Training guide · Sportive · Oudenaarde, Belgium
How to train for We Ride Flanders
3 April 2027. The bergs of the Tour of Flanders the day before the pros, from a long morning to the full distance from Antwerp. Here is what the day asks of you, and when your plan has to start.
- Date
- Sat 3 Apr 2027
- Weeks to go
- —
- Start
- Oudenaarde
- Routes
- 80 · 130 · 160 · 240 km
- Climbing
- Not published by organiser
- Format
- Timed ride, finish in Oudenaarde
What this event asks of you
Flanders is short, steep, cobbled climbs and the wind between them. Every route takes in the Koppenberg, the Oude Kwaremont and the Paterberg, and the longest route starts in Antwerp and rides the whole professional distance into the Flemish Ardennes. The bergs themselves last a few minutes. What makes them hard is the approach: narrow roads, a fight for position, a hard turn onto cobbles, and a gradient that forces you to keep pressure on the pedals or stop. The Koppenberg stops riders every year.
The physiology is repeated short, high-force efforts on top of a long aerobic day, and the ability to do that in the final hour, not only in the first. The 240 km route turns this into a durability event before the bergs even start, with flat, open roads in the wind for hours. Train low-cadence force work, practise hard efforts late in long rides, and ride cobbles if you can get to any, because the technique of staying seated and smooth is learned, not guessed. Position on the approach decides whether you ride or walk, so group riding skills matter here as much as watts. Early April in Belgium is often cold and wet, so plan for it.
The day by rider level
| Route | Typical finish | What it needs |
|---|---|---|
| 240 km | — | The full professional distance: hours in the wind before the bergs, then repeated high-force efforts on cobbles |
| 160 km | — | A long day with the decisive bergs ridden on tired legs |
| 130 km | — | Repeated short steep efforts with positioning on the approach |
| 80 km | — | The signature bergs with handling and gearing as the focus |
When your plan has to start
Counted back from the event date. If the organiser moves the date, these move with it.
Key bergs
- 1Koppenberg
- 2Oude Kwaremont
- 3Paterberg
On every route, as published by the organiser. The full list of bergs and cobbled sectors by route will come from the route engine once the organiser's GPX is loaded.
Other guides for the same block of the year
- How to train for Paris-Roubaix Challenge10 Apr 2027
- How to train for Dirty Reiver23 Apr 2027
- How to train for Mallorca 31224 Apr 2027