Our roster for Ronde van Vlaanderen, or Tour of Flanders, on Sunday 4 April is ready! We will race with a strong line up of Alice and Hannah Barnes, Tiffany Cromwell, Lisa Klein, Kasia Niewiadoma and Alexis Ryan.

The 18th edition has 2 additional climbs compared to last year, bringing the total to 13 climbs and 5 cobblestone sections. The Molenberg cobbled climb returns, and the Berg Ten Houte climb is introduced into a new look mid-section of the 152km Women’s World Tour race.

“The race has everything, and even without the crowds it’s still one of the most iconic and prestigious races we have on the calendar,” describes Tiffany.

“It’s one of those races that stands out every year when you’re looking at the calendar and your race program is getting set. Everyone wants to race it, everyone dreams to win it, and everyone is watching it.”

“I like the new changes to the course but it’s still a typical Flanders. You have the flat parts, smooth and rough cobblestone sections, asphalt climbs, cobbled climbs, a few wide roads and a bunch of narrow roads. Some years it’s more of one and less of another, but it always has a bit of everything. If you want to do well at Flanders you need to be able to handle it all, as well as the positioning and the level of concentration needed.”

Tiffany says the team is building confidence from the recent spring races, especially the double podium performance on Dwars Door Vlaanderen last Wednesday.

“We have one climber, we have two sprinters and we have four all-rounders. All of us are experienced at Flanders, in good form and we’ve been gaining confidence with each race. They’re the sorts of things that you need, plus a bit of luck, to be able to really take the race on and be ready for every situation.”

HOW TO FOLLOW

The 152km race starts at 14:00CEST and can be followed on Twitter with #RVVwomen and #UCIWWT

The race is broadcast live on the Sporza website and Proximus from the start, and a two-hour live broadcast starts at 16:35CEST on GCN+ app and Eurosport.

TAKE THE LEAD PODCAST RELEASED

The first episode of the CANYON//SRAM Racing Take The Lead podcast, a Tour of Flanders episode, has been released today featuring Alena Amialiusik, Alice Barnes, Hannah Barnes, Tiffany Cromwell, Lisa Klein and Kasia Niewiadoma. Conversations range from how they each started cycling, some of their best cycling memories to date, the team’s Diversity and Inclusion program, and the experience of racing at the iconic Flanders.

The podcast can be listened to here.