Tielt sits in the rolling country between Roeselare and Kortrijk, in a stretch of West Flanders that has repeatedly hosted the spring classics calendar without carrying the name recognition of Oudenaarde or Geraardsbergen further east.
The town has served as a start town for the women's Dwars door Vlaanderen, the mid-week race that bridges Milan–San Remo and the Tour of Flanders each March — a route that, like its men's equivalent starting in nearby Roeselare, shares several climbs with the Ronde itself, including the Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg in recent editions.
First held in 1945, Dwars door Vlaanderen has been won by fourteen different riders twice over, most recently Filippo Ganna — a race whose reputation as a genuine test, rather than a warm-up for the following Sunday, has only grown since its 2017 promotion to World Tour level.
Tielt itself remains a working West Flemish town rather than a cycling pilgrimage site, which makes it a useful, uncrowded base for riders wanting access to the same roads without the crowds that gather further along the route toward the finish in Waregem.
