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If it didn’t already feel like the Spring Classics were here, well, it certainly does now. The Tour of Flanders is less than a week away, and we’ve just seen one of the final dress rehearsals (and a huge race in its own right): Gent-Wevelgem.
You can find out what happened in the women’s and men’s races via those links there, but safe to say the heavy-hitters came out to play. You didn’t open this gallery to get a blow-by-blow, though – you came here to see great photos. So let’s get right to it, courtesy of Kristof Ramon, and Ashley & Jered Gruber.
First up, the men’s race, spanning 253.1 km from Ypres to Wevelgem with a bunch of cobbles and cobbled climbs along the way.
Team presentation in front of the Ypres Cloth Hall …… with riders facing a full-house before the action began.“MVDP, can I have your bike?”“Haha, yeah, nah.”The full name of the race: Gent-Wevelgem in Flanders Fields, a reminder of the region’s horrible history.#negativespaceAccording to the Visit Flanders website: “From 1914 to 1918, Flanders Fields was a major battle theatre on the Western Front during the First World War. A million soldiers from more than 50 different countries were wounded, missing or killed in action here.”The early breakaway.While the worst of the expected weather didn’t materialise, there was still some wind.Incredible framing here from the Grubers.“Catch!”After demolishing the field at the E3 Saxo Classic a few days earlier, all eyes were on Mathieu van der Poel.Van der Poel was aggressive with 85 km still to go.Van der Poel helped forced a decisive split late. Here he is with the increasingly impressive Laurence Pithie, plus Mads Pedersen. Pedersen’s Lidl-Trek teammate Jonathan Milan was also up front, leading the race for a time.Pithie was finally dropped on the final ascent of the Kemmelberg, around 34 km to go.What a season the 21-year-old Kiwi is having.Pedersen and Van der Poel go over the Kemmelberg …… and head towards the finish.Who would win the sprint between the former and reigning world champion?Perdersen. The Dane’s golden season continues. He now has seven wins for the year, the equal most of any rider, male or female (Jonas Vingegaard also has seven).Jordi Meeus completed the podium, winning the reduced bunch kick for third at 16 seconds behind the leading duo.
And now we turn our attention to the women’s race which, at 171.2 km, was among the longest one-day races we’ve seen in the Women’s WorldTour.
The women’s race, too, kicked off in Ypres.Recognise this shot? The wind was blowing here during the women’s race too.World champ Lotte Kopecky was aggressive at times but would ultimately ride in support of teammate Lorena Wiebes. Kopecky’s got her sights set on next Sunday’s Tour of Flanders.For the sake of my Wheel Talk fantasy team, I’m hoping Silvia Persico is still building into some good form.Lidl-Trek have had a very impressive season thus far …… in no small part thanks to Elisa Balsamo who came into Gent-Wevelgem with four wins for the year already, including the last two WorldTour one-days.Chloe Dygert began her road season with sixth at Brugge-De Panne on Thursday and was at Gent-Wevelgem as well.Some quality gurning here from Femke Markus.Wondering what that sign in the background says? “Honour your farmers, otherwise you will die of hunger.”Here’s Kopecky doing Kopecky things.Like Balsamo, Wiebes came in with four wins for the year. She was looking for her first victory at Gent-Wevelgem.Those aren’t rainbow stripes on the sleeves of Kim Le Court – they’re bands recognising her as a former national champion of Mauritius. The 28-year-old former MTBer has had a solid start to the year.After a bunch of attacks throughout …… the race came down to a sprint from a group of 38 riders. Kopecky led out Wiebes, and it was Wiebes and Balsamo that went head-to-head at the line.It was so close at the finish that neither rider knew who’d won.Balsamo would ultimately have to settle for second …… with Wiebes taking the top step in a very close finish. Chiara Consonni completed the podium.
