Tour of Flanders preview: Geraint Thomas among the favourites
Everything you need to know about the one-day Belgian classic
By Matt Westby
Last Updated: 04/04/15 1:04pm
Team Sky's Geraint Thomas is among the favourites for victory at the second one-day Monument classic of the season, the Tour of Flanders, on Sunday.
The race is one of the most challenging events on the professional calendar and this year looks more open than ever after defending champion Fabian Cancellara and fellow three-time winner Tom Boonen were both ruled out through injury.
Thomas is heavily fancied to triumph following his win at E3 Harelbeke last week but is set to face stiff competition from a multitude of rivals also looking to capitilise on Cancellara and Boonen's absence.
Here is everything you need to know about the race and the contenders...
THE ROUTE
The Tour of Flanders takes place in western Belgium and will this year cover 264.9km, making it the third-longest day's racing of 2015. Aside from its immense distance, it has two key attributes that the riders must overcome: climbs and cobbles.
The race includes a leg-sapping 19 climbs, or bergs, as they are known in Belgium. They are not long when compared with Alpine ascents such as Alpe d'Huez, usually only several hundred metres, but most of them are savagely steep and are frequently cobbled.
But the cobbles are not just saved for the climbs, because there are also six sections of pavé on the flat - and these can be just as testing. The rough surface has the potential to break up the peloton and will ruthlessly expose tiring legs.
The race starts at 9.15am BST in Bruges and is flat for the first 80km, but then it embarks on two loops to the south of the finish line in Oudenaarde that are littered with climbs and cobbles.
The estimated finish time is 3.47pm BST.
THE FAVOURITES
Geraint Thomas (Team Sky)
The Welshman is many people's favourite for victory after winning E3 Harelbeke and finishing third at Gent-Wevelgem. He appears to be in the form of his life and has the support of a powerful Team Sky team.
Niki Terpstra (Etixx - Quick-Step)
Terpstra went toe to toe with Thomas at Gent-Wevelgem and just pipped him in a sprint for second place. That display proved he has the form and condition to win.
Alexander Kristoff (Katusha)
Another rider in prime form, the Norwegian will be the man to beat if he can get over the climbs thanks to the fact he has one of the fastest sprints. But that is a big if after he was dropped on the climbs at E3 Harelbeke. Plus, should he make it into the final group on the run-in to Oudenaarde, he will then be attacked repeatedly given that no one will want him to still be there in the final 1km.
Sep Vanmarcke (LottoNL-Jumbo)
Long touted as a Monument winner in waiting, Vanmarcke has the potential to win Flanders but could need an improvement in form after being dropped by Thomas at both E3 Harelbeke and Gent-Wevelgem.
THE OUTSIDERS
Peter Sagan (Tinkoff-Saxo)
The Slovak would normally be in with the favourites but he is dreadfully short of both form and confidence. Unquestionably has the potential to win but needs a significant improvement on recent displays.
Zdenek Stybar (Etixx - Quick-Step)
Likely to be Etixx - Quick-Step's Plan B, Stybar is an accomplished rider on the cobbles and could step up if Terpstra's challenge falls away. He got into the lead group at E3 Harelbeke but was then dropped by Thomas.
Greg van Avermaet (BMC Racing)
The Belgian finished second last year and has the attributes to win, but he hasn't shown great form in the cobbled classics so far. Like Sagan, he will need to step up his form.
John Degenkolb (Giant-Alpecin)
Degenkolb is in a similar position to Kristoff. If he can get over the climbs he can sprint to victory, but conquering the bergs will be a lot easier said than done. Has good form after winning Milan-San Remo.
WHAT THEY SAY...
Sir Bradley Wiggins
"I want to be at the final in Flanders with [Geraint Thomas] because I think that's where you can make the biggest difference. It's a big weekend. G's win last week only increases the interest. It's really good that now we have potentially got a British guy who can win Tour of Flanders. Not since Tommy Simpson have we had that."
Geraint Thomas
"It's Flanders; as a kid, it was one of the races I just wanted to race one day. I'm treating it like I did with any track race - we went into most of those as favourites. I think all the other riders feel like they can win it. It will make it more of an open race. I think it will be more tactical. There will be guys flying off up the road all the time." Source: The Times
Alexander Kristoff
"Etixx have a lot of strong guys who can attack and without Boonen they will try to avoid a group sprint, so maybe that's not better for me actually. But on the other hand, there are good riders who are out, so it's hard to say which is better for me." Source: www.cyclingnews.com
BRIT WATCH
Adam Blythe (Orica-GreenEdge).
Andy Fenn (Team Sky).
Luke Rowe (Team Sky).
Ian Stannard (Team Sky).
Geraint Thomas (Team Sky).
Scott Thwaites (Bora-Argon 18).
Sir Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky).
PREVIOUS WINNERS
2014: Fabian Cancellara (Sui).
2013: Fabian Cancellara (Sui).
2012: Tom Boonen (Bel).
2011: Nick Nuyens (Bel).
2010: Fabian Cancellara (Sui).
2009: Stijn Devolder (Bel).
2008: Stijn Devolder (Bel).
2007: Alessandro Ballan (Ita).
2006: Tom Boonen (Bel).
2005: Tom Boonen (Bel).
THE TEAMS
AG2R-LA MONDIALE
Country: France. Status: WorldTour
Team: Gediminas Bagdonas (Lit), Damien Gaudin (Fra), Alexis Gougeard (Fra), Hugo Houle (Can), Quentin Jauregui (Fra), Sebastien Minard (Fra), Sebastien Turgot (Fra), Johan Vansummeren (Bel).
ANDRONI GIOCATTOLI-VENEZUELA
Country: Italy. Status: Pro Continental
Team: Marco Bandeira (Ita), Tiziano Dall'Antonia (Ita), Marco Frapporti (Ita), Oscar Gatto (Ita), Fabio Taborre (Ita), Francesco Chicchi (Ita), Alberto Nardin (Ita), Frantisek Padour (Cze).
ASTANA
Country: Kazakhstan. Status: WorldTour
Team: Lars Boom (Ned), Borut Bozic (Slo), Laurens de Vreese (Bel), Danil Fominykh (Kaz), Andriy grivko (Ukr), Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz), Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz), Ruslan Tleubayev (Kaz).
BMC RACING
Country: United States. Status: WorldTour
Team: Philippe Gilbert (Bel), Alessandro De Marchi (Ita), Silvan Dillier (Sui), Daniel Oss (Ita), Manuel Quinziato (Ita), Michael Schar (Sui), Greg van Avermaet (Bel), Peter Velits (Svk).
BORA-ARGON 18
Country: Germany. Status: Pro Continental
Team: Shane Archbold (NZ), Scott Thwaites (GB), Ralf Matzka (Ger), Christoph Pfingstein (Ger), Andreas Schillinger (Ger), Michael Schwarzmann (Ger), Bjorn Thurau (Ger), Paul Voss (Ger).
CANNONDALE-GARMIN
Country: United States. Status: WorldTour
Team: Jack Bauer (NZ), Lasse Norman Hansen (Den), Kristijan Koren (Slo), Sebastien Langeveld (Ned), Alan Marangoni (Ita), Kristoffer Skjerping (Nor), Dylan van Baarle (Ned), Ruben Zepuntke (Ger).
COFIDIS
Country: France. Status: Pro Continental
Team: Cyril Lemoine (Fra), Adrien Petit (Fra), Florian Senechal (Fra), Louis Verhelst (Bel), Jonas Ahlstrand (Swe), Gert Joeaar (Est), Michael van Staeyen (Bel), Clement Venturini (Fra).
ETIXX - QUICK-STEP
Country: Belgium. Status: WorldTour
Team: Niki Terpstra (Ned), Iljo Keisse (Bel), Yves Lampaert (Bel), Nikolas Maes (Bel), Zdenek Stybar (Cze), Matteo Trentin (Ita), Guillaume van Keirsbulck (Bel), Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel).
FDJ.FR
Country: France. Status: WorldTour
Team: William Bonnet (Fra), David Boucher (Bel), Sebastien Chavanel (Fra), Mickael Delage (Fra), Arnaud Demare (Fra), Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra), Yoann Offredo (Fra), Marc Sarreau (Fra).
GIANT-ALPECIN
Country: Germany. Status: WorldTour
Team: John Degenkolb (Ger), Nikias Arndt (Ger), Roy Curvers (Ned), Koen de Kort (Ned), Berk de Backer (Bel), Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned), (USA), Albert Timmer (Ned), Zico Waeytans (Bel).
IAM CYCLING
Country: Switzerland. Status: WorldTour
Team: Sylvain Chavanel (Fra), Dries Devenyns (Bel), Martin Elmiger (Sui), Heinrich Haussler (Aus), Reto Hollenstein (Sui), Roger Kluge (Ger), Matthias Brandle (Aut), Vicente Reynes (Esp).
KATUSHA
Country: Russia. Status: WorldTour
Team: Alexander Kristoff (Nor), Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita), Marco Haller (Aut), Luca Paolini (Ita), Sven Erik Bystrom (Nor), Viacheslav Kuznetsov (Rus), Alexander Porsev (Rus), Alexey Tsetevich (Rus).
LAMPRE-MERIDA
Country: Italy. Status: WorldTour
Team: Filippo Pozzato (Ita), Niccolo Bonifazio (Ita), Davide Cimolai (Ita), Sacha Modolo (Ita), Luka Pibernik (Slo), Ariel Richeze (Arg), Nelson Oliveira (Por), Roberto Ferrari (Ita).
LOTTONL-JUMBO
Country: Netherlands. Status: WorldTour
Team: Sep Vanmarcke (Bel), Maarten Tjallingii (Ned), Rick Flens (Ned), Bram Tankink (Ned), Tom Leezer (Ned), Robert Wagner (Ger). Tom van Asbroeck (Bel), Maarten Wynants (Bel).
LOTTO SOUDAL
Country: Belgium. Status: WorldTour
Team: Lars Bak (Den), Tiesj Benoot (Bel), Sean de Bie (Bel), Stig Broeckx (Bel), Jens Debusschere (Bel), Andre Greipel (Ger), Jurgen Roelandts (Bel), Marcel Sieberg (Ger).
MOVISTAR
Country: Spain. Status: WorldTour
Team: Imanol Erviti (Esp), John Gadret (Fra), Juan Jose Lobato (Esp), Dayer Quintana (Col), Jose Joaquin Rojas (Esp), Enrique Sanz (Esp), Jasha Sutterlin (Ger), Fran Ventoso (Esp).
MTN-QHUBEKA
Country: South Africa. Status: Pro Continental
Team: Matt Brammeier (Irl), Matthew Goss (Aus), Gerald Ciolek (Ger), Tyler Farrar (USA), Reinardt Janse van Rensburg (RSA), Andreas Stauff (Ger), Youcef reguigui (Alg), Jay Robert Thomson (RSA).
ORICA-GREENEDGE
Country: Australia. Status: WorldTour
Team: Sam Bewley (NZ), Adam Blythe (GB), Magnus Cort (Den), Mitchell Docker (Aus), Luke Durbridge (Aus), Mathew Hayman (Aus), Leigh Howard (Aus), Jens Keukeleire (Bel).
ROOMPOT ORANJE PELOTON
Country: Netherlands. Status: Pro Continental
Team: Kevin de Mesmaeker (Bel), Joonas Henttala (Fin), Nicolas Lefrancois (Fra), David Lozano (Esp), Javier Megias (Esp), Andrea Peron (Ita), Charles Planet (Fra), Martijn Verschoor (Ned).
TEAM SKY
Country: Great Britain. Status: WorldTour
Team: Geraint Thomas (GB), Sir Bradley Wiggins (GB), Ian Stannard (GB), Luke Rowe (GB), Christian Knees (Ger), Salvatore Puccio (Ita), Elia Viviani (Ita), Bernhard Eisel (Aut).
TINKOFF-SAXO
Country: Russia. Status: WorldTour
Team: Peter Sagan (Svk), Maciej Bodnar (Pol), Matti Breschel (Den), Chris Juul-Jensen (Den), Matteo Tossato (Ita), Pavel Brutt (Rus), Nikolay Trusov (Rus), Michale Morkov (Den).
TOSPORT VLAANDEREN-BALOISE
Country: Belgium. Status: Pro Continental
Team: Bert van Lerberghe (Bel), Oliver Naesen (Bel), Jarl Salomein (Bel), Edward Theuns (Bel), Preben van Hecke (Bel), Gijs van Hoecke (Bel), Pieter Vanspeybrouck (Bel), Jelle Wallays (Bel).
TREK FACTORY RACING
Country: United States. Status: WorldTour
Team: Stijn Devolder (Bel), Markel Irizar (Esp), Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr), Gregory Rast (Sui), Hayden Roulston (NZ), Jesse Sergent (NZ), Jasper Suyven (Bel), Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn).
WANTY-GROUPE GOBERT
Country: Belgium. Status: Pro Continental
Team: Simone Antonini (Ita), Frederk Backaert (Bel), Roy Jans (Bel), Bjorn Leukemans (Bel), Marco Marcato (Ita), Mirko Selvaggi (Ita), James Vanalandschoot (Bel), Frederik Veuchelen (Bel).
