The new cycling season is picking up momentum and some of the sport’s biggest names already are making headlines Tadej Pogacar earned a win at the Strade Bianche 2025 Matteo Jorgenson was victorious at Paris-Nice and two-time Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard suffered a noteworthy crash the cycling world will turn its attention to the Gent-Wevelgem one of the prestigious events on the Flanders Classics schedule.  The Gent-Wevelgem – Men will be contested for the 77th time and feature a trek of 250.3 kilometers for 25 teams of seven riders The men’s race will get underway at 5:40 a.m Eastern and is expected to end at approximately 10:15 a.m the Gent-Wevelgem – Men will start under the Menin Gate in Ypres a war memorial dedicated to soldiers who were killed in Flanders Fields during World War I The first men’s Gent-Wevelgem was contested in 1934 Six riders in history have won the men’s race three times each: sprinter Biniam Girmay became the first African to win the event The reigning champion in the men’s Gent-Wevelgem is Denmark’s Mads Pedersen.  To see the complete routes and entry lists, click here The men will race first at the Gent-Wevelgem 2025 The men’s race will begin at approximately 5:40 a.m The Gent-Wevelgem – Men 2025 is streaming on FloBikes and the FloSports app for viewers in the United States, U.S. territories and Canada.  replays and breaking news will be available on both platforms.  FloBikes is the streaming home to some of the best cycling from across the globe. Check out the broadcast schedule to watch more of your favorites in action. Video footage from each event will be archived and stored in a video library for FloBikes subscribers to watch for the duration of their subscriptions Get the most important Cycling stories delivered straight to your inbox Pedersen during his solo attack on the Kemmelberg Victor Campenaerts attacked throughout the cobbled sectors Pedersen and Arjen Livyns attacking from a breakaway group Merlier wins sprint for second as Pedersen launches solo attack from outside 70km to go to take a hattrick of career wins at the Belgian race Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) claimed his third career victory in Gent-Wevelgem with a stunning display of power and tenacity attacking 72 kilometres from the finish to bridge across to the day's early breakaway then pushing all of his chips in with a solo attack on the Kemmelberg with 56km to go previously shattered in the crosswinds of De Moeren could hardly make a dent in the Dane's 90-second advantage in the last hour of racing thanks to a tailwind and the work of the rest of Lidl-Trek Lidl-Trek led out Jonathan Milan in the bunch sprint for the final podium spots but Tim Merlier (Soudal-Quickstep) outpaced the Italian who hit out a bit too early I never expected to be able to do something like this," Pedersen said "It was in favour of being alone with the full tailwind in the last 20k Pedersen, who finished second behind Tour of Flanders rival Mathieu van der Poel in the E3 Saxo Classic two days previously equalled the record of Gent-Wevelgem victories of Tom Boonen and Eddy Merckx He played down what his win one week before De Ronde means with Van der Poel and Tadej Pogačar absent from today's race those two guys are still on a different level," Pedersen said And we also know Tadej is a pretty good bike rider Of course this gives some confidence for Sunday who crashed during the Classic Brugge-De Panne and had to get stitches in his knee revealed that he was opposed to starting Gent-Wevelgem today but his sports director Iljo Keisse put him on the start line 'I don't want to start today because I never can be ready' But he left me on the list and brought me over here Merlier had to fight against Milan in a full-out sprint for almost 300 metres ultimately pulling ahead just before the line Milan admitted he hit out too early in the sprint "I finished the third but I'm still happy for this podium." Clear skies and a stiff breeze greeted the peloton in Ypres for the start of the 87th edition of Gent-Wevelgem with 250.3 kilometres of cobbles Jules Hester (Flanders-Baloise) kicked off the hostilities but a counterattack from Sam Maisonobe (Cofidis) Marco Haller (Tudor) and Emīls Liepiņš (Q36.5) went clear Another attack from Victor Vercouillie (Flanders-Baloise) Samuel Leroux and Alexys Brunel (TotalEnergies) Rui Oliveira (UAE Team Emirates XRG) emerged from the peloton and joined the first breakaway with 228km to go The leaders gained nearly four minutes before their advantage began to come down after 80 kilometres of racing Crosswinds hit the peloton after 100 kilometres of racing, with Lidl-Trek driving the pace to leave sprinters like Arnaud De Lie (Lotto), Tim Merlier (Soudal-Quickstep) and Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) behind but Merlier sent his team to the front to close the gap The action brought the escapees within one minute before the first two echelons merged with 103km to go Victor Campenaerts (Visma-Lease a Bike) attacked with Johan Jacobs (Groupama-FDJ) soon after but the Swiss rider couldn't hold the wheel of the former Hour Record holder on the Baneberg and dropped back to the peloton Campenaerts made it to the leaders before the Monteberg with 94km to go Vercouillie and Leroux lost touch while behind a probing attack from Pedersen pulled away a small group but it was closed down quickly Pedersen attacked again on the section of three plugstreets with 72km to go and was joined by Arjen Livyns (Lotto) to bridge across to the breakaway Philipsen suffered a puncture at the worst possible moment and had to fight his way back to the peloton Pedersen made his way to the remnants of the early breakaway with 63km to go Olav Kooij (Visma-Lease a Bike) crashed out of the race The breakaway had a minute on the chasing peloton with 60km to go Brunel tried to make a move on the Monteberg Maisonobe was swinging at the back when the group hit the Kemmelberg 1.8km later Campenaerts lead at pace into the Kemmelberg dropping Brunel along with Walker and Maisonobe but Pedersen came over the top and blasted away solo Hallery and Livyns left in the chase group The trio couldn't hold off the charging peloton and a surge came from Mikkel Bjerg (UAE Team Emirates XRG) and Philipsen It was marked by Jasper Stuyven (Lidl-Trek) but the acceleration was enough to reel the three chasers in Pedersen kept a lead of 1:25 with 15km to go despite Alpecin-Deceuninck Uno-X Mobility and Soudal-Quickstep collaborating to try to close him down Results powered by FirstCycling she coordinates coverage for North American events and global news As former elite-level road racer who dabbled in cyclo-cross and track Laura has a passion for all three disciplines When not working she likes to go camping and explore lesser traveled roads UCI governance and performing data analysis you will then be prompted to enter your display name Wiebes won her second in the Belgian cycling spring classic The former world champion won the race by nearly a minute riding solo for 56km after launching his second attack of the day on the Kemmelberg Pedersen shared the podium with team-mate Jonathan Milan and Tim Merlier of Soudal Quick-Step Dutch rider Lorena Wiebes of Team SD Worx-Protime claimed a 100th career victory to defend her title in a sprint finish 🥇","event":null,"destination_url":"","entry_point_tag":"base","entry_point_type":"instory_campaign"}" data-tracking="click" href="https://www.olympics.com/en/sign-in?entry_point_type=instory_campaign&entry_point_tag=base&template=base&origin=https%3A%2F%2Folympics.com%2Fen%2Folympic-channel" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Olympic Membership - Free Live Stream Sports & Original Series - join now Become a member here We use cookies to improve your browsing experience All you need to know about the West Flandrian cobbled Classic Bridging the gap between Milan-Sanremo and the Tour of Flanders Gent-Wevelgem is almost like a combination of the Italian and Belgian Monuments; the Classic on Sunday March 30 provides an opportunity for a sprinter to triumph but it can also reward the grit and endeavour of an attacker Gent-Wevelgem is a challenging race to call given the many different scenarios that can play out on the exposed roads and cobbled bergs of West Flanders Gent-Wevelgem — like many Belgian Classics — has been dominated by the home nation; it was not until 1954 that a non-Belgian won the race the top spot on the podium has had a much more international feel when Binian Girmay claimed Africa’s first ever cobbled Classic victory Last year, Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) overpowered Mathieu van der Poel in a two-man sprint but this year, he won’t have to face the Dutchman or Tadej Pogačar, as they are both focusing their efforts on Flanders and Paris-Roubaix Pogačar and Wout van Aert all skipping the race on Sunday Gent-Wevelgem does not actually start in Gent but rather in the town of Ypres from which the peloton heads north-west towards the coast where the threat of crosswinds will be on the minds of all riders; the action can kick off on the exposed roads even before a single climb or cobblestone has been tackled the route turns back inland towards the southeast and towards the cobbles it is not until after 148km that the real challenges come — the Baneberg (1km at 7.6%) the Monteberg (1km at 4.9%) and the cobbled Kemmelberg (400m at 9.5%) all coming in quick succession The riders have to tackle these climbs all over again in the next 50km before the final Kemmelberg but it averages 8.5% and peaks at over 20% the peloton faces a mostly flat final 30km with some undulations on the way to the finish line in Wevelgem Apart from a DNF and 33rd place finish in his first two participations at the race Pedersen has had a number of standout performances at Gent-Wevelgem including two top 10s in addition to his wins Pedersen — as proven by his two previous victories — has the perfect attributes to win Gent-Wevelgem To have the best chance of joining the club of three-time winners at Gent-Wevelgem he will need to hope he arrives in a group without the purest of sprinters Despite a crash last Wednesday in the last kilometre at Nokere Koerse and a subsequent difficult ride at Milan-Sanremo, Alpecin-Deceuninck’s Jasper Philipsen will start as a key contender in Ypres on Sunday, thanks to his Classics and Tour de France pedigree In the last two years Philipsen has come second to his teammate Van der Poel at Paris-Roubaix proving he is not only one of the top-end sprinters but also one of the most durable an attribute he may need to rely on as he takes on the rest of the very best sprinters Jasper Philipsen at the 2024 Dwars Door Vlaanderen (Photo: Andrew Smith/SWpix) The first of Philipsen’s main rivals is former teammate Tim Merlier (Soudal–Quick-Step), who has already won six times this year, most recently at Paris-Nice where he took the opening two stages Merlier’s top-end speed and power is considered one of the best in the peloton With 30km to catch any attackers from the Kemmelberg to the finish Merlier will fancy his chances of adding Gent-Wevelgem to his palmarès the European champion came down in crash towards the end of Wednesday's Brugge-De Panne so it is not clear what condition he will be in on the start line in Ypres Tim Merlier at the 2024 Giro d'Italia (Photo: Zac Williams/SWpix) racking up six victories in 2025 — the same number as Merlier he will have to survive the potential crosswinds bergs and attacks in order to unleash a sprint for the win One aspect which may count against him is that his teammate Pedersen may be in a move up the road meaning Lidl-Trek will not chase after him if things do come together in the finish on Wevelgem we can expect a mouthwatering encounter between Milan and other sprinters like Merlier and Philipsen A race with a number of potential outcomes gives a number of different riders a chance at victory. Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) made history as the first Eritrean to win a stage of the Tour in 2024 but it was in 2022 when he really burst into the spotlight by winning Gent-Wevelgem in doing so becoming the first African winner of a cobbled Classic He will be looking to return to the top step of the podium on Sunday Biniam Girmay at the 2022 Gent-Wevelgem (Photo: Zac Williams/SWpix) Michael Matthews’ tortured romance at Milan-Sanremo continued on the weekend with yet another top 10 placing at the race the fourth-place finish for the Team Jayco Alula rider Kooij (Team Visma-Lease a Bike) is in with a shout proving himself to be a sprinter who can handle hard days on the saddle After his canny winning move with 400m to go in Brugge-De Panne Juan Sebastián Molano (UAE Team Emirates XRG) will be looking to add another Classic to his palmarès in the space of a week Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe pair Laurence Pithie and Jordi Meeus the latter of whom won the sprint for third place last year with Pithie attacking and Meeus waiting for a sprint Another man who could be up there in a sprint if a group comes to the line is Arnaud De Lie (Lotto) but like Merlier he went down in a crash on Wednesday's Brugge-De Panne and so it is not clear how he will fare After impressive top 10s at Milan-Sanremo Matteo Trentin (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) and Fred Wright (Bahrain-Victorious) will be looking to back up their results on the Ligurian coast in the Flandrian fields Fred Wright at the Tour of Flanders 2024 (Photo: Francesco Rachello / Tornanti.cc) We think Jasper Philipsen will survive the climbs to take Gent-Wevelgem victory from a bunch sprint finish Rouleur takes a look at the contenders to win the Maglia Rosa in Italy this month Alexander Vinokourov's team are making the impossible rather quite possible All the essential information about the first Grand Tour of the year While the former Olympic and World champion is relishing new ventures in retirement she is keen to ensure more support is in place for those.. From SD Worx-Protime's continued success to Canyon-SRAM's disappointment Rouleur takes a look at how each squad performed at the Spring Classics Enjoy a digital subscription to Rouleur for just £4 per month and get access to our award-winning magazines Join today for exclusive content from independent journalists This site is protected by hCaptcha and the hCaptcha Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Pedersen, who finished second at E3 Saxo Classic on Friday, took the race into his own hands early, initially attacking 72 kilometers out to bridge across to the day’s early breakaway before making a stunning solo attack on the penultimate ascent of the Kemmelberg with 56km to go. The peloton, which had previously been shattered in the crosswinds of De Moeren, struggled to put a dent in Pedersen’s more than 90-second advantage in the last hour of racing. It was a big ask to keep going all the way to the finish line but, Pedersen proved just how good his shape is this Classics season with the 29-year-old former world champion putting on powerful display of strength and determination that was ultimately enough to hold off any attempts at closing the gap and secure him his 50th pro win. A post shared by TNT Sports Cycling (@tntsportscycling) I never thought I would be able to do something like this I have no idea what I was thinking [attacking with over 60km to go] but it was in favor of being alone with the full tailwind the last 20km I had really good legs so I tried to open the race and then it went well so luckily it was a good decision I haven’t felt better than now and both Friday and today confirms that so I’m super happy I knew from previous years that the bunch is coming back really fast in the end and today even with 1km to go I still kept fighting with myself I was told this morning that if I won today I would be joint record holder here so that’s nice to be there now and winning is just nice so I’m happy whether if it’s the first or the third time This is a race that suits us well and suits Jonny really well too so it shows that we’re there with good cards to play and a lot of numbers it was my time to do what he did last year and luckily I was able to make it all the way to the finish line and if I couldn’t make it to the finish line then at least I would have put pressure on the other teams and Jonny would still of been there for the sprint so all in all for the team I had a tough time on the Kemmelberg the last time up and I definitely started to feel the legs If it was a block headwind then I don’t think it would have been possible to do this It’s the longest time I’ve been alone solo apart from training so it was nice and a special feeling and now I know how Mathieu and Tadej feel it’s a different race than this and those two guys [Pogacar and van der Poel] are on a different level He’s able to do it when it’s a block headwind in the last 40kms and I needed some tailwind so there’s the difference but I’m just happy that I could finish it off and win a Classic We also know Tadej is a pretty good bike rider so he’s able to do the same this gives me confidence for Sunday and we believe we can win but it’s not going to be easy at all Pedersen’s Lidl-Trek teammates continued to monitor the situation at the front of the bunch before Jonathan Milan sprinted to third place to round out the day’s podium We started with the goal of having a nice day and it was good to start with many cards to play I am really happy that Mads won and I tried to do my best in the sprint behind him but I went a bit too early I think with around 300 meters to go It was always pretty tough racing with a lot of splits and echelons in the wind but for me it was good to be able to always stay with the guys We will have super strong teams for the upcoming races too and so I think we can all look forward to what is to come Elisa Balsamo makes it a Lidl-Trek 1-2-3 at Gent-Wevelgem today as she takes second in the bunch sprint at the end of the women's race Instagram or YouTube Shorts – and use #whatsyourtour to show us what the Tour de France means to you… explore the countryside or just cruise down the road in a zen-like state Follow the Tour with general updates and become the best version of Peter Sagan you can be How to successfully explain that you need a new bike Factual reports on all the latest health trends and nutritional methods We’ll help you get the most out of your training sessions Veer off the main road and explore nature first-hand Learn to navigate the jungle that is city cycling For a sense of adventure that knows no bounds Guide your relatives toward the one thing that actually matters WeLoveCycling.com is an online magazine that brings you original stories fresh videos and special reports from the wide world of cycling Lidl-Trek’s Mads Pedersen on Sunday stole a page from Mathieu van der Poel who beat him only two days earlier in the E3 Saxo Classic by going on a 56km solo breakaway to win Gent-Wevelgem for the third time in his career Pedersen raced to catch up with a nine-rider breakaway consisting of Victor Campenaerts (Visma–Lease a Bike) and Pedersen drove the pace until the riders hit the iconic Kemmelberg (0.5km @ 10.4% with slopes of up to 21%) the 29-year-old Dane made his decisive break he had a lead of 28 seconds over the three pursuers and 1:03 over the peloton where teams and riders seemed unsure about how to react which included the superior sprinter Jonathan Milan and Jasper Stuyven and they did their best to disrupt the chase Příspěvek sdílený Teamleader CRM Classics Tour (@teamleadercrmclassicstour) but the peloton now trailed Pedersen by 1:40 The gap reached 2:00 with about 25km left to ride then dropped to 1:36 at 19km and shrunk by only 16 seconds with 12km left to race The race was as good as over as Pedersen was pushed toward the line by a strong tailwind The peloton finally reduced its gap to Pedersen to 0:49 The victory was the 50th of Pedersen’s career and put him in elite company with riders who had won the race three times: Robert Van Eenaeme, Rik Van Looy, Eddy Merckx, Mario Cipollini “I was told this morning that if I won today that’s nice to be there now,” Pedersen said after the race and I’m happy.” Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) won the bunch sprint for second place over Milan “It’s crazy,” Pedersen said on TNT Sports “I never expected to be able to do something like this I knew the tailwind would favor being alone in the last 20km Pedersen went on to say that he was able to ride the E3 Saxo against Van der Poel and this race on only one day’s rest because he is in the form of his life “I haven’t been in better shape than now,” he said could only regret his bad luck and the peloton’s lack of resolve “It is a pity that Quick-Step did not add an extra man [to the chase] because I saw that they did a lead-out with three men,” Philipsen told Sporza after Merlier won the sprint for second “I got a flat tire at an unfortunate moment but if you see how far out Pedersen went… Really That he did it all by himself is a crazy achievement.” It's going to be so great to have you with us We just need your email address to keep in touch WeLoveCycling.com is an online magazine that brings you original stories how to watch Belgian cycling spring classics liveOne of the most prestigious spring classics returns on Sunday with the 77th edition of the men's race leading up to the Tour of Flanders on 6 April starting in Ypres and finishing in Wevelgem Find everything you need to know about the 2025 Gent-Wevelgem and Gent-Wevelgem Women below, including teams, key competitors, and how to watch live. At 250.3 km, this year's men's route will be 2.8 km shorter than in 2024. The course rolls through the Flanders Fields, paying homage to the victims of World War I. After an opening section highlighted by the famous Moeren, it will feature the following climbs: The women's route covers 169.1 km across two large loops and, like the men's, will feature the Kemmelberg twice—from two different sides: the slightly easier Belvedere and the steeper Ossuaire. Here’s the list of climbs featured. Over the years, the race has been traditionally affected by rain and wind conditions, and recent modifications have made the race more closely resemble the Tour of Flanders. The iconic Kemmelberg ascent could be the decisive section of the race again, with the victory often decided by bunch sprints or small breakaways. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Gent-Wevelgem (@gentwevelgemofficial) All times Central European Summer Time / CEST (GMT+2) Clocks in Europe switch forward to CEST the night before the race) The 2025 Gent-Wevelgem and Gent-Wewelgem Women will be shown live around the world The races will be broadcast on ORF (Austria) The men's peloton tackles 250.3km from Ypres to Wevelgem Hello and welcome to the 2025 Gent-Wevelgem Just two days after Friday's battle at E3 Saxo Classic it’s time for another major cobbled classic - Gent Wevelgem Mathieu van der Poel won two days ago with yet another unstoppable long-range attack the kind of which has become so familiar in recent years but in his absence there will be a different winner today Last spring, this was the one spring cobbled Van der Poel competed in that he did not win, as Mads Pedersen pipped him to the line in Wevelgem The Dane returns to defend his title this year and is the favourite for the win leading a strong Lidl-Trek line-up that also features Jonathan Milan and Jasper Stuyven While races like E3 Saxo Classic have felt a little formulaic recently the strongest rider simply riding away from everyone early on to take the win Gent-Wevelgem remains thrillingly unpredictable Its balance of tough climbs early on and a long flat finishing straight plus the destabilising effect the weather can have here keeps multiple riders in contention for the win and it’s one of the hardest races of the spring to call - and therefore often one of the most exciting Talking of the weather - here’s what things looked like at the start in Ypres earlier this morning The riders have rolled through the unofficial start and will be racing properly soon The attacks start straight away with Jules Hesters of Team Flanders-Baloise having a go More attacks have been made but nothing's stuck yet Jasha Sütterlin (Jayco-AlUla) Marco Haller (Tudor Pro Cycling) and William Blume Levy (Uno-X Mobility) Four more riders are in pursuit of them: Max Walker That chasing four have been joined by a fifth rider - Rui Oliveira of UAE Team Emirates-XRG Both groups have some daylight between themselves and the peloton though - Ludovic Robert of Cofidis has jumped out of the peloton to try and join them The five chasers are only about 10 seconds away from the four leaders They should join them to form a big lead group soon It appears these riders should be able to stay out The five chasers have indeed joined the four riders It’s interesting to see UAE Team Emirates represented in the break with UAE Team Emirates They’re one of the few top teams whose strength today lies in their attackers rather than sprinters so may want a hard race - as evidenced by getting Oliveira into the break Juan Sebastián Molano did win Classic Brugge-De Panne on Wednesday A correction - it’s not William Blume Levy (Uno-X Mobility) who is in the break but Emīls Liepiņš (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) Lidl-Trek is the team pulling at the front of the peloton They’re embracing their status as race favourites - a rarity for them in the classics Visma-Lease a Bike and Alpecin-Deceuninck have left behind their respective star men Tadej Pogačar Lidl-Trek have brought all of their leaders.  Not only is defending champion Mads Pedersen here they also have Jonathan Milan for a sprint and Jasper Stuyven either as a wildcard or super-domestique Even the rest of their domestique line-up features the very strong Matthias Vacek and Toms Skujiņš While other teams are resting up for the Tour of Flanders The gap between the peloton and the nine riders has grown some more A first look at the nine riders up the road While Pedersen is the bookies’ favourite that status might have gone to Jasper Philipsen were it not for his involvement in a couple of crashes recently The Belgian started the classics season on fire winning Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne having the day before been one of the best on the Muur to finish third at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad but was underpar at Milan-SanRemo after hurting himself in a crash a few days before at Nokere Koerse.  We still don’t know how well he has recovered from that crash as he was prevented from sprinting at the end of Classic Brugge-De Panne after getting held up in one of the several late crashes that marred the finish of that race this is a race that’s perfect for him and the gap remains about the same as it has for a while at 3-20 There's no adverse weather to complicate matters the world’s other fastest sprinter is also here - Tim Merlier The Belgian has already won 6 times this year and has proved himself capable of dealing with this race’s climbs with a couple of top ten finishes here in the past.  But is he fully fit after hitting the deck at the end of Wednesday’s Classic Brugge-De Panne And will the effort of getting over the climbs take too much out of his finishing sprint One sprinter who might fancy his chances of winning even if up against Philipsen While he hasn’t gotten the better of them to take a win in a sprint against them this year where he survived the Poggio and Cipressa while Philipsen and Milan were dropped Such climbing superiority could give him the edge today in the event that a more select group makes it to the finish to contest for the win before we reach the cobblestones and climbs that will liven things up later Elsewhere in Europe it’s the final stage of the Volta a Catalunya, which is turning out to be a thrillingly close battle for the overall victory. You can follow along here. Although most of the favourites for the win today are sprinters Gent-Wevelgem hasn’t actually been decided by a sprint from a group larger than seven riders since 2019 So should we perhaps be looking at attackers to win the race The Belgian has been one of the strongest riders this spring campaign and making the select group behind Van der Poel He’ll also enjoy leadership status at UAE Team Emirates today There are a couple of abandonments to report - Sven Erik Bystrøm (Groupama-FDJ) and Thomas Gachignard (Total Energies) Philipsen's teammate Gianni Vermeersch has also had a flat Thankfully for him it's much too early and too calm for it to matter Things might start to wake up now as the race enters the posed De Moeren road to bring the gap to the leaders down to 3-30 with significant gaps growing between them The front peloton only has about 30 riders in it Now four riders have gone clear from the rest of that front peloton - including Mads Pedersen Pedersen is also with Huge Page (Intermarché-Wanty) Stefan Bissegger (Decatlon- AG2R La Mondiale) and Clément Russo (Groupama-FDJ) The break's lead is tumbling amid all this action Time for the first cobbled sector of the race: Beauvoordestraat Pedersen and the other three have been brought back Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe are well represented in the front peloton It seems Philipsen and Merlier are among the riders not to have made this front peloton Emilien Jeannière (TotalEnergies) has gone down in a crash the nine riders from the day's break still leads the race - albeit by a much-reduced margin of 1-40 There are about 20 seconds between the front peloton and the second peloton containing Philipsen and Merlier with the front peloton trailed by several groups Philipsen and Merlier are in the first chase group behind the peloton while Arnaud De Lie and Søren Wærenskjold are further adrift in another group The Philipsen and Merlier group have just rejoined the front peloton Philipsen's teammate Gianni Vermeersch isn't with them though - he's had a mechanical The group containing Søren Wærenskjold and Arnaud De Lie are still 1-15 behind the peloton Visma-Lease a Bike are pressing on at the front of the peloton The peloton is strained and might be about to break up again All this is seeing the gap to the leaders tumble down yet more Two separate groups have been distanced by the front peloton It seems most of the top favourites are in this front peloton - Pedersen Tim Merlier is missing though - he's in one of the trailing groups Philipsen and Merlier are about 12 seconds adrift from the group of favourites Nils Politt and Yves Lampaert are also in the Philipsen/Merlier group The race is about to get hard in a whole different way now The break has just started the Scherpenberg Panic over for Merlier and Philipsen - they're group has rejoined the front peloton Attack from Johan Jacobs out of the peloton Arnaud De Lie has given up the ghost and abandoned the race.  The peloton is now just 32 seconds behind the leaders with Camapanaerts and Jacobs somewhere in between It's all calmed down again in the peloton The 50 or so riders left in have all bunched together.  Here was Lidl-Trek and Visma-Lease a Bike piling the pressure on earlier.  There's been a crash in the peloton going around a corner Juan Sebastián Molano and Matteo Trentin are among the fallers.  but has just joined the peloton along with Trentin Campanaerts and Jacobs have built a decent lead They're climbing the seconds ascent of the day Campanaerts has dropped Jacobs on the climb He had been struggling to keep the Belgian's wheel Things have definitely calmed down in the peloton They've allowed the break's lead to grow back up to 1-30 Here's the echelon action earlier - always a beautiful sight for racing lovers The gap between the 10 leaders and the peloton is 1-30 as riders dropped earlier take advantage of the slowing pace to rejoin it but no team in the peloton is taking it on for now Time for Gent-Wevelgem's most famous climb - the Kemmelberg The break has just started climbing its steep cobbled gradients the first of three times they will tackle it today.  with Red Bull's Pithie on his wheel.  They ane nine other riders have a small gap but it looks like it'll come back together on the descent About 10 riders have managed to get a gap ahead of the other pelotons - Girmay Benoot and Skujiņš are present These aren't the riders who went over the Kemmelberg first but a different group that slipped clear after its descent.   Vercouillie from the day's break is about to be caught by this group having been dropped by the rest of the break on the Kemmelberg The group containing Girmay that slipped clear has just got a lot bigger The riders are approaching the Plugstreets dirt road sections homage is paid to the many soldiers who so tragically and needlessly lost their lives during World War One There appears to be around 40 or 50 riders in the peloton as they ride the first gravel road sector The break is splitting on this sector.  It's going to take a long time for his team car to get to him on this section Kooij has also had a mechanical - he's sat on the roadside waiting.  Kooij has crashed rather than had a mechanical That leaves just one rider with Pedersen - Jenno Berckmoes (Lotto) That pair are 42 seconds behind the leaders and abbout 5 or so seconds ahead of the peloton as they take on the second Plugstreet Correction - it's not Jenno Berckmoes who's with Pedersen That pair are now 15 seconds ahead of the peloton being led by Visma-Lease a Bike as they enter the third and final Plugstreet They're over 30 seconds behind Pedersen and Livyns who have caught some of those dropped from the break Philipsen is still not in the peloton - he's just managed to change bikes He's not far behind though and looks set to rejoin Here's Mads Pedersen leading the peloton over the Kemmelberg Even before his Plugstreet attack he was at the front and looking on fire.  Livyns and the dropped riders have joined the front group Olav Kooij has abandoned the race following his crash There's one minute between the leading nine and the peloton which means Pedersen will likely want to commit to it - but will he receive any help from the others There are still five more climbs to be taken on starting with the Monteberg Alpecin-Deceuninck are leading the peloton and it's not Pedersen but Brunel who is leading them That climb has reduced the lead group to 6 riders - Pedersen Meanwhile Ineos lead the peloton on the climb Jorgenson reaches the top with one other rider and a gap of only a few seconds over the following riders Emīls Liepiņš is the rider with Jorgenson Pedersen does not want to wait for the others He's built a lead of 15 seconds Pedersen has looked sensational all spring but winning from this position and holding off the peloton riding solo for the remaining 50 kilometres is a huge ask even for him Alpecin are the team leading the front peloton Pedersen is 20 seconds ahead of the three chasers and exactly one minute ahead of the front peloton Walker and Maisonobe are about to be caught by the peloton There appears to be about 60 riders present in it Pedersen’s teammates Milan and Stuyven are still in the peloton and give licence for Pedersen to go all in on this move in the knowledge that they can take over should he be caught Alpecin aren't getting any help from the other teams Lidl-Trek have placed their man Kirsch on 2nd wheel In fact there are 4 Lidl riders all swarmed behind the Alpecin rider They're letting their superior numbers be known Dries De Bondt has attacked out of the peloton Pedersen starts the day's penultimate climb Pedersen crests the climb with his lead extended up to 50 seconds on the chasing trio and 1-37 on the peloton Michael Matthews is being dropped out of the peloton on the Baneberg Madouas and Jorgenson were unable to go clear with their attacks Pedersen is about to begin the Kemmelberg for the final time This is a crucial time in the race - how big will his lead be over the top And can a select group go clear of the peloton Pedersen is still looking good as he battles up the cobbles his lead at 1-27 over the chasers and 2-02 over the peloton Bjerg leads the peloton on the steep section of the climb It should be a large group that forms after the descent There are still some small gaps in the peloton but it looks like they're about to form into a group of about 50 There’s a notable lack of cohesion in the peloton but is marked by Philipsen and a Lidl rider This is why Lidl's strength in numbers is so important - they can destabilise any attempt to chase their man Pedersen Livyns and Haller have been caught by the peloton It’d be understandable if Pedersen was tiring - not only has he put in a huge effort with his long-range move today he also went deep just two days ago to place third at E3 Saxo Classic Pedersen's retaining his lead though - it remains at 1-30 Alpecin are receiving help in the peloton now We can assume that Madis Mihkels has made it into this peloton as their other sprint option Albanese abandoned earlier.  he first went clear from the rest of the peloton on the Plugstreets, about 70km from the finish.  this will be his third career Gent-Wevelgem title - bringing him level with Tom Boonen Rik Van Looy and Robert Van Eenaeme on the all-time list His lead as he enters the final 10km is 1-25 This was the moment Pedersen went clear on the Plugstreet He did initially have Philipsen and Kooij with him before the former punctured and the latter crashed It might have been a very different race had they not suffered those misfortunes Uno-X and Soudal-QuickStep have taken the initiative over Alpecin-Deceuninck in the chase but their work isn't enough to close the gap Jorgenson moves to the front of the peloton One rider notably missing from the top ten is Jasper Philipsen His Alpecin team stopped working towards the end of the chase Perhaps he realised that he would not have the legs in the sprint Some more records: Pedersen becomes the first man since Tom Boonen in 2012 to defend his Gent-Wevelgem title He's also the first solo winner of the men's Gent-Wevelgem since Luca Paolini in 2015 you have to go all the way back to 1978 for the last time a rider won Gent-Wevelgem with a winning margin larger than Pedersen's of 49 seconds today It’s not just the size of the margin that’s so impressive He made his first attack a whole 72km from the finish then spent no less than 56km out front all on his own after attacking the penultimate time on the Kemmelberg That’s unheard of in recent years at Gent-Wevelgem It’s also the 50th win of Pedersen’s career - and arguably his best It’s not as prestigious as his Worlds title from 2019 Credit must also go to Merlier and Milan in 2nd and 3rd respectively Those are career-best results at this race for both and proof that they can survive the cobbled climbs as well as sprint fast The action is still going on in the women’s Gent-Wevelgem, which you can follow here Thanks for joining us today for what was a sensational win from Mads Pedersen We'll be back on Wednesday for Dwars door Vlaanderen before the big one on Sunday - the Tour of Flanders SRAM RED XPLR has been Lidl-Trek's secret weapon during the rough-and-tumble classics All the essential information as the Women’s WorldTour heads back to Belgium for the cobbled Classics The latter two are on the startline again and having finished first and second last year they will start as the main favourites on Sunday Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) came out on top in the 11th edition outsprinting Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) and Chiara Consonni (then UAE Team ADQ) they will become the only multiple winner in the women’s Gent-Wevelgem history Gent-Wevelgem gives the sprinters a chance to taste glory on the cobbles of Flanders; of the race’s 11 editions six have culminated in a large bunch sprint with another two editions concluded by a small group of riders sprinting it out for victory as Marlen Reusser (Movistar Team) proved in 2023 she went solo with 40km to go and crossed the finish line with 2:42 to spare and makes its way north towards the coast before turning back to the Flandrian climbs and on to the finish line in Wevelgem especially as the peloton has to tackle a number of 90-degree turns which if navigated well could allow a team to blow the race apart Unlike Flanders and Paris-Roubaix the riders don’t have to contend with cobble sectors or bergs in the last 35km meaning the sprinters’ teams have plenty of opportunity to catch a breakaway in the run to the line that isn’t to say Gent-Wevelgem is a walk in the park — the riders face the Scherpenberg (1.2km at 2.6%) the Baneberg (1km at 7.6%) the Monteberg (1km at 4.9%) and the cobbled Kemmelberg (400m at 9.5%) all coming in the space of 8km after 103km of racing The riders then have to tackle the Scherpenberg-Baneberg double header again before the mighty Kemmelberg which is 700m long at 10% and is crested with 35km to go Off the back of her wins at Brugge-De Panne and Milan-Sanremo, Lorena Wiebes will be brimming with confidence that she can retain her title from last year. Since she emerged as the best sprinter in the peloton a couple of years ago, she has rarely been beaten and is closing in on 100 career victories Wiebes proved her climbing is at a level where she can withstand the punches from some of the best ascenders in the peloton and Puck Pieterse on the startline in Ypres Wiebes will be confident she can hold onto the wheel of anyone who decides to take the race on on the bergs of West Flanders — if she can do so it would take something special for a rider to beat her in the sprint in Wevelgem The sprinter most likely to upset Wiebes’ title defence is the aforementioned former Gent-Wevelgem champion who has three wins to her name already this year Earlier in the month she took her third win at Trofeo Alfredo Binda demonstrating her sprint at the end of a hard day is as impressive as ever the Italian’s fast finish is not as strong as the Dutchwoman's — she was beaten by Wiebes on Thursday's Brugge-De Panne so Balsamo may not be content coming into the finish with Wiebes although getting rid of the SD Worx rider will prove challenging for her the 2021 road world champion has had a good start to her season and will be looking to upset the odds on Sunday by taking her second win at the finish in Wevelgem Gent-Wevelgem is a race that has eluded Wiebes’ teammate so far in her career — a rare gap in her burgeoning palmarès which includes pretty much every other cobbled Classic on the calendar Kopecky is the archetypal Classics rider and there doesn’t appear to be a terrain on which she doesn’t thrive Viewers can expect her to launch an attack which will allow Wiebes to sit on and be towed to the finish; if the chase is not concerted enough Kopecky could disappear up the road to victory using their strength in numbers to their advantage and their dominance may land Kopecky yet another big win Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ) is another rider who has not won Gent-Wevelgem Longo Borghini is going to have to race more creatively in order to steal the title from the other contenders This may involve her trying to replicate a similar move to that of Reusser’s 40km attack in 2023 but Longo Borghini would probably prefer to have a few fellow attackers come with her to help hold off a charging peloton she would be able to outsprint most other breakaway riders on the home straight Eighteen-year-old Brit Cat Ferguson (Movistar Team) is the second youngest rider in the race but what she lacks in experience as shown by her first two races at WorldTour level particularly when she finished on the podium at Trofeo Alfredo Binda behind Balsamo and Blanka Vas in doing so producing a rare feat — beating Wiebes in a sprint The SD Worx-Protime squad line up in Ypres in the luxurious position of having the best sprinter It’s therefore hard to see beyond the Dutch super-team Lorena Wiebes has the best opportunity to come away with victory She is likely to make it to the finishing sprint and as she has proven in the 99 career wins so far she knows how to convert a race-winning opportunity This site is protected by hCaptcha and the hCaptcha Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply All the broadcast information for one of the biggest cobbled Classics on March 30 Watch Gent-Wevelgem on Sunday March 30 for one of the biggest cobbled Classics of the Spring with all the details here on live streams and TV broadcasts ► Category: UCI WorldTour / Women's WorldTour ► Free stream: Sporza (Belgium) Taking place two days after the E3 Saxo Classic and a week ahead of the Tour of Flanders Gent-Wevelgem takes us over to west Flanders for a race that very much has its own flavour Starting in Ypres, the key elements of the route are the early wind-swept passage up near the North Sea coast, the gravel 'plugstreets', and of most of all the Kemmelberg the vicious cobbled climb tackled three times The final ascent precedes a 30km run-in to the finish in Wevelgem making this a finely-poised race between sprinters and attackers the latter getting the better of it in recent years.  headlining start lists that includes the best Classics riders and a fair few sprinters so read on for all the details on how to watch Gent-Wevelgem online The 2025 edition of Gent-Wevelgem will be shown for free Australia via SBS SBS is the major cycling broadcaster in Australia, showing the Tour de France and other races, and you can watch Gent-Wevelgem for free via the SBS On Demand streaming platform but if that's where you usually watch your cycling then you can still get your access by using a VPN - more on that below If you're outside your usual country when Gent-Wevelgem is on you might think you can’t watch the race due to the geo-restrictions most streaming platforms impose But a VPN is a simple and safe way around this.  A Virtual Private Network is a piece of software that sets your IP address to make your device appear to be in any country in the world Provided it complies with your broadcaster’s T&Cs you can use a VPN to unblock your usual streaming services from anywhere in the world it helps with playback speeds and is a huge boost for your general internet security.  TechRadar love NordVPN’s super speedy connections trustworthy security and the fact it works with Android 24/7 support and it's currently available for a knockdown price Fans in the UK can watch Gent-Wevelgem on TNT Sports and Discovery+ on Sunday March 30 TV viewers will find both the men's and women's Gent-Wevelgem back-to-back on TNT Sports 4 on Sunday afternoon with three hours of the men's race preceding 90 minutes of the women's race.  Online viewers get more of the action on the Discovery+ streaming platform with an extra 20 minutes of coverage around the men's race and an extra hour for the women's race.  There's an advantage to watching online rather than on TV in this case There will be over four hours of coverage on the Discovery+ streaming platform whereas there's time for just two hours on the TV schedule on TNT Sports 1.  Canadian subscribers get most of the races on Flobikes anyway and while the US offering is more limited it has a deal for the Flanders Classics races You won't find Gent-Wevelgem on Max or Peacock.  A subscription to Flobikes will cost US$30 / CAN$39.99 a month with reductions for yearly plans at US$150 / CAN$203.88 As outlined above, fans in Australia can watch Gent-Wevelgem on SBS or via its streaming platform SBS On Demand.  Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service) Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing Patrick FletcherSocial Links NavigationPatrick is a freelance sports writer and editor He’s an NCTJ-accredited journalist with a bachelor’s degree in modern languages (French and Spanish) Patrick worked full-time at Cyclingnews for eight years between 2015 and 2023 the Flanders Classics schedule resumes March 30 with the second of the traditional six events on the calendar The women’s edition of the race will be contested for the 14th time and feature the same route as previous years though it will be shorter by just over 2 kilometers.  As has been tradition, the Gent-Wevelgem - Women will start under the Menin Gate in Ypres The women’s race will get underway at 8:20 a.m Eastern and is expected to end at approximately 12:45 p.m The women’s Gent-Wevelgem 2025 will include 24 teams of six riders.  The route will take the riders on a 169.1-kilometer journey that will begin in Ypres and conclude in Wevelgem.  The first women’s Gent-Wevelgem was contested in 2012 and it was added to the Women’s World Tour calendar in 2016 Great Britain’s Lizzie Armistead won the inaugural edition while Kirsten Wild of the Netherlands is the only rider to win two times The women’s winner at the Gent-Wevelgem in 2024 was Lorena Wiebes of the Netherlands in a photo finish after an intense sprint to the line Wiebes and Balsamo both are expected to be back in action in 2025 along with past champion Floortje Mackaij of the Netherlands (2015) To see the complete routes and entry lists, click here The men will race first at the Gent-Wevelgem 2025 (5:40 a.m The women’s race will begin at approximately 8:20 a.m The Gent-Wevelgem - Women 2025 is streaming on FloBikes and the FloSports app for viewers in the United States, U.S. territories and Canada.  Lorena Wiebes returns to defend her 2024 title Data powered by FirstCycling The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox! Cyclingnews is the world's leader in English-language coverage of professional cycling Started in 1995 by University of Newcastle professor Bill Mitchell the site was one of the first to provide breaking news and results over the internet in English The site was purchased by Knapp Communications in 1999 and owner Gerard Knapp built it into the definitive voice of pro cycling major publishing house Future PLC has owned the site and expanded it to include top features The site continues to be the most comprehensive and authoritative English voice in professional cycling Dutch rider critical of Soudal-Quickstep for racing for second place Philipsen finished a distant 44th in the peloton which only managed to half the 90-second advantage that Pedersen had in the final 20 kilometres and he was annoyed that other teams didn't put more into the pursuit "It is a pity that Quick-Step or something did not add an extra man [to the chase] because I saw that they did a lead-out with three men," Philipsen told Sporza.be after Soudal-Quickstep's Tim Merlier won the sprint for second We used up everyone because at that moment you have to gamble on the victory I would rather win the race than come second." Philipsen was unable to match Pedersen's attack on the 'plugstreets' with 72 kilometres to go because he had suffered a puncture just before the move "I got a flat tyre at an unfortunate moment but if you see how far out Pedersen went - really That he does it all by himself is a crazy achievement "I would have liked to have been there and maybe we would have had a completely different race Philipsen said he believed the race could still come down to a bunch sprint with more cooperation You know that there are always a lot of guys who have teammates with them to try to come back Then you know that a lot can still come together." By the time the peloton reached the finish Pedersen had celebrated his victory 49 seconds earlier and Philipsen wasn't involved in the sprint for the podium "I would have liked to sprint for a podium place but the victory was not in the cards today Philipsen won Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne at the beginning of the month but a crash in Nokere Koerse ruined his race for Milan-San Remo and he finished anonymously in Brugge-De Panne "There are fewer and fewer chances: today another one is gone But next Wednesday [Dwars door Vlaanderen] I will be there again Scores and Stats » Blog » 2025 Gent-Wevelgem Odds Rick Rockwell Cycling Handicapping MembershipFor More Cycling Picks the 87th edition of Gent-Wevelgem gets underway at the Menin Gate in Ypres This classics race is the third of five events that make up Flemish Cycling Week The first cycling event to kick off the annual Flemish week of racing was the Classic Brugge-De Panne which ended up being a war of attrition on Wednesday there were three scary crashes that decimated the field and saw Juan Sebastian Molano edge out my predicted winner The second event of the week was the E3 Saxo Bank Classic on Friday That race saw Mathieu van der Poel do a solo breakaway for the last 30+ km and win for the second year in a row Van der Poel definitely made me look smart for picking him Mads Pedersen ended up second at the E3 in a valiant effort He’s listed as the odds-on favorite to win the 2025 Gent-Wevelgem race and Jasper Philipsen join Pedersen as the pre-race favorites The fourth event of the Flemish Cycling Week is Dwars door Vlaanderen which takes place on Wednesday it remains to be seen who will be the pre-race favorite there’s a good chance that some of the riders competing in Gent-Wevelgem will also take the starting line at Dwars door Vlaanderen as well With that said, let’s take a look at the latest cycling odds, courtesy of the top sports betting sites TNT Sports and Eurosport will cover this one-day race live from Belgium MAX is set to stream this event just like they did the E3 Saxo Classic they will start near the Menin Gate in Ypres The peloton will then race 250km across the Flanders region of Belgium and finish on Vanackerestraat in Wevelgem This edition’s route is nearly 3km shorter than last year’s route so about a little bit more than the halfway mark the peloton will face some serious crosswinds as they head towards the coast The route features the following climbs with multiple trips over the same summits: riders will see flat roads for the final 34km of the stage we’ll see a sprint at the end if there are multiple cyclists working together Mads Pedersen is listed as the top betting favorite for this weekend’s Gent-Wevelgem race Behind those two at a distance are Jasper Philipsen and Tim Merlier After Merlier, it’s a steep drop to the next group of riders in Olav Kooij, Jasper Stuyven, and Biniam Girmay.  Keep reading below to see who I predict to win this race and if it aligns with what the top handicappers are prediction Let’s take a look at the odds-on favorites for the 87th edition of Gent-Wevelgem: Mads Pedersen continued his season to date He was the only man that could hold the wheel of van der Poel in the E3 before fading to second in the last 20km It was a reversal of fortunes for Pedersen who won Gent-Wevelgem last year after out-sprinting MVDP “Pedersen’s form this season gives me confidence he can crack the Top 10 this year then I wouldn’t be surprised if the Danish rider finished on the podium.” That’s exactly what happened. He finished on the podium as the runner up. It was another solid outing for the Danish rider who has two wins on the year and a 7th at Milano-San Remo In addition to winning last year’s Gent-Wevelgem He’s aiming to become the 7th rider to win this race three times Jonathan Milan was inches away from making me look super smart and going 2-0 in the first two legs of Flemish Cycling Week he finished 2nd at Classic Brugge-De Panne that only adds to his overall solid season so far he’s won two Points Classifications as well The 24-year-old started off the seasonwith two stage wins and a second-place result for the Points Classification at the Volta a la Communitat Valenciana The Italian followed up that performance with two more victories and the green jersey at the UAE Tour He also finished in the Top 3 on four stages of this race Then, the Lidl-Trek rider won two stages and the Points Classification for the Tirreno-Adriatico It also included a 5th in the opening Time Trial which proves he has the speed to compete in any race he enters he finished 5th last year in Gent-Wevelgem which was the best result of his three previous appearances Jasper Philipsen had a poor performance in the Classic Brugge-De Panne after being one of the pre-race favorites looking to capture this race for the third time in a row he finished 47th and was caught up in one of the crashes That followed two other poor performances with a 163rd at Milan-San Remo and a DNF at Danilith Nokere Koerese after crashing out of that event Prior to those three races, the Alpecin-Deceuninck sprinter had won at Kuurne-Brussel-Kuuren and was third at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on March 1 this will be his 6th appearance at Gent-Wevelgem which was a far drop off from his career-best result of 4th in 2023 Philipsen has the speed to contend with Merlier and Milan I just don’t know if he has the form to beat them Tim Merlier has been one of the best sprinters in the sport this season The Belgian started off the year with two wins and a runner-up for the Points Classification at the AiUia Tour that was just the start of good things to come because the 32-year-old then won two more stages at the UAE Tour and was third in the green jersey competition But, that’s not all! Merlier would go on to capture two stage wins at Paris-Nice as well he went into Classic Brugge-De Panne as the odds-on favorite to win it didn’t happen as he was caught up in one of the final crashes of the stage and scored a DNF Merlier didn’t compete in the E3 as he needed stitches in his knee from the crash at Brugge then you have to like the speed that he’s shown this season as this is the on classic that he has a real shot at when at peak form The following cyclists offer betting value based on their current Gent-Wevelgem odds I have been impressed with the performances by Olav Kooij this season even if they haven’t always produced victories he finished 2nd in the Points Classification but did pick up two stage wins Kooij also picked up a stage win at the Tirreno-Adriatico along with two three total Top 5 stage results and a third in the Points Classification I thought that Kooij would be one of the men to contend for the win at Brugge but he was also caught in one of the final crashes According to Visma’s Sports Director Grischa Niermann Kooij’s injuries weren’t serious enough to keep him out of this weekend’s event: The road narrowings in the final kilometres led to some risky situations but the damage seems to be limited to abrasions There are still some big goals ahead for him so we’ll have to see how he recovers from this crash.” I think that Kooij offers great betting value as he has the speed and the team to contend with the favorites look for Kooij to contend for more than just a podium finish that Biniam Girmay stormed onto the scene by winning the 2022 Gent-Wevelgem he’s become one of the sport’s most popular riders He’s one that I always hope can win a race he seems to be lacking his top form at this point in the season which was worse than his 14th at Milano-San Remo He appears to not have the support that other sprints have and he also seems to be one notch below the favorites listed above it will be at Gent-Wevelgem where he has plenty of confidence Michael Matthews (+4000) is my choice as the best longshot to win the 2025 Gent-Wevelgem He was also my longshot pick to win the E3 Saxo Classic he missed the break just like Girmay and finished 27th overall Yet let’s not overlook the fact that he was 4th at Milano-San Remo and also finished 2nd on Stage 3 of Paris-Nice Matthews will make his 6th start at Gent-Wevelgem Last year was a poor performance as he finished 62nd Matthews best chance is to mark Pedersen and follow the Dane whenever he makes a move then those final 34km of Gent-Wevelgem could be where the Australian pulls of a huge upset Merlier and Kooij all have the speed to win this race Merlier’s health is too much of a concern for me as I don’t see him being 100% after his ugly crash at Brugge Philipsen hasn’t really shown his top form yet and I doubt he has the speed to beat Milan in a sprint right now this race comes down to Milan as the fastest man I would like to see Kooij win and Milan is itching to get back on the bike and score a victory after being robbed in De Panne I’m taking Pedersen and his team to do everything they can to prevent this from being a bunch sprint Look for the pace to be hard from the beginning and Pedersen to attack on the final climbs before going on a break away to win the race Six different riders are tied for the most all-time Gent-Wevelgem wins with three apiece Denmark’s Mads Pedersen is the only active rider with two wins including the 2024 edition Belgium has a huge lead with 50 all-time victories in this race The following is a list of the recent Gent-Wevelgem winners: Kyle Buchman Dominates the MLB Leaderboard Despite the unpredictable nature of the MLB Kyle Buchman made betting look easy during this previous week of action 4 Teams Move to Conf. 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and Conditions Be one of the first to try our new activity feed European champion Wiebes helped to seventh triumph of season by world champ and SD Worx teammate Lotte Kopecky Lorena Wiebes clocked up her 100th career victory with a super sprint win at Gent Wevelgem Women Sunday The SD Worx-Protime rider produced the goods after a strong leadout by world champion Lotte Kopecky The Dutchwoman beat Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) and Charlotte Kool (Team Picnic PostNL) with Marjolein Van’t Geloof (Arkéa-B&B Hotels Women) Chiara Consonni (Canyon-SRAM Zondacrypto) and Lara Gillespie (UAE Team ADQ) just off the podium “The plan was to go for a bunch sprint when we had a big group like this,” Wiebes said “The other girls could keep the pace high and Lotte did the leadout for me You could see on the TV images that I just had to follow her She was all the time with her head in the wind but she just did a fantastic leadout for me.” Kopecky had to put in a huge effort to set up her teammate She hit the front with one kilometer to go and put in a prolonged burst of power from there “She knows exactly what she has to do and I trust her in that.” The women’s race totaled 169km and saw an early move by seven riders Despite a maximum advantage of over four minutes including Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek) She was able to rejoin but the effort involved meant she missed out on a dangerous move on the Kemmelberg sparked off by Kopecky Elise Chabbey (FDJ Suez) and Letizia Borghesi (EF Oatley Cannondale) were there while US rider Chloe Dygert (Canyon SRAM Zondacrypto) bridged She had been worried about the Kemmelberg beforehand but ended up being stronger than she anticipated “Then we were with a small group in the front She could do whatever she wanted on the climbs.” with the increasingly flat parcours plus the tailwind tilting the balance away from attackers and towards the sprinters’ teams SD Worx Protime did a lot of work for Wiebes Talented young US rider Megan Jastrab was prominent for her Picnic PostNL teammate Charlotte Kool while Dygert overtook Kopecky inside the final kilometer to try to set up Consonni and delivered her teammate to a century career victory “I knew that I had Lotte in the final,” Wiebes said the other girls did an amazing job pulling before You always want to win and every time it turns out like this it is fantastic.” A post shared by TNT Sports Cycling (@tntsportscycling) What’s it like to be an American cyclist living in France Watch to get professional road cyclist Joe Dombrowski’s view Here’s the lowdown on Mads’ cobble-crushing rig Cockpit: Madone one piece handlebar with TT bar tape fellow Dane Mattias Skjelmose profits from the crosswinds to move into 3rd overall Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) won Gent-Wevelgem Launching her sprint with 200 metres to go from the wheel of her teammate with Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) and Charlotte Kool (Picnic-PostNL) not even trying to come around her and settling for second and third Kopecky had ridden hard up the second ascent of the Kemmelberg splitting the peloton and initiating a front group of five that also included Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ) and Chloé Dygert (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto) But Longo Borghini was not taking any turns and they were only 15 seconds ahead of the peloton where Lidl-Trek were chasing hard Wiebes and Kopecky attacked in turns to make Longo Borghini chase and the two groups eventually merged with 27km to go Although there was no shortage of attacks on the run-in to Wevelgem and Lidl-Trek even tried to force echelons nobody got away for longer than a few seconds and when the sprinters' teams took control so the peloton came back," Wiebes described the action on the main climb of the day Kopecky expertly piloted Wiebes to the front of the peloton with 1.3km to go to set up Wiebes' sprint "We chose to do [the lead-out with] only Lotte and the other girls did an amazing job with pulling before she went really long with the lead-out so that at one point I was like I start now'," Wiebes said about the sprint The break of the day consisted of Katia Ragusa (Human Powered Health) Beatrice Caudera (BePink-Imatra-Bongioanni) They built an advantage of over four minutes before the peloton took up the chase A crash in De Moeren split the peloton and forced Nienke Veenhoven (Visma-Lease a Bike) to abandon The two groups came back together before the race was split again in a crosswind section Nienke Venhoven's bike ended up in the canal after her crashAmber Pate (Liv-Jayco-AlUla) sits on the roadside after crashingThey were up to 24 seconds ahead but were caught again atop the Baneberg 40km from the line and five kilometres from the second time up the Kemmelberg this time on the shorter but steeper west side called the Ossuaire and only Longo Borghini and Elise Chabbey (FDJ-Suez) could follow her at first before Wiebes and Dygert made it back to their wheels near the top and Dygert were reluctant to commit fully to the move Lotte Kopecky drives it up the KemmelbergElisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ)27km from the finish and more riders came back from behind until the peloton had grown to 85 riders at the finish Many riders tried to attack and anticipate a sprint with Lidl-Trek being particularly active for a while before the passage through Ypres and then trying to force echelons after the city and everybody prepared for the mass sprint with lead-out trains lining up across the road Kopecky brought Wiebes to the very front before the flamme rouge and after a drag race with Dygert who was leading out her teammate Chiara Consonni Wiebes went for a long sprint that left all competitors behind Results powered by FirstCycling Lukas Knöfler started working in cycling communications in 2013 and has seen the inside of the scene from many angles Having worked as press officer for teams and races and written for several online and print publications he has been Cyclingnews’ Women’s WorldTour correspondent since 2018 World champion will not start E3 and Gent-Wevelgem and will take on cycling's hardest one-day race for the first time Tadej Pogačar will defy convention and race Paris-Roubaix this year UAE Emirates-XRG officials confirmed the reigning world champion will race across the punishing pavé next month for the first time in his career “It was initially planned for Tadej Pogačar to participate in both the E3 Saxo Classic and Gent-Wevelgem it has been decided that he will adjust his calendar to focus on the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix instead aiming for peak form in those iconic races,” a team note stated EARLIER: Pogačar is shaking up his spring classics calendar, and rumors that he might race Paris-Roubaix are hitting the boiling point The world champion has been officially scratched from the E3 Saxo Classic and Gent-Wevelgem this weekend further fueling speculation that the Slovenian superstar will debut at Roubaix next month The 26-year-old world champion’s name was removed from E3’s provisional start list on Tuesday night, and sources confirmed to Belgian media that he will also skip Gent-Wevelgem While UAE Emirates-XRG is holding off on an official announcement the implications could mean that Pogačar appears to be clearing a pathway to start the “Hell of the North.” Also read: Will Pogačar race Paris-Roubaix? eliminates what would have been the first clash between Pogačar and Mathieu van der Poel at Friday’s E3 Saxo Classic “We will have to wait and see what the removal of Pogačar’s name from the provisional list actually means,” race organizer Jacques Coussens told Het Laatste Nieuws “But we are very happy that all the other top riders such as Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel there is still no official word from UAE Emirates-XRG officials Pogačar — who lit up Strade Bianche and scorched Milan-San Remo — may simply be recalibrating his approach into April’s major monuments that also includes a run across the Ardennes classics as well But his withdrawal from these two Flemish races has only poured gasoline on the Roubaix hype The Paris-Roubaix plotline has been brewing for weeks. The Slovenian dropped a bombshell in February by posting a video of himself reconning the cobblestones of northern France Also read: Here are the key changes to the Paris-Roubaix route Paris-Roubaix is one of the few missing gems in Pogačar’s crown The thinking is that if he’s going to race Roubaix for the first time he will want to be as fresh as possible coming out of Flanders the previous weekend The hard efforts at Milan-San Remo and a crash recovery from Strade Bianche could also be factors UAE Emirates-XRG told Spanish media last week that a decision on Roubaix has already been taken Wiebes already has one big Classics triumph under her belt Philipsen rides the cobbles at Nokere Koerse European champion Merlier has sprinted to victory six times so far in 2025 Michael Matthews heads up Jayco-AlUla's challenge Balsamo celebrates one of her three wins so far in 2025 Intermarché-Wanty are looking to Girmay to rack up the results – and UCI points – this spring Longo Borghini went on the attack in the final kilometres at Milan-San Remo Women Pedersen celebrating a stage win at Paris-Nice Henttala's victory at Challenge Mallorca was one of just three race days so far in 2025 Sprinters battle against attackers over multiple ascents of the fearsome Kemmelberg in penultimate Flandrian cobbled showdown cobbled Classics season is back and in full swing following Classic Brugge-De Panne and E3 Saxo Classic earlier this week Gent-Wevelgem The race ranks among the most prestigious cobbled meets on the calendar barring the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix will prove decisive as the race hosts its annual battle between sprinters and attackers Past winners including Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) and Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) all feature on the lineups while a host of other Classics superstars will join them in the battle for the title – the 88th for the men and 14th for the women Read on for our 10 contenders to watch at Gent-Wevelgem and Gent-Wevelgem Women Reigning women's champion Lorena Wiebes returns to the race as the top favourite for success once again with the number one dossard on her back too – the 100th victory of her career Boasting a near-unbeaten record so far in 2025, the Dutchwoman leads an SD Worx squad, which includes Lotte Kopecky, Nokere Koerse winner Marta Lach, and Mischa Bredewold she racked up three sprint wins from three while she also triumphed on the cobbles at La Samyn earlier this month Wiebes' biggest win to date – the biggest of her career so far – came last weekend at Milan-San Remo where Kopecky did the chase-down work before she sped through to edge out Marianne Vos in the sprint she added the Classic Brugge-De Panne to her honour roll she looks like the clear top sprinter in the world meaning that her prospective rivals will have to work hard in the 'hill zone' – including those two ascents of the Kemmelberg – to ensure she's not in the lead group at the finish Already third at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and winner at Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne Philipsen will undoubtedly want to continue his success in the more sprinter-friendly one-day races The Belgian sprinter hasn't yet won Gent-Wevelgem but he played a key role in last year's final he took second in the bunch sprint for fourth place  while his teammate Van der Poel finished second to the day's winner Watch for Philipsen to be among the sprint contenders going for the victory should the race come down to a bunch kick to the line With six sprint wins already under his belt in 2025, including two at Paris-Nice, European champion Tim Merlier has proven himself as the top sprinter of the season so far – even if he's 2-2 in the head-to-head battle against the other claimant to that title the Belgian certainly ranks among those riders to watch at Gent-Wevelgem even if he has yet to finish among the winning group in five participations at the sprinter-friendly but volatile race small groups of hardy riders with quick finishers have gone to the line with Merlier typically in the next large group on the road He's proven he can triumph at less prestigious races such as Scheldeprijs but he will need to show something more to do the same here Wearing the colour of her new team Canyon-Sram Zondacrypto, Chiara Consonni lines up with a new role as the team's sprinter for the Spring Classics.  The Italian has always been a contender in the faster but her team has rarely had a key sprint contender in the Classics mainly choosing to focus on the hillier affairs like the Tour of Flanders.  Consonni has had a promising start to the season with a few shining moments – podiums but she hasn't had that big win yet in 2025 with previous wins at Dwars door Vlaanderen and three stages of the Giro With a roster that also includes Chloe Dygert, Soraya Paladin and Zoe Bäckstedt who are capable of top performances at Gent-Wevelgem it will be interesting to see how cohesive the team will be in supporting a sprinter like Consonni should there be a bunch sprint Michael Matthews again missed out on the big result at one of his spring goals The Australian can take heart from the fact that he finished best of the rest from the chasing pack behind 'the big three' where he later admitted he suffered in the cold weather is the best indicator of Matthews' current form he raced Paris-Nice purely in a support role for his Jayco-AlUla teammates His favourite races, the Tour of Flanders and Amstel Gold Race will be his main goals later in the spring but Gent-Wevelgem is a race that suits a hardy fastman like him down to the ground He has two top 10s to his name in five appearances at the race Max Walscheid and Jasha Sütterlin figure among his supporting cast while he'll hope the race is hard enough – but not too cold and wet – to drop some of the quicker finishers before the final Elisa Balsamo is one of the most consistent early-season performers with wins at Setmana Valenciana and Trofeo Alfredo Binda The Italian sprinter also finished seventh at the revived Milan-San Remo last weekend before a third place at the Classic Brugge-De Panne on Thursday She's a contender for most of the major one-day races and became known for her golden week during the spring Classics in 2022 the Classic Brugge-De Panne and Gent-Wevelgem all while wearing the rainbow jersey of the world champion She has had some unfortunate crashes in the last two seasons, but she has clearly recovered and bounced back to winning form this spring, so watch for her to contest the sprint at Gent-Wevelgem. Lucinda Brand, Anna Henderson, Ellen van Dijk, and Emma Norsgaard form a powerful support squad for Lidl-Trek on Sunday One of the most memorable moments in cycling was Biniam Girmay's victory at Gent-Wevelgem in 2022 the same year he also won a stage at the Giro d'Italia and again making history after winning three stages at the Tour de France and taking home the points jersey last year All eyes are on Girmay for another strong Classics season and he is slowly building his form with multiple top-10 finishes He rolled across the line in 14th among the main chase group at Milan-San Remo last weekend Gent-Wevelgem is technical and challenging but still caters to the fastest in the peloton so expect him to be up there contending for another top result He lines up with an opportunistic team that includes Jonas Rutsch all capable of finishing in the front group and supporting Girmay to another victory in Wevelgem Italian veteran Elisa Longo Borghini is preparing to take on her first cobbled campaign away from Lidl-Trek in seven seasons after moving to UAE Team ADQ in the winter Gent-Wevelgem will be her first cobbled race with her new team Last spring, she added a second Tour of Flanders win to her palmarès though she has yet to taste success at Gent-Wevelgem Her best result in eight participations is a 10th-place finish in 2020 Still, she's in fine form after Milan-San Remo, a race she was only prevented from winning thanks to Lotte Kopecky's work chasing down her late attack With four of the last five editions of Gent-Wevelgem resulting in mass or reduced sprints it may be tough to pull off a similar solo move Longo Borghini can rely upon a strong support squad on Sunday, in any case. She'll bring Elynor Bäckstedt, Sofia Bertizzolo, and Karlijn Swinkels along for the ride A post-Paris-Nice illness may have prevented Mads Pedersen from being in top form at Milan-San Remo last week he should be back to his best for the cobbled Classics He won Gent-Wevelgem for the second time last year and is a perennial contender at the race having finished fifth and seventh in recent editions it's no surprise to see him among the top favourites again Pedersen has wins at the Tour de la Provence and at Paris-Nice where he showed off his climbing super-domestique chops on several occasions culminating in another tilt at Paris-Roubaix are his main focus of this first third of the season He'll be backed up by several strong options this weekend, with Classic Brugge-De Panne runner-up Jonathan Milan a favourite in his own right if he survives the Kemmelberg Jasper Stuyven and Edward Theuns – who recently scored his first win in four years at the Bredene Koksijde Classic – are also in the Lidl-Trek selection Another former winner of Gent-Wevelgem, Lotta Henttala lines up as EF Education-Oatly's sprinter for the flatter Spring Classics She has ample experience in the one-day races and will likely also be the team's on-road captain She is in her second year with EF Education-Oatly and will lead a team that includes Nina Berton who are all one-day race specialists capable of supporting Henttala in a final at the major races In addition to her victory at Gent-Wevelgem in 2017 the Finnish rider has also won some of the biggest one-day races at Dwars door Vlaanderen Vårgårda and a stage at the Giro She opened her season with a win at the Challenge Mallorca and has not competed in any of the Spring Classics yet but this could be where she has chosen to start her European campaign selecting fewer races to have a greater impact She showed at Milan-San Remo that she's more than happy to work for Lorena Wiebes but if the Dutchwoman doesn't make it over the hills San Remo was Kopecky's first race day of the season She took ninth after working on the Via Roma but expect her to be approaching top form at Gent-Wevelgem as she heads towards Monumental appointments on home ground at the Tour of Flanders and Liège-Bastogne-Liège There'll be no Wout van Aert (or Tadej Pogačar or Mathieu van der Poel, for that matter) at Gent-Wevelgem, but Visma-Lease A Bike boast a top contender in Olav Kooij The young Dutchman heads up a squad also missing the ill Christophe Laporte He has two top-10 finishes to his name in two previous starts and an eighth place at San Remo on his recent palmarès With no wins yet in the bag outside of Juliana Lodoño's Colombian national title, Picnic-PostNL will hope Charlotte Kool can speed to glory on Sunday The Dutch sprinter has emerged as one of the fastest women in the world in recent seasons but she hasn't yet scored a big spring Classics victory Kool was closer than ever before last year Could this weekend see her breakthrough and hit the finish line first She'll need better luck than at the recent GP Oetingen where she crashed out of contention in the closing kilometres.  Finally, Jordi Meeus is perhaps an overlooked option having scored the final podium spot from the peloton last year The Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe sprinter isn't ranked among the very top favourites even if he's had a lengthy break from racing after Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne Dani has reported from the world's top races She has interviewed many of the sport's biggest stars and her favourite races are the Giro d'Italia European Champion proves fastest rider in the women's field once again in sprint finish Lorena Wiebes takes her 100th career victory  Welcome to our live coverage of Gent-Wevelgem women The riders have set off from Ypres for the neutral start  There is the potential for some wind today which could split the race especially from the Kemmelberg where it is reported that there could be a strong cross/tailwind Teams will need to be on high alert but pre-race favourite has already shown her capabilities in the crosswinds so far this season at UAE Tour Women last month.  both from from Visma | Lease a bike: Linda Riedmann and Margaux Vigié did not start the race.  We've already mentioned pre-race favourite who won this race in 2024: The European Champion is looking for her 100th career victory today just a few days after securing her 99th at Brugge-De Panne on Thursday Can the SD Worx - Protime rider take back-to-back wins and round up that career win tally today?  If Thursday's race is anything to go by then the rider most likely to stand in Wiebes' way is Canyon//SRAM - zondacrypto's new signing The Italian rider looked closest to Wiebes in speed in De Panne taking second place -- can she go one better today Lidl-Trek worked hard all day for their sprinter on Thursday but the former World Champion was unable to finish the job She will be hoping to rectify that today.  This race doesn't always go the way of the sprinters and there will be plenty looking for a long-range move including UAE Team ADQ's Elisa Longo Borghini The Italian champion narrowly missed out on Sanremo Women last weekend and will be hoping for a move to stick today.  More on the favourites for today's race here.  The flag is dropped and the riders are off for the official start of the race Footage of the riders setting off from Ypres earlier.  The women's race is on as well! 🚀 #GW25 #GWwomen pic.twitter.com/d9rSnuAhEJMarch 30, 2025 A breakaway has already established:  Beatrice Caudera (BePink - Imatra - Bongioanni) and Britt de Grave (DD Group Pro Cycling Team) have a gap of 25 seconds ahead of the peloton.  The three leaders have extended their lead to 42 seconds already It looks like the peloton are happy to let this breakaway go.  There has been a counter move from Maaike Boogaard of VolkerWessels Women's Pro Cycling Team and Franziska Brauße of Ceratizit Pro Cycling Team They are 34 seconds behind the three leaders The two chasers have now joined up with the three leaders.  we have two more chasers in the form of Mia Griffin of Roland and Cleo Kiekens of DD Group Pro Cycling Team is the front group becoming too big for their liking?  Beatrice Caudera ofBePink - Imatra - Bongioanni Britt de Grave and Cleo Kiekens of DD Group Pro Cycling Team Maaike Boogaard of VolkerWessels Women's Pro Cycling Team and Franziska Brauße of Ceratizit Pro Cycling Team,and Mia Griffin of Roland The peloton have sat up and seem content to let this move go The gap between the breakaway and the peloton is now 3'38" Meanwhile, over in the men's race there is echelon action kicking off with 95 km to go Is this a sign of things to come for the women later on?  the leaders now have a 3'37" advantage over the peloton which is being led by SD Worx - Protime In 17 km the break will reach the first cobbled sector of the day The gap between the breakaway and the peloton has increased again to 4'28" The breakaway is in De Moeren and will soon reach the first cobbles of the day The peloton is split with a front group of around 35 riders  Nienke Veenhoven of Team Visma | Lease a Bike has abandoned the race following the crash.  It looks like the second part of the peloton will catch up to the first.  Just a few kilometres to go until the cobbles of Beauvoordestraat  The gap between the first part of the peloton and the break is now just 1'48".  10 seconds between the first and second part of the peloton.  The two groups are now back together.  1'45" now for the breakaway of seven.  the lead for the seven breakaway riders is still 1'50"  The third group that split after the crash is now back up to the peloton Bike change for Letizia Borghesi of EF - Education - Oatly.  The gap to the breakaway is 1'40" and we are not too far away from the hilly section of this race now.  There has been an injection of pace and gap is down to 1'14" now as some riders are also getting dropped from the peloton.  Bike change for Alison Jackson (EF Education-Oatly)  The race is on the Scherpenberg climb.  One of the riders involved in the crash was Elisa Longo Borghini however she is back on her bike and back in the bunch.  The peloton are 5 km away from the Baneberg climb and Uno-X - Mobility lead the peloton.  Attack from Amber Kraak of FDJ SUEZ on the Baneberg Elisa Longo Borghini is caught out towards the back  Amber Kraak still leads the peloton over the top of the climb Justine Ghekiere of AG Insurance - Soudal attacks  Anna Henderson of Lidl-Trek leads the peloton  SD Worx - Protime have come to the front with Marta Lach Canadian Champion Olivia Baril of Movistar and Ally Wollaston of FDJ SUEZ are involved  Elise Chabbey and Letizia Borghesi with her Lorena wiebes has made the front split over the top of the Kemmelberg Anna Henderson is on the front of the leading group as they aim to maintain their advantage.  Elisa Longo Borghini leads the chase group  Elisa Balsamo and Lucinda Brand of Lidl-Trek Chloe Dygert of Canyon//SRAM - zondacrypto and Margot Vanpachtenbeke of VolkerWessels Women's Pro Cycling Team.  The next climb is the Scherpenberg in just over 2 km.  Attack from Emma Norsgaard of Lidl -Trek  Norsgaard is brought back and her teammate this time from Lauretta Hanson who gets a small gap.  Bredewold of SD Worx - Protime leads the chase behind Hanson A small group has formed off the front.  Cat Ferguson of Movistar has crashed out of the front group  Crash for Elena Cecchini of SD Worx - Protime  A few splits formed but the reduced group is all back together.  Lucinda Brand attacks for Lidl-Trek and is joined by Alexandra Manly of AG Insurance - Soudal  and Anneke Dijkstra of VolkerWessels Women's Pro Cycling Team The leading six have a gap of 15 seconds  The gap is now 26 seconds as Canyon//SRAM - zondacrypto lead the chase behind with Soraya Paladin  The leading group have reached the Baneberg The lead group don't seem to be pushing too hard at the moment  Lucinda Brand comes to the front towards the top of the climb Mischa Bredewold brings Lorena Wiebes to the front of the group  Lotte Kopecky attacks from the bottom of the Kemmelberg  Huge split over the top of the Kemmelberg  Letizia Borghesi and Chloe Dygert join the leading trio   Anna Henderson and Christina Schweinberger are just behind Behind Henderson and Schweinberger Ellen van Dijk leads a chasing group containing Elisa Balsamo  World Champion Lotte Kopecky is on the front of the lead group  12 seconds is the gap between the leaders and the chasers Lorena Wiebes attacks from the front group  The front group are now working together but the gap is down to just 8 seconds  Lidl-Trek are closing the gap to the leading group  Lidl-Trek take to the front of the peloton  Chiara Consonni is back at the team car  Attack from a rider from Volkerwessels  Mischa Bredewold of SD Worx - Protime chases The peloton are passing through Ypres  Lotte Kopecky is towards the back of the peloton  The riders are passing under the Menin Gate Memorial where the race started earlier today.  Alison Jackson of EF Education - Oatly leads the second group  Liv AlUla Jayco and Pfeiffer Georgi of Team Picnic PostNL set a high pace at the front  Lotte Kopecky now comes to the front  It's a tailwind towards the finish now  Many of the teams will be looking for a sprint but will we see others go for a long-range attack?  Riders are chatting amongst each other  Anneke Dijkstra and Eline Jansen and VolkerWessels Women's Pro Cycling Team attack  The pair are brought back as the chase group make the juncture to the front group  Floortje Mackaij of Movistar attacks  Elena Cecchini of SD Worx ProTime comes to the front of the group alongside teammate Marta Lach  Looks like we are heading towards a bunch sprint Can Lorena Wiebes take her 100th win today?  SD Worx - Protime are lined out at the front keeping the pace high  It's still SD Worx Protime on the front with Lidl-Trek behind leading into the final 7 km  The whole SD Worx - Protime team are lined out in front including Wiebes and Kopecky other teams such as Picnic PostNL appear to be struggling to organise themselves.  Human Powered Health are coming towards the front as are Liv AlUla Jayco  AG Insurance - Soudal come to the front  SD Worx Protime have been somewhat swamped by Picnic PostNL and AG Insurance Soudal  Liv AlUla Jayco and SD Worx Protime are lined out at the front  Teams are looking to line up their sprinters  It's down to just Kopecky and Wiebes for SD Worx Protime with the World Champion getting ready to lead the European Champion out  Kopecky is right at the front with Wiebes on her wheel  Kopecky is powering towards the finish to lead out her teammate Chloe Dyget brings Consonni up in the middle for Canyon//SRAM  Charlotte Kool of Picnic PostNL takes third  and then we were with a small group in front but the cooperation was not so good so the group came back." "I knew that I had Lotte in the final and we chose to do only me and Lotte The other girls did an amazing job with pulling before She wentr eally long with the leadout so at one point I said 'ok I start now'."  you always want to win and every time it works out it's fantastic Lotte was super important she could do whatever she wanted on the climbs."  The other girls kept the pace high and Lotte did the leadout She was all the time with her head in the wind and did a fantastic leadout for me." "I hope to be there still in the final and I can help the team."  There's no expectations from me to do something like this in the Tour of Flanders Lotte will be the leader and we will have more cards to play." "In this period she [Wiebes] is really strong She is the strongest now but I am quite satisfied about my sprint Of course we are always racing to win but also a podium of an important race like this is also good." I know she is really strong so she can do a long sprint I just tried to do the best sprint I could and it was not enough." I think as a team we were really aggressive unluckily there was not enough wind because we were really trying to do some echelons but it was not working But yes another time I want to say thank you to all my teammates because they always do a great job and always believe in me and I really hope that one day I can win for them."  "I will race on Wednesday [at Dwars door Vlaanderen] so for sure we will try again."  In the final Wiebes is always difficult to beat it came all back together which was nice for us to have some extra for the leadout I think we came a bit early so the last bit was quite a bit of surfing but I gave my all and this is what it was for today."  How hard was the last climb of the Kemmelberg?  really hard and you think it never ends but I was quite satisfied that I was quite close to the front."  Did you think after Kemmelberg you would see the front again?  "I thought that maybe the good thing that Lorena is climbing so well and nobody wants to go with her to the finish So if there is a little group up front it's inevitable they work together to bring it back So Trek wanted to follow and help us bring them back."   Were you surprised by the size of the group?  "In the end there wasn't really any tempo in the group which was strange For us it wasn't a problem because we were lucky to have riders who could help us with the leadout but I didn't expect such a big group like this."  We would expect that and they were so strong in doing this The last part I just had to follow the other riders but this was the best I could do."  "It's giving me a lot of confidence for the rest of the season." Gent-Wevelgem route summaryDistance250.3 kilometresStartMenin Gate, YpresFinishVanackerestraat, WevelgemStart time10:40 CETFinish time16:16 CETThe 2025 edition of Gent-Wevelgem in Flanders Fields will once again start from the Menin Gate in Ypres, a memorial to the victims of World War I, and end on Vanackerestraat in Wevelgem. This year's route at 250.3 kilometres is 2.8km shorter than in 2024. In the first part of the race, the peloton heads towards Veurne, where the famous Moeren are on the programme. The riders then set course for Heuvelland where they will encounter the Monteberg, the Baneberg, the Scherpenberg and, last but not least, the Kemmelberg, with the final steeper ascent from Ossuaire with 34.3km to go. Here's how to watch the 2025 Gent-Wevelgem - Women on FloBikes Please note that this is an automated translation and it will not be perfect All articles have been written in English and if anything appears to not make sense The men's and women's races ended very differently but both set the scene nicely for Flanders next weekend Already have an account? Sign in Olav Kooij (L) just before his crash as Mads Pedersen started his attack Dutch sprinter missed a corner following eventual winner Mads Pedersen Bad luck has once again come to bite Visma-Lease a Bike at the Classics. What looked like a great situation at Gent-Wevelgem turned into a disaster in a matter of seconds when sprinter Olav Kooij "misjudged a corner" while following eventual winner Mads Pedersen's (Lidl-Trek) wheel and crashed out of contention Defending champion Pedersen had been putting the entire field to the sword in De Moeren and over the opening cobbled climbs before he put in another vicious attack on the first of three Plugstreet sectors of unpaved road Philipsen was the first to get left behind when an untimely puncture saw him go backwards with a small blotch of yellow in the background soon being revealed as a more cruel outcome for Visma He's been in contact with the doctor from the hospital He just missed a corner and ended in the ditch crashed and his race was over," said Visma DS Arthur van Dongen at the finish and he only had to follow Mads [Pedersen] until they joined Victor's group Then he has to just do the Kemmelberg and in this shape I think that he was maybe the only one who could follow Mads." Van Dongen wasn't yet sure if Kooij had fractured his clavicle but the team had the bad news just a few hours later "Olav Kooij has fractured his collarbone during today's Gent-Wevelgem." Pedersen would bridge across to those who'd anticipated earlier in the race but with his sprinter gone and those behind not in play the Belgian had to concede to the Dane's superior power as he surged away on the Kemmelberg 56km from the finish we have to admit that there was no stopping Pedersen today but I just couldn't match his pace," said Campenaerts Subhead: Jorgenson still confident heading into Flanders Late-race entry Matteo Jorgenson had to again accept the bitter reality of racing in the Classics as he did last year when Van Aert crashed heavily at Dwars door Vlaanderen with a perfect situation suddenly becoming a nightmare we had Tiesj enter first with Olav on the wheel and then I saw Mads and Olav going off the front," said Jorgenson describing what he saw on the Hill 63 Plugstreet "Then next thing I know I saw Olav [Kooij] on the ground and Mads [Pedersen] solo And while the American tried several times to lead a strong group away from the uncooperative peloton his positioning heading into the Plugstreet also means his race ended when Pedersen took charge "I got swarmed like 200 metres before the corner just a huge group came up on my right and just slammed the breaks on the inside so I struggled to get back," said Jorgenson "But I just honestly saw Tiesj and Olav there and thought 'Wow that's perfect' and then Olav's crash just kind of changed the whole race for us I was trying to get a group clear on the Kemmelberg so we could work together but it never happened "I would go over the Kemmel and find myself solo and it just made it really chaotic to chase and we never got him back so chapeau to Mads." Jorgenson remained positive about his form ahead of the main event at the Tour of Flanders on Sunday especially after swapping out six hours of planned training on Saturday for five and a half hours of all-out racing on Sunday at Gent-Wevelgem it was definitely less boring than a training ride that's for sure," said the American What did he learn from today's performance "Just that I have good legs and I felt really good the whole day He was similarly confident about his co-leader for Sunday even after the Belgian star's disappointing return from altitude at the E3 Saxo Classic Visma should enter the Ronde with their two strongest riders and as underdogs just had a couple of bad races basically at Opening Weekend and E3," said Jorgenson in Ypres "I think that what I know about Wout is that he's an incredibly hard worker and incredibly focused and I have confidence that he'll be ready for Flanders because he's spent three weeks preparing just like he's done every single year Visma and Jorgenson may have been channelling his inner Michael Jordan as he donned a pair of Oakley Eye Jackets throughout the one-day Spring Classic Gent-Wevelgem was far from their last dance over the Flemish cobbles – that's still to come next week at the Tour of Flanders during which time he also wrote for Eurosport Prior to joining the team he reported on races such as Paris-Roubaix and the Giro d’Italia Donne for Eurosport and has interviewed some of the sport’s top riders in Chloé Dygert he spends the majority of his time watching other sports – rugby 2024Distance171.2 kilometresStart locationYpresFinish locationWevelgemCategoryWomen's WorldTour2024 winnerLorena Wiebes (Ned) Team SD Worx-Protime Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) used a bike throw to win her first Gent-Wevelgem Women It took a photo finish to decide the outcome as the Dutchwoman edged Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) at the line in Wevelgem.  Chiara Consonni (UAE Team ADQ) took third place as a large group of 38 riders stormed across the finish after 171.2km of racing Grace Brown (FDJ-Suez) launched an attack in the final 2km but was brought back on the final kilometre.  Results powered by FirstCycling Data powered by FirstCycling With a few Flemish one-day races in the legs already this season attention will turn to West Flanders this weekend for the men’s and women’s Gent-Wevelgem Taking place a week before the Tour of Flanders, Gent-Wevelgem has a different character to De Ronde due to its comparative lack of cobbled climbs, though its headlined by the Kemmelberg Crosswinds and miserable wet weather have become a recurring theme in this race Date: Sunday 30th March 2025Start: Ypres (Ieper) BelgiumDistance: Men’s – 250.3km; Women’s – 168.9kmTelevision coverage: Discovery+ FloBikes2024 winners: Men’s – Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek); Women’s – Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) but at the Menin Gate war memorial in Ypres The official name of the race also references the Great War: ‘Gent Wevelgem – In Flanders Fields’ The course passes through Passendale before going by the dozens of wartime cemeteries that can be found throughout West Flanders The off-road sectors of Plugstreets – an English nickname given to the area during the War – will also give the race a chance to pay homage to the conflict The climbing really kicks in after the gravel sectors, with the province’s highest point, the Kemmelberg with the race going over both sides of the climb The last passage over the Kemmelberg will come at just over 30km to go it’s flat and well-paved to the finish The women's Gent-Wevelgem also departs from Ypres they will reach the first climb of the day which will come after just under 100km in the saddle but there are no gravel roads for the women to take on this year which they will crest at around 30km to go – much like the men's race The approach to the line will be identical offering a chance for a tense lead-out train battle or a long-range solo effort Gent-Wevelgem comes just one weekend before the Tour of Flanders Tadej Pogačar and Wout van Aert have all decided to skip this race in preparation A strong contingent of fastmen will be present Reigning champion Mads Pedersen will also be a strong contender for victory once again The Dutch squad have the two favourites: Lorena Wiebes and Lotte Kopecky Milan-San Remo winner Wiebes won this race last year and she's on sparkling form with several sprint victories to her name already this year she's been making a solid comeback to racing but she'll likely be helping Wiebes and trying to get her legs in shape for the Tour of Flanders next week The men's and women's Gent-Wevelgem races will be available to watch in the UK and Ireland on TNT Sports the racing will be broadcast on Eurosport and Discovery+ All times are listed in BST (British Summer Time) Men's Gent-Wevelgem 2025Discovery+: 12:40 - 16:00TNT Sports 4: 12:45 - 15:45 Women's Gent-Wevelgem 2025Discovery+: 15:00 - 17:30TNT Sports 4: 15:45 - 17:15 Data powered by FirstCycling.com Data powered by FirstCycling.com To manage an existing Cyclist magazine subscription, please visit Manage your account or visit our subscription FAQ page. To subscribe, or for other enquiries, please contact us Sign up to the Cyclist newsletter to receive curated emails direct to your inbox Sign up to our newsletter Log in to access Cyclist Rides using your email pertaining to your subscription Don't forget a subscription to Cyclist includes: Log in to post comments and use Ask Cyclist our AI platform that answers your questions based on our articles Register to comment on our latest articles Occasional emails from selected third-party sponsors and advertisers Please enter your username or email address to reset your password With Mads Pedersen and third-place Jonathan Milan both on the Gent-Wevelgem podium Lidl-Trek has positioned itself as a top Classics team as the cobbled Monuments beckon Imogen Wolff continues to push her limits in her first season as a professional cyclist The young Brit made her presence felt in Gent-Wevelgem during the crucial hill section and was able to contend for a good finish in the final Lorena Wiebes proved to be the strongest in the sprint ultimately winning the Flemish spring classic The breakaway built a gap of over four minutes but due to wind and echelons forming in the peloton their lead rapidly shrank to just two minutes with 100 kilometers to go The young sprinter was forced to retire from the race due to a collarbone fracture The race completely opened up in the hilly section the young Wolff positioned herself well at the front On the second climb of the Belgian classic allowing her to stay in the thinned out peloton but I was able to position myself reasonably well at the front each time I had to close a 20-second gap to the front group I tried to position Martina (Fidanza) at the front for the sprint.” Fidanza couldn't make a push for a top finish in the sprint “Imogen positioned me really well in the last kilometer Wolff also made her debut at Gent-Wevelgem The wind made the hilly section incredibly tough Subscribe yourself for the Team Visma | Lease a Bike newsletter and receive previews for races Team Visma | Lease a Bike was unable to compete for victory in Gent-Wevelgem The yellow-black formation rode attentively and aggressively but saw its leader The 23-year-old Dutchman sustained a broken collarbone the 87th Gent-Wevelgem was shaken up in De Moeren Favorable winds caused the peloton to split into echelons Kooij and Tiesj Benoot made it into the first group Victor Campenaerts was briefly caught off guard but managed to regain contact as the groups merged The 33-year-old Belgian successfully bridged to the early breakaway just before the first of three ascents of the Kemmelberg Mads Pedersen launched the first acceleration in the peloton the Dane attacked again on a plugstreet—an unpaved sector A strong Kooij was the last rider able to follow Pedersen’s pace but the Dutchman suffered an unfortunate crash and had to abandon the race 🇧🇪 #GW25 Update: Olav Kooij has fractured his collarbone during today's Gent-Wevelgem.Join us in wishing Olav a speedy recovery. 🍀 pic.twitter.com/3pEe3vdUZd but on the second ascent of the Kemmelberg The chasing group with Campenaerts was eventually caught by the peloton - featuring Jorgenson and Benoot - with 25 kilometers to go They did not contest the sprint for second place “The plan was to anticipate before the climbs of the Kemmelberg,” Campenaerts reflected after the race Sports director Arthur van Dongen also looked back: “We had several riders in the front echelons and Victor was well positioned in the race The race could have played out differently - with Victor up front and Olav on Pedersen’s wheel 🇧🇪 #GW25 Well fought, Bees. 🤝 pic.twitter.com/gDsKz6u954 WATCH: Teams fish out bikes from ditch during Gent-Wevelgem Women Belgium (Velo) — Lorena Wiebes powered to her 100th career victory at Ghent-Wevelgem Women on Sunday winning on a wild day that also saw bikes fished out from a ditch Fabio Jakobsen also hits pause from racing after being diagnosed with flow limitation in both iliac arteries severely restricting blood flow to his legs during intense efforts who showed signs of struggle at the UAE Tour and Paris-Nice He is expected to be off the bike for at least six weeks according to Team PostNL-Bingoal doctor Camiel Aldershof “The diagnosis is very clear and currently limiting him on the bike,” Aldershof said he has a more favourable prognosis to return due to the type of limitation.” Jakobsen admitted the condition was mentally tough to accept but now that we have found the cause of the issue I am hopeful that the surgery can then solve it,” he said “Sometimes you need to take one step back to be able to make two forward.” Reigning world champion Lotte Kopecky delivered a red carpet leadout for teammate Wiebes “It’s something special,” Wiebes beamed at the finish “It happened faster than I expected … With DSM it started to feel normal to win races because they’re always challenging me to win bigger races too.” Wiebes becomes the latest active rider to surpass the century mark with compatriot Marianne Vos boasting a staggering 255 wins A pair of bikes ended up in a ditch during Gent-Wevelgem Women when the bunch was splitting into echelons One of the riders involved in the crash was Amber Pate Team staffers were seen trying to fish out the bikes from deep ditch alongside the road Nienke Veenhoven of Visma-Lease a Bike also crashed heavily and was later transported to a local hospital There more bad luck for Visma-Lease a Bike with Olav Kooij fracturing his collarbone in the men’s race A solid day out for the Grenadiers saw Ben Turner and Josh Tarling in the mix at Gent-Wevelgem with Tarling coming home as part of a big bunch kick behind solo winner Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) the riders tackled a windy 250.3 kilometres which included three times up the notorious cobbled Kemmelberg climb Sam Watson and Connor Swift worked well early on in the lead group with Turner well placed over the first and second ascents of the Kemmelberg putting pressure on the lead group up the second climb of the Kemmelberg with Turner still within touching distance The Lidl-Trek rider eventually rode away solo from the group to take the win while Tarling and Turner sprinted in with the main bunch after a tough day out for the peloton As the Belgian road cycling kicks off this week the Gent-Wevelgem 2025 will take place on Sunday Mads Pedersen is the defending champion coming into this race having defeated Mathieu van der Poel last year He will look to win the Gent-Wevelgem for the second year in a row but will have to fend off challenges from the likes of Jasper Philipsen and local hero Tim Merlier WATCH:Gent-Wevelgem 2025 cycling LIVE on Flobikes who narrowly defeated Elisa Balsamo last year is part of a stacked lineup that includes Floortje Mackaij and 2024 Paris Olympics Bronze medalist Lotte Kopecky Here's how to watch all the action from the Gent-Wevelgem 2025 cycling: The Gent-Wevelgem 2025 will not air on traditional television. Fans can live-stream the entire race on FloBikes FloBikes coverage for the men's race will start at 4:40 a.m ET while that of the women's race will begin at 7:20 a.m The men's race will cover a distance of 250.3 km (around 155.5 miles) while the women's race will cover a distance of 169.1 km (around 105 miles) going through Kemmelberg twice during the race and again during the final stretch of the event The forecast for Sunday's race shows temperatures in the early 50s (Fahrenheit) with little chance of rain Winners of the past five men's Classic races at Gent-Wevelgem are: Winners of the past five women's Classic races at Gent-Wevelgem are: If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Learn more > Abhinav Nair is a sports writer at The Sporting News covering everything from football to NASCAR he graduated from Ambedkar University with a master’s degree in history Abhinav likes playing badminton and watching mystery shows Abhinav covered the 2022 FIFA World Cup for Goal The Belgian cycling Classics continued with Gent-Wevelgem 2025 The legendary race would be contested on a 250.3-kilometer route from Ypres to Wevelgem and featured several cobbled sections Many sprinters and classics specialists had signed up for this year’s edition of the race The start list included fan favorites and race favorites such as Mads Pedersen (Team Lidl-Trek) Matteo Jorgenson (Team Visma-Lease a Bike) and Fred Wright and Matej Mohoric of Team Bahrain-Victorious The weather conditions were cloudy and windy with cool temperatures around twelve degrees Celsius Nine riders courageously formed the first breakaway group of the race who had fought their way to an advantage of 03:30 minutes after fifty kilometers of racing and Team Tudor Pro Cycling’s Marco Haller the nine-man front group had an advantage of approximately four minutes over the chasing peloton The windy racing conditions caused a split in the main peloton when approximately 150 kilometers remained of Gent-Wevelgem 2025 Lidl-Trek riders were leading the front part of the peloton while riders from Ineos-Grenadiers were heading echelon group two A third peloton group was chasing further back The riders were approaching the cobbles of Beauvoordestraat and Veurnestraat.  Additional splits were occurring in the peloton groups as the riders reached the midway point in the race.  The nine-man front group were 01:15 minutes ahead of peloton group 1 when 114 kilometers remained as the splits in the peloton and the fast racing had caused their lead to diminish.  Riders from Team Visma-Lease a Bike were leading the first peloton group This group featured several favorites for the race victory but riders such as Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Tim Merlier (Soudal-QuickStep) were not present and the riders were fighting for positions in the windy racing conditions and before the steep hills and Victor Campenaerts (Team Visma-Lease a Bike) were active at the front of the first peloton group Johan Jacobs (Groupama-FDJ) and Campenaerts formed a chase duo which was trying to bridge the gap to the nine frontmen.  A crash occurred in the first peloton group 98 kilometers from the finish It brought down approximately eight riders Campenaerts made it to the front nine and moved to the front to contribute.  Riders were climbing the Monteberg with 89 kilometers remaining The riders in the breakaway group were cooperating well The addition of Campenaerts had been of great value to the group Riders were now climbing the cobbled Kemmelberg Mads Pedersen attacked from the front of the main peloton hoping to shake as many of his competitors as possible Jasper Philipsen and other riders joined him Vercouillie had been dropped from the front breakaway group and was caught by peloton group 1 The windy conditions were causing splits on the open roads of Belgium Mads Pedersen attacked from the main peloton on the cobbles Jasper Philipson responded but suffered a flat tire Olav Kooij (Visma-Lease a Bike) crashed and appeared to have sustained a clavicle fracture Seventy kilometers remained of the exciting Gent-Wevelgem classic Mads Pedersen was now chasing the front group together with Arjen Livyns of Team Lotto There was a significant gap between the duo and the chasers John Degenkolb and other riders accelerated in the main peloton group in an effort to reduce the advantage created by Pedersen and Livyns and Haller remained part of the first breakaway group Mads Pedersen was chasing fifteen seconds behind together with Maisonobe and the nine men pressed on in a quest for success on the cobbled roads of Belgium The first peloton group was now one minute behind the front group Pedersen has won Gent-Wevelgem on two previous occasions Victor Campenaerts had been conserving energy in the front group and left much of the hard work to Pedersen Campenaerts launched a surprise attack on the Kemmelberg Belvedere But Pedersen did not appreciate the actions of Campenaerts The Great Dane launched a counterattack and left Campenaerts and other riders behind on the cobbles.  Pedersen was the first man to reach the summit of the Kemmelberg and Haller were chasing a few seconds behind him Matteo Jorgenson was leading a peloton group further back Mads Pedersen was still engaged in his brave solo effort at the front of the race when 47 kilometers remained He had a thirty second advantage over a Campenaerts-Livyns-Haller trio while the peloton was 01:30 minutes behind him Baneberg was the next hill on the racing horizon Pedersen continued to increase his advantage as he was approaching the Kemmelberg Ossuaire (the shortest He now had a lead of more than a minute over the chasing trio while the first peloton group was 01:43 minutes behind with 38 kilometers left of the classic race Valentin Madouas attempted an attack from the main peloton together with Matteo Jorgenson Pedersen was now conquering the cobbles of Kemmelberg while showing no weakness Campenaerts was next to reach the climb together with Livyns and Haller Attacks were launched from the main peloton when it reached the climb The Campenaerts group was caught approximately twenty-five kilometers from the finish line It was now the combined peloton group versus the Great Dane in his one-man show at the front of the race The riders in the peloton were pushing hard to reduce the advantage of Pedersen but Pedersen was still 01:30 minutes ahead with fifteen kilometers left of the race he had won on two previous occasions.  Pedersen’s lead had been reduced to 01:20 minutes when just ten kilometers of racing remained before the riders would reach the finish line Things were status quo five kilometers later No other rider appeared able to make the leap to the man in front Denmark’s Mads Pedersen crossed the finish line in solo fashion as winner of Gent-Wevelgem 2025 for Team Lidl-Trek Tim Merlier won the peloton sprint to finish second for Soudal-QuickStep while Pedersen’s teammate Jonathan Milan finished third in the race I never expected to be able to do something like this I thought ok let’s try to open the race and at some point you reach a point of no return,” race winner Mads Pedersen told Roadcycling.com.  “I’ve never been better than now I was still fighting with just one kilometer left and I know from experience how fast the race is in the final five kilometers It gives us confidence before Sunday’s Roonde van Vlaanderen,” Pedersen explained Stay tuned to Roadcycling.com for complete coverage from the 2025 professional cycling season road bike shopcycling manager game All rights reserved. © 2024 Roadcycling.com® - part of Seven Sparkles Intl