Curiously enough, the sport of cycling arrived in Flanders later than in other European heartlands like Italy or France. But ever since the first edition of the Ronde van Vlaanderen in 1913, Flanders has formed an integral part of the sport. And the Ronde van Vlaanderen is, without a doubt, the highlight of the Flanders cycling season. Every April, come rain, wind or - much less often - shine, hundreds of thousands of cycling fans (last year an estimated 825,000) line the route of the 260-kilometre Ronde van Vlaanderen. And in 2015, they will again mass along the 19 short, sharp climbs that pepper the final two thirds of the route and which give this Classic, the second of cycling’s five Monuments, its spectacularly challenging character. After some major route changes in 2013, the 2015 course has been altered again - but this time only slightly. Following the usual start in the centre of the medieval city of Bruges, two climbs, the Tiegemberg and Berendries, have been added. The Tiegenberg has the honour of being the first of the 19 ascents, at kilometre 87, while the Berendries has been slotted in as climb number eight. However, it is still the Koppenberg, an infamously narrow, steep and often very slippery climb at 45 kilometres from the finish which is set to act as the starting pistol for the final round of hostilities. It is worthy of note that when the Koppenberg was introduced in 1976, Eddy Merckx was reduced to walking up it alongside his bike! The finale is identical to previous years with the Oude Kwaremont, tackled three times, and the Paterberg climb, ascended twice, providing the principal challenges. According to the organisers, in the last 150 kilometres there will be a maximum of just 12 kilometres between one difficulty - a stretch of cobbles or an ascent - and the next. The new circuit was certainly to the liking of Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing), who last year outwitted three Belgian riders - Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing), Sep Vanmarcke (LottoNL-Jumbo) and Stijn Vandenbergh (Etixx-Quick Step) - to take his third win in the Ronde Van Vlaanderen. Along with Tom Boonen (Etixx-Quick Step) these four will likely all be top contenders in 2015, as will Peter Sagan (Tinkoff-Saxo), Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) and Alexander Kristoff (Team Katusha), who hail from Slovakia, the United Kingdom and Norway respectively. This is a sign, perhaps, that the Ronde van Vlaanderen’s fame and prestige now stretch all around the cycling world. As ever, the Ronde van Vlaanderen remains faithful to its own history. In 2015, the village of Zwevegem in west Flanders has been selected as the event’s ‘Ronde village’. This is in testimony to Marcel Kint, nicknamed ‘the Black Eagle’, who won the Ronde van Vlaanderen exactly 80 years ago before going on to become World Champion in 1938 in Valkenberg, Holland. Because of an interruption to the staging of the UCI World Championships due to the Second World War, the Black Eagle wore the rainbow jersey for a record-breaking eight years.