Registration for the Tour of Flanders 2020 will open at 12:00 (13:00 UK time) on Wednesday 30 October. The opening date was confirmed Friday on the Tour of Flanders social media channels, with entries via the event website at www.werideflanders.com.

16,000 places will be available for the famous cobbled sportive, which takes place the day before the world's top pro cyclists race the same roads on the Ronde van Vlaanderen (Tour of Flanders).

The entry date is confirmed for the 2020 Tour of Flanders sportive.
The entry date is confirmed for the 2020 Tour of Flanders sportive.

Four routes will be available for the 2020 Tour of Flanders. The longest 229km route starts in Antwerp while the shorter routes begin in Oudenaarde, as in previous years, where the main action takes place on the cobbled bergs and rural roads around the town.

Price details have not yet been confirmed, but the organisers usually offer a discounted price for early entries. Last year, early bird prices started at €60 for the 229km course, €50 for the 174km option, €40 for the 139km route, or €30 for the 74km short course.

The prices will rise by €5 and €10 as more riders enter, so it's well worth registering as soon as possible to get the best rate.

For riders taking on the 229km distances, a shuttle bus service is available from Oudenaarde to the start in Antwerp. You can book this at the same time as registering, the cost in 2019 was €30.

If you go to ride this event make sure you stay for the full weekend to experience the pro riders in the actual Tour of Flanders the next day. This is the race that stops Belgium: when Fabian Cancellara won in 2014, over eighty percent of the population watched his victory either live or on television!

Flanders in summer

While the original Flanders sportive is the purist's choice, in recent years the organisers have responded to its popularity by launching two new events.

2019 saw the first edition of Vlaanderens Mooiste ("Flanders' finest") on 8 September. Billed as a summer edition, the route is quite different to the spring sportive with a choice of five courses starting in Geraardsbergen - about an hour's drive west of Brussels.

Classic climbs including Kanarieberg, Oude Kwaremont, Paterberg, Taaienberg and Molenberg all feature. You can check out the parcours for the different routes on the event website: www.vlaanderensmooiste.be.

Prices start at just €8 for the short course, and even the 167km course is a very reasonable €17. As a bonus, all entrants also received an exclusive link offering the chance to enter the next Tour of Flanders spring sportive several months before general entries went on sale.

Flanders Offroad

The second new event is the Ronde van Vlaanderen Offroad. This year's edition took place on 5 October, leading riders off the beaten track on some unpaved trails in the Flanders countryside.

Judging by the photos, it looked like most riders were on mountain bikes. But the route also included a few more familiar cobbled sections from the race, and we'd venture that gravel/adventure bikes should cope just fine.

Riders on this year's inaugural offroad edition of Flanders.
Riders on this year's inaugural offroad edition of Flanders.

Finally, June sees the Retro Ronde. As the name suggests, this is a Flanders version of L'Eroica, a chance to dust off your old steel bike and vintage attire in a celebration of the good old days.

Find out more

Check out some more information on riding the Tour of Flanders:

For more information and to register, visit www.sport.be.

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