The Ronde van Vlaanderen is the most important race on the Belgian calendar and one of the 1-day monuments in cycling that alone can make the winner's career a success. Originally run from Gent to Gent, it currently starts in Bruges and finishes in Meerbeke. The route is characterized by a series of short, sharp, cobbled climbs, currently totaling 17.

It used to be held on the same day as Italy's Milan-San Remo, which is why there is only 1 pre-World War 2 foreign winner, Heiri Sutter (Switzerland). It is now held in early April with Gent-Wevelgem coming a few days later with Paris-Roubaix on Sunday. This makes for a glorious week of racing with 3 major and terribly difficult 1-day races stacked into 1 week.