Human Powered Health is gearing up for the restyled In Flanders Fields - In Wevelgem on March 29, a race prone to some of the most exciting and demanding racing of the spring season.
Previously known as Gent-Wevelgem, the race now takes in cobbles and gravel streets for a parcours memorializing the area's historic past.
Seventh in last year's edition, Lily Williams returns to the race alongside Maggie Coles-Lyster, Austrian champion Kathrin Schweinberger, the in-form Marta Jaskulska, Katia Ragusa and Yurani Blanco.
The epicenter of the race, the Kemmelberg, is an iconic cobbled hill that the athletes will crest twice from different directions. Beyond towering over the parcours, it has always been a theater of history.
The Den Engel op de Kemmelberg monument marks a site with a long and storied past. Since the Neolithic era, the hill has served as a vantage point, later named after Camulos, the Celtic god of war.
In April 1918, it became the stage for one of the Great War’s bloodiest chapters – the Fourth Battle of Ypres. Over four days of relentless bombardment and brutal combat, 7,000 Allied soldiers lay down their lives as the line was broken. It was then reclaimed five months later.
Today, their sacrifice is honored in nearby cemeteries and memorials that the race passes, including the Kemmel American Monument. Once a battleground, the Kemmelberg is now a legendary climb, lined with fervent fans standing shoulder to shoulder as riders battle their way to the summit.
Where the race is won
Plugstreets
Plugstreet is a nickname coined by British soldiers during World War I for the Belgian village of Ploegsteert, and in the race refers to three consecutive sections of gravel. Although it’s more broken concrete than Strade Bianche-type roads, they come within range of the Kemmelberg and are important for the first assault up that climb. Named Hill 63, Christmas Truce and The Catacombs, they fall within a five-kilometer stretch where positioning is paramount for success on the climbs to come.
Kemmelberg (Belvedere)
The first ascent of the Kemmelberg is 156 meters long, with an average gradient of just over 9%. This is where a vital whittling down of the group will happen. But it’s not just the cobbles. Before them is a short, steep road climb, and just after is a notorious narrow stretch of road that drops off Flanders’ highest point like a stone. All three points could be decisive.
Kemmelberg (Ossuaire)
The second ascent is a straight stretch of cobbles up to the angel monument with a ramp of 20% towards the top. Its peak comes with 35 km to go, but the legacy of the climb will still sting the legs before the finale.
How to watch
USA
HBO Max from 9:40 am EDT / 8:40 am CDT / 7:40 am MDT / 6:40 am PDT
Greater Europe
Discovery+/Eurosport from 15:40 CET
UK
HBO Max* from 14:40 BST
*Streaming in the UK has changed. It can no longer be found on Discovery+. Please go to HBO Max or download the app and enter the same credentials you would have entered for Discovery+ to access the racing.
Belgium
Sporza / RTBF from 15:40 CET (start at 14:10 on Sporza)
What our athletes think
Maggie Coles-Lyster
I have great memories of coming in the top ten here in 2024. That showed that although it is a really tough race, it can always come back to finish in a bunch sprint so you always have to believe. The first time up the Kemmelberg, the lead-in is super important with the Monteberg just before. That already puts you on the limit so it’s about digging deep for a few minutes there and trying to stay as close to the front as possible. The second time, it’s just straight up in one line, but that’s the last bit of climbing before 35 km back to Wevelgem.
Kathrin Schweinberger
I’m excited for this new course we have at In Flanders Fields. I raced on the Plugstreets in 2021 but we haven’t had them in the women’s race since then. They’re not gravel roads like Strade Bianche, but they are still rough and it will be important to be positioned well for the climb and to stay out of danger. After this, it’s about survival and staying within touching distance of the front. Even if it splits, there’s a long road to Wevelgem so it can always come back together, you just have still have the power to sprint in the end.
Fields from Verge Sport
To mark Verge Sport's launch of our 2026 Classics Collection, we’re giving riders and fans a chance to celebrate in style.
We’re giving away five complete kits—each including a jersey and bibs—from the new collection. And that’s not all: everyone who enters will receive 25% off the 2026 Classics Collection.
Each design draws inspiration from the colors of our team, combining performance with a distinctive race-day aesthetic, with ‘Fields’ celebrating tomorrow’s race.
