one thing above all: luck. At Gent-Wevelgem, Jan Tratnik continued the series of crashes of the men in yellow and black and had to abandon. For Dwars door Vlaanderen, the Slovenian Omloop winner but back again and ready to work as a noble helper or to seek his own fortune if the race goes well.

Visma also has another ace at the start: Matteo Jorgenson. The Winner of Paris-Nice finished fifth in the Saxo Classic and continued to prove his good form.

Wellens and Politt to make it happen for UAE Emirates

Third in the team rankings is UAE Team Emirates. Above all, Tim Wellens, fourth in the Saxo Classic, should ensure the top result. He also skipped Gent-Wevelgem in order to start the last two Flanders races refreshed.

Then there's Nils Politt, who also finished the Saxo Classic in the top 10 and was fifth at Dwars door Vlaanderen two years ago. But this year, despite finishing second at the Omloop on the opening weekend, the German seems to lack a nose for the right moment. Despite apparently good legs, Politt has recently missed the odd wind edge or optimum position in the field, which can hardly be corrected in the battle for absolute top places.

Lazkano and Bettiol on the road as lone fighters

When it comes to promising positions, Oier Lazkano in Team Movistar is more or less a lone fighter. However, this hardly bothers the Spanish champion, as he often relies on long breakaway attempts anyway. As in his victory in the Jaen Paraiso gravel race this season, his third place in Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne - or second place behind Laporte in Quer durch Flandern 2023. Unlike many Spaniards, the 24-year-old feels comfortable on Flemish roads and has outsider chances.

The same applies to Alberto Bettiol at EF Education EasyPost. The 2019 'Ronde' winner has only ridden the Saxo Classic in Belgium so far, and not to the end, but can still be good for a top result. Basically, this also applies to Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal - Quick Step), but he is increasingly living off his reputation. Whether ninth place at Milan-San Remo could become the exception or the rule again will also be proven by Quer durch Flandern.

Philipsen captain, but without a real chance of victory

Unlike Alaphilippe, Laurence Pithie (Groupama-FDJ) has been in strong form all year. The New Zealander was the last to keep up with Pedersen and van der Poel at Gent-Wevelgem. Ultimately, the race was perhaps a little too long for the 24-year-old, which is why his chances at Dwars door Vlaanderen could be a little better. Rasmus Tiller (Uno-X Mobility) and Anthony Turgis (TotalEnergies) also showed good legs there, but were ultimately swallowed up by the peloton after breakaway attempts.

In the absence of van der Poel, Jasper Philipsen is captain of Alpecin-Deceuninck. Having finished fourth at Dwars last year and fifth in Wevelgem, the best sprinter of the season has certainly proven that he can at least make it over Flanders' hills in the peloton or at the front. However, despite his top form, it is unlikely to be enough for the very front.