A race that feels far more established than its brief five-year history suggests, Danilith Nokere Koerse has swiftly cemented itself as a cornerstone event in the spring calendar for the world’s top riders and teams.

After a two-year absence, CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto returns for the sixth edition of this mid-week semi-classic, fielding Zoe Bäckstedt, Justyna Czapla, Nastya Kolesava, Maria Martins, Maike van der Duin and Jule Märkl.

This year’s parcours covers familiar Flandrien roads, starting on the outskirts of Deinze and concluding 134 kilometres later in the namesake town of Nokere. The race offers an engaging mix of terrain, featuring 17km of unforgiving cobblestones, 10 climbs, five of them cobbled, and a total elevation gain of 951 metres, making for a relentlessly punchy and undulating course.

The rhythm of Nokere Koerse typically remains in constant flux, with several demanding sectors tackled up to three times, interspersed with brief respites on sealed roads. One of the most decisive sectors is often the 700m Lange Ast, where the combination of a cobbled surface and steady gradients demands good positioning, traction and sheer brute strength – the location where last year’s race-winning move was launched. 

In 2025, Lange Ast now comes 20km rather than 14km from the finish. This shift stems from a significant change in a race that will mark its 79th edition for men – a revamped finish designed to enhance safety, where Nokere is now approached from a different direction. Riders will no longer be slingshotted up the cobbled Nokereberg after a fast and twisting approach. Instead, victory will require a more sustained final effort, with the last kilometre averaging 4% on the wide and straight Waregemsestraat. We could be set to see a long, grinding drag to the line rather than one carried by momentum.

A key contributor in the growing reputation of Nokere Koerse has been the organisers’ commitment to safety and equality. From the bold decision to relocate a historic and iconic finish line, to implementing smaller pelotons for safer racing and tripling the women’s prize purse in 2022 to match that of the men’s, the race has set new standards in parity.

So far, only Belgian and Dutch riders have claimed victory in the women’s race. Will that streak continue, or is 2025 the year for a new nationality to break through?

HOW TO FOLLOW

Danilith Nokere Koerse | 1.Pro | Wednesday March 19 | 133.9km | 951m elevation | Start 10:30 CET – fastest finish 13:31.

Live coverage begins from 12:15 CET on Sporza, TNT Sports, Discovery+, Max, and FloBikes. Stay up-to-date on X using #DanilithNokereKoerse, and on CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto’s social channels.