2017 Tour of Flanders

The 2017 Tour of Flanders (Ronde van Vlaanderen 2017) was the 101st edition of the Tour of Flanders, a one-day cycling classic, that took place on 2 April 2017. It was the second monument race of the 2017 cycling season and the thirteenth event of the 2017 UCI World Tour. The race marked the pinnacle of the Flemish Cycling Week.

The race was won by Belgian national champion Philippe Gilbert from the team, after a solo attack on the Oude Kwaremont and holding off the rest of the field over the remaining 55 km. Second place went to another Belgian, Greg Van Avermaet of the, beating Dutch riders Niki Terpstra  and Dylan van Baarle from  in a three-up sprint finish for the podium placings.

Route
The city of Antwerp staged the start of the event for the first time, after 19 starts in Bruges, marking the first time the Tour of Flanders addressed the province of Antwerp. The race finished in Oudenaarde for a total distance of 260.8 km and saw the renewed inclusion of the Muur van Geraardsbergen, one of the emblematic climbs of the race.

The first 116 km of the race are on all-flat roads from Antwerp via Sint-Niklaas, Dendermonde, Aalst and Zottegem towards Oudenaarde, where the race passes for the first time after 101 km; before addressing the first of 18 climbs, the Oude Kwaremont after 116 km. The Oude Kwaremont, which has been the focal point of the Ronde in the last few years, appears three times on the route and its last two appearances are paired with the Paterberg three kilometres later. The Muur van Geraardsbergen is the ninth categorised climb at 95 km from the finish.

The final 75 km were identical to previous editions. Of the final nine climbs, first was the Kanarieberg, then the first combination of Oude Kwaremont–Paterberg, followed just 6 km later by the roughly-cobbled Koppenberg, the steepest climb of the race. The Koppenberg was immediately followed by the flat cobbled sector of the Mariaborrestraat, leading to the Steenbeekdries and Taaienberg climbs. The Kruisberg in Ronse came at 26 km from the finish, before heading to the final two climbs. The second pairing of Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg represented the end game of the race, preceding the 13.2 km run-in to the finish.

Categorised climbs and cobbles
Eighteen categorised climbs are programmed, of which 12 are cobbled. In addition to the climbs, five sectors of flat cobbled roads are included.

Participating teams
25 teams competed in the race. The 18 UCI WorldTeams were automatically invited and obliged to participate in the race, while an additional seven Professional Continental teams were given wildcard entries, when these were announced on 28 February 2017. Jens Keukeleire of pulled out of the race on the morning of the start, making a total peloton of 199 riders.