March 29, 2026
Few races have embodied the geography, history, and sense of place like Gent-Wevelgem, now known as In Flanders Fields - From Middelkerke to Wevelgem. The course twists and turns around the trenches and battlefields of World World I in the far West of Flanders. The race pays tribute to those who fell in the First World War and the sacrifices made will be constantly visible with helicopter shots memorials of cemetery after cemetery full of white crosses. The first 130 km of the 240 km course will take the riders through the flat and windy coastal region of Belgium from the start in Middelkerke Southward through De Moeren and into the hill zone. The Scherpenberg, Baneberg, and Monteberg/Kemmelberg (Belvedere side) combination will arrive with 107 km to go and run through 90 km to go. The riders then head South to take on the gravel "Ploegstreets" of Hill 63, Christmas Truce, and The Catacombs. The Kemmelberg (Belvedere side), Scherpenberg, Baneberg, and finally Kemmelberg (Ossuaire side) round out the climbing for the day. The final ascent of the Kemmelberg comes 36 km from the finish with only flat roads through Ieper and Menen to the finish in Wevelgem. This race has been won in a small group sprint and a larger bunch sprint in the past and either scenario could play out today.
Highlight Riders:
Jonathan Milan, Laurenz Rex, Paul Magnier, Mathieu van der Poel, Jasper Philipsen, Luke Lamperti, Tobias Lund Andresen, Ben Turner, Filippo Ganna, Arnaud De Lie, Orluis Aular, Biniam Girmay, Jordi Meeus, Wout van Aert, Matthew Brennan, Christophe Laporte, Juan Sebastián Molano, Jonas Abrahamsen, Søren Wærenskjold, Max Kanter, Milan Fretin, Luca Mozzato, Matteo Trentin, Anthony Turgis, Lukáš Kubiš
Race Summary
Buffs and jackets were common garments worn at the sign-on but the sun was shining and temperatures were set to rise above 10C (50F) for what was a perfect early Spring day in Northern Europe. The wind was generally calm but there was enough to turn the windmills that dot the landscape. A large break got away that included Dries De Bondt of Jayco AlUla, Frits Biesterbos of Picnic-PostNL, Julius Johansen of UAE-XRG, Camille Charret of Cofidis, Jules Hesters and Victor Vercouillie of Flanders-Baloise, and Hartthijs De Vries and Wessel Mouris of Unibet Rose Rockets. The peloton had split through De Moeren and was still separated with 115 km to go. The break had 2 minutes 10 seconds on the first peloton which was roughly 35 riders and the main body of the bunch a further 45 seconds adrift. Mathieu van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen of Alpecin-Premier Tech, Matteo Trentin of Tudor Pro Cycling, Søren Wærenskjold of Uno-X Mobility, Jordi Meeus of Redbull-Bora Hansgrohe, Wout van Aert and Christophe Laporte of Visma-Lease a Bike, Paul Magnier of Soudal Quickstep, and Arnaud De Lie of Lotto Intermarché were all present in the front group with the rest of the favorites in group three.
The race arrived at the Scherpenerg, a wide climb hardly noticeable with it's 4% gradients, with 107 km to go. The advantage for the break was down to 1 minute 15 seconds to the first chase group with the larger peloton at 1 minute 45 seconds. Gaps continued to close in as Johansen led the break up the steep, narrow lane of the Baneberg. Passed the Lijstermolen at the top, the majority of group three had made contact. There was little time to let off the gas however because the Monteberg/Kemmelberg was just up the road.
Riders who managed to get on the front row of the peloton blocked the road on the Monteberg and set a much easier pace which allowed the break to extend their lead to 50 seconds. It was a different story on the Kemmelberg 2 km later. Ben Turner of Ineos attacked which caused a reaction that pulled the peloton thin. Unfortunately for Turner, most of the peloton was still together and he was caught with 87 km to go. Belgian bike racing at its finest ensued as little groups split off the front, got caught, and new groups formed. Through the village of Wijtschate at 82 km to go, an Alpecin-Premier Tech rider let the wheel go in front of him and a group of five went clear that consisted of Arthur Kluckers of Tudor Pro Cycling, Yevgeniy Fedorov of XDS-Astana, Gianni Vermeersch of Redbull-Bora Hansgrohe, Florian Sénéchal of Alpecin-Premier Tech, and Sander de Pestel of Decathlon CMA CGM. Soudal Quickstep shut the move down a few kilometers later but it did result in the peloton splitting with around 40 riders stuck off the back as the bunch turned onto Hill 63, the first of the Ploegstreets.
Jasper Stuyven of Soudal Quickstep stretched the group on Hill 63 and the race was full on over the top. Off the gravel, around 20 riders had formed a group and they quickly arrived at the sharp right turn onto the Christmas Truce sector, greeted by a solemn tune played by a pipe band. Gaps were stitched up on the gravel of the Christmas Truce and the bunch was together when they hit the main road with the Ploegsteert Memorial to the Missing on the right hand side. The Catacombs came and went with little action with the exception of Paul Magnier who flatted and was desperate for a bike change. The bunch turned back to the North with 71 km to go to head towards the hills again with the break sitting just 10 seconds ahead.
The bunch took the first moments in hours to take a drink and get a bite to eat before the hills resumed. The pause allowed a group of around 20 riders to return with 63 km to go, including Magnier, and the break were able to rebuild their lead to 45 seconds. No sooner did Magnier get on, the race intensified as positioning began for the Monteberg/Kemmelberg climbs 3 km up the road.
Soudal Quickstep led a scorching bunch into the Kemmelberg but it was Wout van Aert who lit up the pace which forced all the main favorites to respond. Van Aert kept powering over the cobbles and only van der Poel and Florian Vermeersch of UAE-XRG were able to stay with him. The break was swept up just at the top and they latched on to the advancing group. Off the descent, Johansen started to contribute for Vermeersch but initially, it was mainly van Aert doing to work. Behind, a relatively large group was chasing at 15 seconds through the village of Kemmel and were being led by Ineos and Decathlon CMA CGM. Unfortunately for Ineos, Turner suffered a spectacular crash with 50 km to go on the approach to the Scherpenberg and were left with just Filippo Ganna and Sam Watson in the group.
With 48 km to go, it was De Bondt, Biesterbos, Johansen, De Vries, and Mouris who remained from the original break and were holding on to Vermeersch, van der Poel, and van Aert with the Baneberg coming up next. The group was driven on by van Aert, van der Poel, Vermeersch, and Johansen which was enough firepower to grow the gap out to 40 seconds by the start of the Baneberg. Aimé De Gendt of Pinarello Q36.5 went on the attack from the bunch but no one went with him and by the top, he was stuck at 35 seconds with the rest of the peloton languishing another 15 seconds behind.
The gaps remained constant by the bottom of the final ascent of the Kemmelberg, this time from the slightly harder ossuary side. Van der Poel led onto the rough cobbles and the members of the early break all went backwards and distanced for good. Vermeersch lost contact about 200 meters from the top leaving just van der Poel and van Aert at the front of the bike race. When Vermeersch reached the top, he was 11 seconds behind but there was a gulf between him and the rest of the field. De Gendt was a full minute down with the remnants of the peloton at 1 minute 10 seconds.
As groups came together on the larger, flat roads towards Ieper, the peloton had consolidated into a group of around 40 riders led by Bahrain Victorious, Tudor Pro Cycling, and Redbull-Bora Hansgrohe. 24 km from the finish, the two leaders rode under the Lille Gate, into Ieper, and passed the grand Lakenhallen. Vermeersch had slipped to 20 seconds and the bunch were still hanging around the 1 minute mark. Out of the Menen Gate and to the 20 km to go sign post, the gap to the peloton was coming down to just 40 seconds. 8 km later, Vermeersch was caught and the bunch were just 21 seconds behind van Aert and van der Poel. Pictures of who was the bunch were hard to come by but definitely in the group was Biniam Girmay, Jordi Meeus, Tobias Lund Andresen, Arnaud De Lie, Jasper Philipsen, Matteo Trentin, and Luca Mozzato.
Alec Segaert of Bahrain Victorious wasn't interested in getting rolled in the sprint so he attacked through a left corner at 5.5 km to go and managed to bridge to the leading duo 1,500 meters later to make three at the front. Segaert sat on until 2 km to go but it was almost too late because the peloton were breathing down their necks at just 6 seconds. Filippo Ganna of Ineos closed the final few meters and caught van der Poel and van Aert but Segaert jumped in a last ditch effort. The Belgian was caught 500 meters from the line as the lead out by Decathlon CMA CGM ramped up the speed. The first to open the sprint was Lund Andresen who felt the presence of Trentin over his right shoulder. Philipsen was on the far left of the road and got a good run, matching Lund Andresen at 100 meters to go. Philipsen had slightly more speed left in the legs and hit the line first by a full length to take the victory, adding a prestigious classic to his illustrious palmares. Lund Andresen was second with Laporte squeezing through the center to take third on the day.