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Bayern Rundfahrt Photo ©: Schaaf
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88th Ronde van Vlaanderen/1st Women's Ronde van Vlaanderen - CDM
Belgium, April 4, 2004
At just 94 kilometres long, the women's Ronde van Vlaanderen
is the shortest World Cup race and is barely over a third of the men's distance
of 257 km. On the other hand, the women have to do nine climbs, which is half
the number that the men do. However, only two of them are cobbled: the Muur
van Geraardsbergen and the Bosberg.
The race starts in Oudenaarde and finishes in Ninove, meaning that the first
climb is encountered after only 29 km, while the remainder all fall between
km 45 and km 83. The battle for position will be a key part of the race at the
halfway point, when the Boigneberg, Foreest, Steenberg, Leberg, Berendries and
Tenbosse all come in quick succession. There's a 10 km break between Tenbosse
and the Muur, while the Bosberg features as the final climb after 83 km. The
Belgian and Dutch riders will surely have the advantage on the narrow Flemish
roads, although the other teams will presumably spend as much time as possible
getting to know the parcours.
Women's Course Map


© Tom & Eddy Van Laere
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