The next race on the Belgian cobbled cycling semi-classics menu was Dwars door Vlaanderen 2025. The 2025 edition of Dwars door Vlaanderen – a travers la Flandre would be contested on a 184.2-kilometer route from Roeselare to Waregem.

The race featured defending champion Matteo Jorgenson of Team Visma-Lease a Bike. The rider from USA was joined by many other favorites on an impressive start list, which included Wout van Aert (Team Lidl-Trek), Biniam Girmay (Intermarche-Wanty), Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek), Jasper Stuyven (Lidl-Trek), Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost), Magnus Sheffield (Ineos-Grenadiers), Arnaud Demare (Arkea B & B Hotels), Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ), Tim Merlier (Soudal-QuickStep), and recent Gent-Wevelgem winner Mads Pedersen of Team Lidl-Trek. 

The Dwars door Vlaanderen race had not been decided in a mass sprint since 2016 where Jens Debusschere won ahead of Bryan Coquard and Edward Theuns.

It took more than fifty kilometers of fast racing in sunny weather conditions on the narrow roads of Belgium before a breakaway group was established. When 130 kilometers remained, Taco van der Hoorn (Intermarche-Wanty), Joshua Giddings (Team Lotto), Rasmus Søjberg Pedersen (Decathlon-AG2R-La Mondiale), Petr Kelemen (Tudor Pro Cycling Team), and Fabio Christen (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) broke away from the peloton.

They were joined by Mikkel Bjerg (UAE Team Emirates), Lewis Askey (Groupama-FDJ), ad Ceriel Desal (Wagner Bazin WB) five kilometers later.

The breakaway optimists had fought their way to an advantage of one minute when 100 kilometers were left of this year’s Dwars door Vlaanderen. At this point in the race Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X Mobility) had attacked solo from the main peloton and was trying to make the leap to the eight frontmen. He failed. 

A split occurred at the midway point of the race. The speed was intensified in the main peloton when Wout van Aert moved to the front and started pulling. The advantage of the breakaway group was diminishing quickly.

Denmark’s Bjerg and Rasmus Pedersen attempted an attack from the breakaway group to avoid getting caught by the chasing peloton.

Joshua Tarling (Ineos-Grenadiers), Fabio van den Bossche (Alpecin-Deceuninck), and Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost) launched an attack from the main peloton with 85 kilometers left of the race. Would they bridge the gap to the front duo?

The two frontmen were 01:15 minutes ahead of the main peloton when 75 kilometers remained of the race. The Powless-Tarling-Bossche trio was struggling to close the gap to the front duo. They were now fifteen seconds behind them and Great Britain’s Tarling hard started skipping turns at the front. The two groups joined forces shortly later, but Tarling was suffering and got dropped.

Tiesj Benoot, Wout van Aert and defending Dwars door Vlaanderen champion Matteo Jorgenson launched an attack from the main peloton. It did not take long for the Visma – Lease a Bike trio to jump to the front group. Would USA’s Matteo Jorgenson repeat his victory from last year’s race?

Riders from Ineos-Grenadiers and Lidl-Trek were now leading the chase effort at the front of the main peloton. They were twenty seconds behind the seven frontmen. Mads Pedersen worked hard to reduce the advantage of the front group. Unselfishly, he was helping teammates Jonathan Milan and Jasper Stuyven. 

The three Visma riders were dominating the front group with 55 kilometers remaining. They were now climbing the Knokteberg. With Bjerg and other riders having been dropped from the front group, it now featured only the three Visma men and Powless.

Mads Pedersen accelerated in the main peloton while Jasper Philipsen was dropped. The peloton had been split into multiple groups at this point.

The front quartet had an advantage of 28 seconds when 50 kilometers remained of the battle towards the finish line in Waregem. The main peloton had been split into several small groups, which were riding in echelons in the windy conditions on a broad highway stretch. 

Jorgenson, van Aert, Benoot and Powless were still in the front group when forty kilometers remained of the race. They now had an advantage of forty seconds over the first peloton group, which was spearheaded by Mads Pedersen, while riders were attempting to launch attacks. 

The Visma-Lease a Bike riders were doing the hard work in the front group and the cobbled sections of the Eikenberg were not stopping them. Meanwhile, Nils Politt (UAE Team Emirates) and Laurence Pithie (Red Bull – Bora – Hansgrohe) crashed in the rear part of the peloton and knocked their heads on the tarmac.

Thirty kilometers of Dwars door Vlaanderen 2025 remained, and the front quartet was still pressing on, now with an advantage of 40 seconds over the chasing peloton, where EF Education riders were doing everything they could to reduce the pace, thereby hoping to prevent their team captain Powless from getting reeled in as he was part of the front quartet.

It appeared the front quintet would not get caught by the chasers and a race winner would be found from the riders in this group. Would Powless of EF Education-EasyPost be able to cheat the three riders from Visma-Lease a Bike, or did Benoot, van Aert and Jorgenson have a sneaky plan?

Benoot slowed down when he was in third position in the front group, which caused Powless to drop valuable meters. He now had to chase van Aert and Jorgenson, who had accelerated while Benoot had been slowing down. It was up to Powless to beat the dominant Visma team, which appeared in control.

When sixteen fast kilometers of the race remained, the front quartet was still leading, but a six-man chase group featuring Mads Pedersen, Alec Segaert, Arjen Livyns, Stefan Küng, Tibor del Grosso, and Dries de Bondt had formed 48 seconds behind them. Jasper Stuyven, Dylan van Baarle, Biniam Girmay, Mikkel Bjerg, Mikkel Honore, Magnus Sheffield and other riders were chasing one minute behind the front group.

The front group had a lead of forty seconds over chase group one ten kilometers from the finish line. Chase group two was 01:12 minutes back. 

Tiesj Benoot, Matteo Jorgenson, and Wout van Aert were still joining forces with Powless when three kilometers remained. It appeared the Visma riders were setting up Wout van Aert for a sprint across the finish line. The distance was 47 seconds to the first chase group, so a race winner would be found in the front group.

The final kilometer awaited. 

Matteo Jorgenson attacked. Tiesj Benoot and Wout van Aert responded, but it was Neilson Powless who was the fastest man on the day. The American rider remarkably won the sprint across the finish line for his EF Education-EasyPost team ahead of all three riders from Team Visma – Lease a Bike. Wout van Aert finished second, while Tiesj Benoot completed the race podium by taking third.

“I really can’t believe it. I thought I was riding for second place against the three Visma guys,” race winner Neilson Powless of USA told Roadcycling.com after celebrating his victory. 

“I want to thank my family and team for supporting me tough a rough Spring. It feels so great to be back and to win this race. I never thought in a million years I would win a sprint against him in a race like this,” Powless explained.

Stay tuned to Roadcycling.com for complete coverage from the 2025 professional cycling season.