The men's and women's routes for the 2020 Tour of Flanders have been reduced following a schedule change on October 18. The men's race has been shortened to 241 km and the women's to 135 km. The race, Belgium's largest and most prestigious, will cover the final laps of Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg before finishing in Oudenaarde.

Race organizer Flanders Classics has also shortened the distances in Brabant-Pijl, Ghent-Wevelgem and Scheldeprijs.

"The newly proposed calendar will require a lot of organization on the part of the teams, as the races will be held in a row. Flanders Classic has decided, in consultation with the teams, to slightly shorten the race distances in order to provide teams and riders with ample opportunity to rest between races in October," Flanders Classic announced the details of the race routes.

On Friday, the UCI announced the final dates for the revised men's and women's WorldTour calendar, confirming further schedule changes and event cancellations due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

Il Lombardia will be held from October 31 to August 15, and Milan-San Remo on August 8. Three Grand Tours have been rescheduled: the Tour de France (August 29 to September 20), the Giro d'Italia (October 2 to 25), and the Vuelta a España (October 20 to November 8). The men's and women's World Tour calendars will start with the Strade Bianche in Tuscany on Saturday, August 1.

The cobbled classic races will be held in October, roughly coinciding with the Giro d'Italia, while the Tour de France and road race world championships will be held in September.

The Bink Bank Tour, which runs from September 29 to October 3, will be followed by the De Brabant Pile on Wednesday, October 7, the Flanders Gent-Wevelgem on Sunday, October 11, the Scheldeprijs on Wednesday, October 14, and the Tour of Flanders on Sunday, October 18.

The Ardennes Classics will also take place at the same time, with the Fleche Wallonne on Wednesday, September 30, Liege-Bastogne-Liege on Sunday, October 4, and the Amstel Gold Race on Saturday, October 10. The EuroEyes Cyclassics Hamburg will be held on October 3, and the Drydags Bourges des Pannes will be held on Wednesday, October 21. Paris-Roubaix will bring the curtain down on the French classics on Sunday, October 25.

The men's De Brabance will be shortened to 184 km and will include a 26 km climb. The men's Ghent-Wevelgem is 238 km and will start in Ypres, but a section in France will be cut and a third climb in Kemmelberg inserted to make up for the lost climb. The women's route will remain largely unchanged, with the Kemmelberg as the final climb, finishing in Wevelgem at 35 km.

The men's Scheldepri has been shortened to 183 km, but will visit the Zeeland region in the southern Netherlands. The route then returns to Schoten, where there will be three finishing circuits and a sprint finish.

The men's Tour of Flanders will again start in Antwerp in northern Belgium, while the women's race will start in Oudenaarde. The route change took place after the first climb of the Oude Kwaremont. To the anger of the mayor of Gerarlsbergen, Tembosse and Mühl van Gerarlsbergen were removed and replaced by Valkenberg.

After the second ascent of the Aude Quaremont, the men headed for the now-familiar 50 km circuit that began with the climb of the Koppenberg and continued with the Maria Bollestraatz, Steenbekdries and the Teienberg. After the Kruisberg/Hotonde in Lons, the route returns to Oude Kwaremont and the Paterberg.

The women compete in the same finale as the men, finishing in Oudenaarde, just 13 km from the top of the Paterberg.