March 27th, 12:30 PM.
Crossing Flanders had officially begun.
The race course started in the western Belgian city of Roeselare. After 32 kilometers on flat roads, the riders would pass near the finish line in Waregem City.
As the crow flies, the start and finish lines were very close.
However, on the first lap, the riders wouldn't pass through the finishing stretch. Instead, they would detour onto an adjacent road.
From there, they had to head east to complete a large loop, tackling 12 climbs and 9 cobbled sections along the way, before circling back west toward Waregem City.
The 9 cobbled sections were practically 9 additional climbs. The immense friction from the cobblestones not only made pedaling incredibly difficult and significantly increased tire resistance, but the irregular bouncing and jarring vibrations also numbed a rider's entire body.
As this was a top-tier one-day Classic, a breakaway of eight riders formed right from the start.
