The Dwars door Vlaanderen starts on Wednesday at 12.30pm, an appetizer for the Tour of Flanders on Easter Sunday.

The route is almost identical to the one proposed in the latest editions: 188.6 km with ten cobbled sections .

There will be two decisive moments of the race : the first between -74 km and -50 km, in which the most challenging walls of the race will be faced in succession, namely the Berg Ten Houte , the Kanarieberg , the Knokteberg and the Hotond . The second fundamental point will be between -32 km and -18 km where there are three cobbled sections very close to each other.

With Van der Poel absent, the two clear favorites will be Pedersen , fresh from success at Ghent-Wevelgem, and Wout Van Aert , looking for the best condition in view of the two Monuments Flanders-Roubaix, which will be run in the space of just seven days.

Both Lidl-Trek and Team Visma will have valid alternatives to their captains, these are Milan , ready in case of a sprint arrival and Jorgenson , who seems increasingly at ease on the stones of Belgium.

If the race is decided by a bunch sprint, the number one favorite will become Jasper Philipsen , fresh from victories in Sanremo, Brugge-De Panne and third place in Ghent.

Other riders who have appeared in great form in recent outings are Stuyven , Meeus , Pithie and Girmay , who will fight for a place on the podium.

Possible top ten men (if you have them in your team, field them) are: Skuijns, Wellens and Politt for UAE Team Emirates, Kung, Lazkano, Tiller and Turgis.

As for the Italians, in addition to the aforementioned Milan, we would like to point out the presence of Luca Mozzato and Alberto Bettiol , hoping that the latter has recovered from the fall that occurred in the early stages of E3.