2018 Ronde van Vlaanderen
Male Team 01 Apr

Ronde van Vlaanderen

264.7 Kilometers
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Participants list

  1. Jorge Arcas
  2. Carlos Barbero
  3. Nuno Bico
  4. Héctor Carretero
  5. Imanol Erviti
  6. Nelson Oliveira
  7. Jasha Sütterlin
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TV

For the first time ever, the Ronde van Vlaanderen will be shown live in its entirety at Eurosport 1, starting at 10.15am CEST on Sunday.
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Timetable

The neutral start in Antwerpen will be given at 10.30am; the finish in Oudenaarde is expected from 4.38 to 5.32pm CEST.
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Social Media

The organisers' official Twitter account is @RondeVlaanderen; their hashtag, different from previous editions to include the year, is #RVV18. Over at @Movistar_Team we'll be paying much attention to the Blues' efforts in Flanders, at the same time the women's race is held much nearer to Oudenaarde in the morning.
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Score

The organisation now sponsored by Telefónica will never forget Imanol Erviti's brilliant 7th place back in 2016. No better result has been obtained by the Blues in its history.

Route

Amberes - Oudenaarde (264.7km)
01 April

Analysis

It is the most cherished, respected race by a whole country and most of the fans of epic cycling. The Ronde van Vlaanderen celebrates its 102nd edition with a second consecutive start at Belgium’s most populous city, Antwerpen, after many years departing from Bruges’ Grote Markt square. In everything else, ‘De Ronde’ follows a consolidated scheme of things -long gone are the times when the Kapelmuur and the Bosberg, now used in many other races, were the last climbs-, with the ascents to the Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg as center of all action in a race with 18 demanding hills and 14 cobbled sections.

Following an initial southbound route over 100 kilometers long -with a couple of pavé sections: Lippenhovestraat (87km) and Paddestraat (89km)-, the first climb to the Kwaremont (121km) will mark the start of a first loop with ten different climbs. All of them will be on asphalt roads -yet they obviously add hardness to the race- except for one: the previously-quoted Kapelmuur / Mur de Grammont, 97km from the end. Barring the Holleweg (142km) and the Haaghoek (148km), the cobblestones won’t be back before the second passage through the Kwaremont (-56km), now combined with the first climb to the Paterberg (-53km).

With the race’s two main climbs now together, the second, final loop will start. The Koppenberg (-46km), with its slopes up to 20%, will surely create a real selection into a main bunch whose ‘survivors’ will continue to be stung by the short, sharp Taaienberg (-38km). With no descent after this one, the race will enter a section of wind-exposed roads that will continue to take its toll from those who pursuit the leaders. After the Kruisberg (-27km), the final attacks for victory will seek for the last OK/P combination, 17 and 14km away from the end. At the top of the final ascent, a long series of straights, agony for both stragglers and potential winners, will lead the race into Oudenaarde, where the biggest names in classics take the win.