Danilith Nokere Koerse 2026 Preview
Analysis written by Sergio Yustos (@sergioyustos_) and tips by Cédric Molina (@ilcapoced)
ROUTE ANALYSIS
- Schedule: 12:55 - 15:20 CET
- TV start: 12:15 CET
The Danilith Nokere Koerse is one of those Belgian semi-classics that breathe pure Flemish cycling. Its route, full of traps, traditionally serves as a warm-up for monuments such as the Tour de Flandes or París-Roubaix, mixing cobblestones, short climbs and constantly nervous terrain that does not allow a single moment of respite.
The race features 27 cobbled sectors spread throughout the day, many of them concentrated in the final circuit, where attacks usually come one after another, taking advantage of the short gaps between sectors. Although classics specialists usually find this to be their ideal terrain, a sprint finish is not unusual.
That said, it’s not just any sprint. The last 800 metres rise at 4.5%, an uncomfortable and explosive finish that punishes the purest sprinters and usually rewards the more powerful riders after a very demanding day.
Climbs
| Cota | Length | Average gradient | Km |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eikenberg | 1.4 km | 4.4% | 49.7 |
| Hellestraat | 1.4 km | 3.6% | 68.0 |
| Holstraat | 1.1 km | 4.0% | 72.4 |
| Petegemberg | 0.6 km | 6.1% | 77.1 |
| Pareelstraat | 0.5 km | 5.0% | 79.5 |
| Nokereberg | 0.3 km | 5.8% | 85.8 |
| Lange Ast | 0.5 km | 4.6% | 103.6 |
| Nokereberg | 0.3 km | 5.5% | 117.1 |
| Lange Ast | 0.5 km | 4.6% | 134.9 |
| Nokereberg | 0.3 km | 5.5% | 148.4 |
| Lange Ast | 0.5 km | 4.6% | 166.3 |
| Waregemsestraat | 0.8 km | 4.3% | Finish |
Cobbled sectors
| Nº | Sector | Length | Km |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paddestraat | 1600 m | 22.4 |
| 2 | Holleweg | 3000 m | 39.9 |
| 3 | Eikenberg | 1400 m | 49.7 |
| 4 | Varent | 2000 m | 63.5 |
| 5 | Nokereberg | 300 m | 85.8 |
| 6 | Herlegemstraat | 1100 m | 89.8 |
| 7 | Lange Ast | 500 m | 103.6 |
| 8 | Huiseplein | 400 m | 105.1 |
| 9 | Doorn | 900 m | 110.4 |
| 10 | Lededorp | 200 m | 111.4 |
| 11 | Huisepontweg | 1900 m | 113.8 |
| 12 | Nokereberg | 300 m | 117.1 |
| 13 | Herlegemstraat | 1100 m | 121.1 |
| 14 | Lange Ast | 500 m | 134.9 |
| 15 | Huiseplein | 400 m | 136.4 |
| 16 | Doorn | 900 m | 141.7 |
| 17 | Lededorp | 200 m | 142.7 |
| 18 | Huisepontweg | 1900 m | 145.1 |
| 19 | Nokereberg | 300 m | 148.4 |
| 20 | Herlegemstraat | 1100 m | 152.4 |
| 21 | Lange Ast | 500 m | 166.2 |
| 22 | Huiseplein | 400 m | 167.7 |
| 23 | Doorn | 900 m | 172.9 |
| 24 | Lededorp | 200 m | 173.9 |
| 25 | Huisepontweg | 1900 m | 176.4 |
| 26 | Hoevestraat | 300 m | 177.1 |
| 27 | Herlegemstraat | 1100 m | 183.3 |
THE WEATHER
The wind, blowing from the southeast for almost the entire day, will be the main weather factor. We shouldn’t expect big “hurricanes”, but it could definitely be annoying, with an average speed of around 15 km/h.
FAVOURITES FOR THE WIN
Given everything said so far, we might think this is a much harder classic than it actually is. But the truth is that, out of ten editions, only once would we expect to see a rider manage to prevent a sprint. In fact, in recent years we’ve only seen it in 2021, when Ludovic Robeet managed to raise his arms with the peloton breathing down his neck.
With that in mind, we can think of riders capable of trying to break the race such as Alec Segaert, Rune Herregodts or Yves Lampaert. Others like Alexys Brunel or Frederik Frison could also have opportunities from the breakaway. But the reality is that practically all the teams come here with a clear objective: to win in the sprint. It’s a somewhat tricky sprint, because if you launch from far out you can have a lot of chances, whereas if you hit that final kilometre badly positioned, victory becomes almost impossible.
In that more likely scenario, two riders clearly stand out: Jordi Meeus and Jasper Philipsen, who are, in principle, the two big favourites for the win. Behind them are others such as Max Kanter, Hugo Hofstetter, Erlend Blikra, Jenthe Biermans, Matteo Moschetti, Casper van Uden or Émilien Jeannière. And of course, we shouldn’t forget riders like Juan Sebastián Molano, Tim Torn Teutenberg, Alberto Dainese, Paul Penhoët, Stanisław Aniołkowski, Steffen De Schuyteneer, Fabio Jakobsen or Antonio Morgado. Realistically, if the win slips away from the first two, it would already be a surprise.
Within that more secondary group I have two names that, personally, I expect to see putting in a very good performance here: Tom Crabbe and Luca Mozzato. Both handle one-day races well and both arrive in good form, so we should have them on our radar.
IL CAPO CED’S RECOMMENDATIONS TO BE A CAPO IN FANTASY
💥 Il capo’s stat.
Last season, the race’s T10 was entirely filled by riders costing 200–400 coins.
🌟 Capos to watch.
Taking into account this race’s history, I’m only going to recommend riders costing 200–400 coins.
400; Max Kanter
He’s coming off a win at París-Niza, which is WT, so the Astana rider will want to extend his good form. Last year he was DNF here.
400; Casper van Uden
In 19 race days he has only managed to score (in Fantasy) in 2 stages, and his best result has been 8th place.
But if there is one race on the calendar where negative streaks can be broken, without a doubt it’s this one. DNF and 62nd are his results here.
400; Tim Torn Teutenberg
He has scored 4 times this season in 7 stages that suited his characteristics. A good pick to fill out your ‘9’.
400; Other options
Clément Venturini, Milan Menten, Erlend Blikra
200; Hugo Hofstetter
7th, 9th and 10th in his 3 appearances here. Another good rider to round out your team.
200; Luca Mozzato
3rd here in 2021. He was already 2nd in Kuurne a few weeks ago. A sprinter who does very well in this type of classic.
200; Tom Crabbe
2 wins plus a 5th place at the start of this season. One of the most in-form sprinters right now, who could crash the party of Philipsen, Meeus and company.
200; Other options
Lander Loockx, Timothy Dupont, Piet Allegaert
📂 Riders with -10% who managed to finish T10.
2025: 2 (including 🥇)
2024: 3
2023: 6
2022: 3
2021: 5 (including 🥇🥈🥉)
📂 Riders costing 200 coins who managed to finish T10.
2025: 6
2024: 3
2023: 8
2022: 4
2021: 7
📂 Users’ popular vote in the app (15 most selected riders).
5 editions played in Fantasy (since 2021)
They got the 🥇 right: 2/5
They got the 🥈 right: 3/5
They got the 🥉 right: 4/5
They got the rest of the T10 right: 17/25
A peculiar classic geared towards sprinters, but in the 5 editions that have been playable in Fantasy, only in 2 did the winner come from the group of the 15 most selected riders by users.
If that happens again this year, riders like Philipsen, Meeus, Jeannière or Penhoët wouldn’t win. Which, put like that, seems quite unlikely to actually happen. But if you want to take risks and would rather take home the event’s diploma or finish among the last instead of fighting for the season’s overall, this is definitely a race in which to do it.