When the days gradually begin to lengthen, the crocuses come through and the mild weather sets in, spring finally breaks loose. As spring breaks through, cycling hearts start beating faster. The spring classics, the most beautiful races there are. On Voorjaarsklassiekers.be you’ve come to the right place for cycling heroics, race history and information and everything about the spring classics 2023! On this page, we present the preview of spring classics 2023!

 The eternal longing for the spring classics

Because at the end of February, entirely according to tradition, it is time for the first cycling classic. The cross country, the cold short days and, for the Dutch, the eternal longing for the Elfstedentocht is exchanged for the Haaghoek, the Paddestraat and the Jagerij. With the Omloop, the classic spring is finally kicked off and after the traditional outing with the Italian delights – from the strips of sterrati in Tuscany to the fireworks on the Poggio and the finale on the Via Roma in Sanremo – the race returns to Flanders with the E3, Gent Wevelgem, Dwars door Vlaanderen until with the Ronde van Vlaanderen the organ point of the Flemish Cycling Week takes place.

And that the most imaginative cycling race of the year, Paris-Roubaix, the only Dutch race in beautiful South Limburg, the Amstel Gold Race, and the oldest race there is, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, must then follow is just a bonus. Oh, spring. When can it finally be racing again?

Looking back at spring 2022

A rock-solid Wout van Aert who hit the mark right away in the Omloop het Nieuwsblad. In the traditional opener of the season, the Belgian champion was unbeatable – would that not be an omen for the rest of the preseason? Oh well, we knew better then. After D’n Wout placed his organ point of the spring in the E3 Saxo Bank Classic, indeed the preparer for the Ronde, the news dropped like a bomb a week later. No Wout van Aert in the Ronde, reason: covid-19. Yes, even the spring of 2022 was therefore unfortunately still dominated by the virus that previously threw a spanner in the works throughout the spring of 2020 and ensured that the spring classics of 2021 were finished without an audience.

But oh, how we enjoyed it again! The spring of 2022 was just plain old-fashioned heroic again! The Slovenia above in the Italian spring: there was no limit to an unleashed Tadej Pogačar in Strade Bianche and we feasted on Matej Mohorič’s daredevilry and dropper post in Milan San Remo. And on Flemish and Walloon soil? After Van Aert’s aforementioned masterpieces in the Omloop and the E3, cycling history was written in Ghent-Wevelgem. Biniam Girmay Hailu surprised friend and foe in Gent-Wevelgem by becoming the first African to win in a cycling classic.

And yet again it was the tough Mathieu van der Poel who won both Dwars door Vlaanderen and the Tour of Flanders itself for the second time, and after – again – a photo finish in South Limburg, Michal Kwiatkowski could claim the big Amstel pint for the second time in his career.

After Dylan van Baarle, after finishing second in the Ronde earlier, got his reward in Paris-Roubaix – the Belgians claimed the leading roles in the Walloon work. Dylan Teuns beat Alejandro Valverde and Julian Alaphilippe at the Muur de Huy, Remco Evenepoel took his first monument – which later turned out to be a prelude to an unprecedented season!

Preview spring classics 2023

Wout van Aert who doesn’t yet know whether he’ll go for title contender in the Omloop at all, but already rode the cobbles out of the streets with his teammates at the end of November 2022 in a true course reconnaissance for the opener of the year. And meanwhile flirting with some Italian spring classics. Van Aert especially missed the Strade Bianche classic the most. Whether Wout starts in the Omloop or goes up for the Strade – Tirreno – Sanremo triptych, left or right, the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix are the absolute goals of the year.

The same goes for his eternal rival Mathieu van der Poel. However, Matje, who has already won the Ronde twice and is the defending champion at the start in 2023, will also be there at Milan Sanremo. Indeed, if it is up to his manager Christoph Roodhooft, La Primavera will be his main goal for the spring of 2023.

If we look ahead like this, at the Tour of Flanders for example, we are already licking our lips. ‘The Ronde, I can’t wait,’ Tadej Pogačar told our colleagues at De Standaard. The Slovenian will want to take revenge for painfully missing out on victory this year.

But what is certain is that Pogi will face not only Wout and Mathieu there, but also a tormented Julian Alaphilippe. The Tour of Flanders is Juju’s goal in 2023 and wants to be 100% there himself said. And should the French jumper not be able to excel there for whatever reason, Patrick Lefevere’s wolves have Danish cobblestone eater Kasper Asgreen behind them as well. What a wealth.

Matej Mohorič, on the other hand, announced in the Slovenian press that he will focus on Paris-Roubaix next year, where he was in the front but finished fifth. But wasn’t The Hell Classic also the big dream of Yves Lampaert, Mads Pedersen and Christophe Laporte? Especially the latter is a rider who could just benefit in 2023 from being teammates of defending champion Dylan van Baarle and Van Aert.

Last but not least, Remco Evenepoel. The Aerocogel from Schepdaal will be adorned and tightly lined up in his rainbow jersey at many a classic, but give us a few valid reasons why he can’t win La Doyenne again in 2023?

All in all, we can agree on one thing: let it be the end of February 2023 soon, when, with the Omloop, the first spring classic is back on the doorstep. Also during the spring classics 2023, Springclassics.be will have you in the front row again! You can read the full program of the spring classics 2023 below!

Calendar of spring classics 2023

Saturday 25 February: Omloop het Nieuwsblad 2023
Sunday 26 February: Kuurne Brussels Kuurne 2023
Saturday 4 March: Strade Bianche 2023
Saturday March 18: Milan San Remo 2023
Friday March 24: E3 Saxo Bank Classic 2023
Sunday March 26: Ghent-Wevelgem 2023
Wednesday, March 29: Dwars door Vlaanderen 2023
Sunday April 2: Tour of Flanders 2023
Wednesday 5 April: Scheldeprijs 2023
Sunday April 9: Paris-Roubaix 2023
Wednesday April 12: Brabantse Pijl 2023
Sunday April 16: Amstel Gold Race 2023
Wednesday April 19: Flèche Wallonne 2023
Sunday April 23: Liege-Bastogne-Liege 2023