Race analysis, favourites, and predictions for Dwars door het Hageland 2022
Dwars door het Hageland was first held in 2001 as a race on the Belgian national calendar, and has since risen in status and gained prestige. In 2010 it was included in the UCI Europe Tour for three years, but then it was undisputed between 2013 and 2015. In 2016, the organizers of the race decided to resume the adventure, and took a step that would be decisive for the consolidation of the event: inspired by the Italian Strade Bianche, they introduced unpaved rural roads on the route, and a finale with similarities with Siena’s Santa Caterina, in this case at the top of the Citadelle de Diest. Since 2020 the event is part of the ProSeries.
Route
The course of this edition covers 177 kilometers, of which 37 on dirt roads. In addition, the race also includes 4 climbs to the cobbled hill of the Citadelle de Diest, 1 km long, of which the last 500 meters are at 5.7%. The finish line is situated at the top of the fourth climb.
Favorites
Look for favorites in riders who perform well on unpaved roads like Rasmus Tiller (200), who showed he's good on them with his win last year. Other riders who usually do well in the sterrato are Connor Swift (200), Yves Lampaert (600), Zdeněk Štybar (200), Florian Verneersch (200), Florian Sénéchal (600), Piet Allegaert (400), Sep Vanmarcke (200), Gianni Vermeersch (200) or Amaury Capiot (600), among others.
