Gent-Wevelgem 2018 [LAST 20 KM]

March 25, 2018

Gent-Wevelgem 2018 – Deinze – Wevelgem : 250 km

The 2018 Gent–Wevelgem was a road cycling one-day race that took place on 25 March 2018 in Belgium. It was the 80th edition of Gent–Wevelgem and the eleventh event of the 2018 UCI World Tour.

Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) claimed his third Gent-Wevelgem title in impressive fashion with a comprehensive sprint win over Elia Viviani (Quick-Step Floors) and Arnaud Démare (Groupama-FDJ).

The World Champion rode a composed race and waited patiently for the final sprint as Quick-Step Floors set about controlling the race after the final ascent of the Kemmelberg. With strength in numbers Viviani came into the sprint as the favourite but the Italian was left boxed in after choosing to follow Matteo Trentin’s (Mitchelton-Scott) wheel. Sagan, meanwhile use his experience to drift onto Jasper Stuyven’s (Trek-Segaredo) left shoulder.

When the sprint opened up with just under 200m to go, Sagan had a clear road ahead of him, and the Bora rider drew his line to the left as Viviani was forced to come through the crowd and then around Démare. The Frenchman had a better line than Viviani but was left exposed when Sagan turned on the afterburners. Viviani found the strength to take second but the ground he conceded at the start of the sprint was too much to make up.

Two days ago, Sagan’s form was questioned after he failed to impress in E3 Harelbeke. He may not even be at his very best but he was more than good enough to take the win in Wevelgem. With a week to go until Tour of Flanders, his rivals have been warned.

As for Viviani, the Italian slumped to the floor after crossing the line, a soigneur draping a jacket over his shoulders as the rider failed to fight back the tears of defeat. Until the final 500m, the De Panne winner had put in the perfect performance, making every key split, including the decisive one over the Kemmelberg.

Teammates Philippe Gilbert, Zdenek Stybar and Yves Lampaert all sacrificed their chances for him in the finale, with Gilbert the most impressive of the lot, with a huge turn on the front inside the final 5km. Their work was undone when was Viviani caught in the wheels. A split second of hesitation, saw him go around to the right and back onto Démare’s wheel but by the damage was done.

The role of Stuyven was pivotal. The Trek rider seemed to not only – through no fault of his own – lead out Sagan but also box in Viviani. This left the Quick-Step rider with no choice but to take the more difficult route through the sprint.

How it unfolded

The 174 starters rolled out of Deinze with the sun on their backs and relatively warm conditions for this time of the year. It took a while before a breakaway received space from the peloton but after half an hour of racing Brian van Goethem (Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij) and José Gonçalves (Katusha-Alpecin) took off. They were joined by Frederik Frison (Lotto-Soudal), and later also Filippo Ganna (UAE Team Emirates), Jimmy Duquennoy (WB Aqua Protect Veranclassic) and Jan-Willem van Schip (Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij).

At first, the peloton didn’t relent, with the first hour of racing completed at 48 km/h. From there the lead for the six breakaway riders increased and topped nine minutes after 70 kilometres.

Without crosswind the passage through the flatlands of De Moeren didn’t result in a echelon fest but the gap between the leaders and the peloton slowly dropped to five minutes as they approached the first set of climbs. The fight for position started as the peloton swapped roads and main roads, which caused crashes and splits.

The decisive Kemmelberg

The six leaders still had an advantage of five minutes when they tackled the Kemmelberg for the first time. Quick-Step Floors led the peloton over the steep cobbled climb, and Philippe Gilbert accelerated to give a clear indication of both his form, and his team’s desire to make the race.

Sixty kilometres from the finish, the first of three Plugstreets featured and BMC Racing charged to the front. The gap between the leaders and the peloton dropped down to three minutes on the first set of dirt roads. On the second plugstreet, the peloton started to stretch out under the pressure from Van Avermaet’s men, and a lined-out peloton reached the final plugstreet ‘The Catacombs’ with almost half the field fighting to remain in contention.

Jelle Wallays launched the attack he had talked up in Lotto-Soudal pre-race press release, and with 200km raced the Belgian was joined by a small number of riders with Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton-Scott) and Zdenek Stybar (Quick-Step Floors) in the breakaway.

A few moments later that group was caught and suddenly Stybar, Tony Gallopin (AG2R La Mondiale), Sacha Modolo (EF Education First-Drapac) and Stefan Küng (BMC) found themselves on the deck after a fall. Wallays didn’t give up and featured in a new attempt to sneak away, combining forces with Julien Vermote (Dimension Data), Vyacheslav Kuznetsov (Katusha-Alpecin) and Alex Kirsch (WB Aqua Protect Veranclassic). These four riders bridged up to the six leaders shortly after tackling the Baneberg climb, and just before the final ascent of the Kemmelberg.

With the race wide open Philippe Gilbert anticipated the Kemmelberg and gapped the peloton on the lower slopes. Sep Vanmarcke led the peloton over the cobbles with Trentin, Stybar marking his wheel. Gilbert seemed to have gear problems and his lead was vastly reduced by the time he crested the top with Vanmarcke the rest just a few bike lengths back.

Once over the tough climb, Roompot riders Brian van Goethem and Jan-Willem van Schip survived the Kemmelberg and joined up with Julien Vermote, Alex Kirsch, Jelle Wallays and Kuznetsov. Behind them, the big names combined forces, trying to make the race as hard as possible for John Degenkolb and Alexander Kristoff, who had both been left on the Kemmel.

On the main road towards Ypres, the Sagan and Gilbert group of 23 riders steamed through and brought back the group containing Vermote and Wallays. With almost 30 riders at the front of the race, and most of the sprint teams represented, there was little hope Kristoff and the rest making a return.

Roompot and Quick-Step Floors controlled the lead group an ensured that the pace was just high enough to keep the lead group from attacking, with Mitchelton-Scott also willing to work. Gilbert and Stybar were immense and closed down any thought of an attack with a final roll of the dice from Roompot neutralized in the closing stages.

Vanmarcke put in a late dash for the line but the Belgian was closed down as the sprinters readied themselves for the final push.

Results :

1 Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe 5:53:37
2 Elia Viviani (Ita) Quick-Step Floors
3 Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ
4 Christophe Laporte (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
5 Jens Debusschere (Bel) Lotto Soudal
6 Oliver Naesen (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale
7 Matteo Trentin (Ita) Mitchelton-Scott
8 Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Quick-Step Floors
9 Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek-Segafredo
10 Wout Van Aert (Bel) Veranda’s Willems Crelan
11 Sacha Modolo (Ita) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale
12 Jan Willem van Schip (Ned) Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij
13 Michael Matthews (Aus) Team Sunweb
14 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team
15 Julien Vermote (Bel) Dimension Data
16 Viacheslav Kuznetsov (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin
17 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Quick-Step Floors
18 Marcus Burghardt (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
19 Brian van Goethem (Ned) Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij
20 Yves Lampaert (Bel) Quick-Step Floors 0:00:05
21 Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale 0:00:08
22 Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) Wanty-Groupe Gobert
23 Luka Mezgec (Slo) Mitchelton-Scott 0:00:12
24 Magnus Cort (Den) Astana Pro Team 0:01:01
25 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) UAE Team Emirates
26 Michael Valgren (Den) Astana Pro Team 0:01:14
27 Preben Van Hecke (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise 0:01:22
28 Tony Martin (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin 0:02:49
29 Justin Jules (Fra) WB Aqua Protect Veranclassic 0:03:14
30 Andrea Pasqualon (Ita) Wanty-Groupe Gobert
31 Alex Kirsch (Lux) WB Aqua Protect Veranclassic
32 Edward Theuns (Bel) Team Sunweb 0:03:17
33 Jasha Sütterlin (Ger) Movistar Team
34 Mike Teunissen (Ned) Team Sunweb
35 Dries Van Gestel (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
36 Koen de Kort (Ned) Trek-Segafredo
37 Bert Van Lerberghe (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
38 Timo Roosen (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo
39 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Quick-Step Floors
40 Frederik Frison (Bel) Lotto Soudal
41 Jelle Wallays (Bel) Lotto Soudal
42 Danny van Poppel (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo
43 Filippo Ganna (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
44 Daniel Oss (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe
45 Gianni Moscon (Ita) Team Sky
46 Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
47 Florian Senechal (Fra) Quick-Step Floors
48 John Degenkolb (Ger) Trek-Segafredo
49 Heinrich Haussler (Aus) Bahrain-Merida
50 Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale
51 Coen Vermeltfoort (Ned) Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij 0:05:34
52 Rudy Barbier (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
53 Ryan Gibbons (RSA) Dimension Data
54 Rick Zabel (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin
55 Juraj Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe
56 Gijs Van Hoecke (Bel) LottoNL-Jumbo
57 Jérémy Lecroq (Fra) Vital Concept Club
58 Edward Planckaert (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
59 Lars Bak (Den) Lotto Soudal
60 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Soudal
61 Julien Duval (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
62 Huub Duijn (Ned) Veranda’s Willems Crelan
63 Christophe Noppe (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
64 Stefan Küng (Swi) BMC Racing Team
65 Michael Schär (Swi) BMC Racing Team
66 Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Sunweb
67 Stijn Devolder (Bel) Veranda’s Willems Crelan
68 Jorge Arcas (Spa) Movistar Team
69 Zico Waeytens (Bel) Veranda’s Willems Crelan
70 Owain Doull (GBr) Team Sky
71 Olivier Le Gac (Fra) FDJ
72 Boy van Poppel (Ned) Trek-Segafredo
73 Hugo Houle (Can) Astana Pro Team
74 Laurens De Vreese (Bel) Astana Pro Team
75 Carlos Barbero (Spa) Movistar Team
76 Nelson Oliveira (Por) Movistar Team
77 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Sky
78 Francisco Ventoso (Spa) BMC Racing Team
79 Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
80 Michal Golas (Pol) Team Sky
81 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Dimension Data
82 Pim Ligthart (Ned) Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij
83 Andrey Amador (CRc) Movistar Team 0:05:39
84 Kristijan Koren (Slo) Bahrain-Merida
85 Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) FDJ
86 Jimmy Duquennoy (Bel) WB Aqua Protect Veranclassic
87 Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) FDJ
88 Simone Consonni (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
89 Hector Carretero (Spa) Movistar Team
90 Ian Stannard (GBr) Team Sky
91 Tom Devriendt (Bel) Wanty-Groupe Gobert
92 Maarten Wynants (Bel) LottoNL-Jumbo
93 Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo
94 Jos van Emden (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo
95 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) BMC Racing Team
96 Tom Scully (NZl) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale
97 Mathew Hayman (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
98 Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
99 Dylan van Baarle (Ned) Team Sky
100 Jack Bauer (NZl) Mitchelton-Scott
101 Alex Edmondson (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
102 Nico Denz (Ger) AG2R La Mondiale 0:11:47
103 Floris Gerts (Ned) Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij
104 Kenneth Van Rooy (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
105 Luke Durbridge (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
106 Benjamin King (USA) Dimension Data
107 Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale
108 Antoine Duchesne (Can) FDJ
109 Tanguy Turgis (Fra) Vital Concept Club
110 Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) FDJ
111 Jay Thomson (RSA) Dimension Data
112 Bert De Backer (Bel) Vital Concept Club
113 Lukas Spengler (Swi) WB Aqua Protect Veranclassic
114 Geoffrey Soupe (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
115 Mark McNally (GBr) Wanty-Groupe Gobert
116 Gediminas Bagdonas (Ltu) AG2R La Mondiale
117 Kenneth Vanbilsen (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
118 Marco Marcato (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
119 Michaël Van Staeyen (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
120 Sjoerd van Ginneken (Ned) Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij
121 Alberto Bettiol (Ita) BMC Racing Team
122 Ivan Garcia (Spa) Bahrain-Merida
123 Kristoffer Halvorsen (Nor) Team Sky
124 Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
125 Julien Stassen (Bel) WB Aqua Protect Veranclassic
126 Oliviero Troia (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
127 Ben Swift (GBr) UAE Team Emirates
128 Alex Dowsett (GBr) Katusha-Alpecin
129 David Per (Slo) Bahrain-Merida
130 Jenthe Biermans (Bel) Katusha-Alpecin
131 Borut Bozic (Slo) Bahrain-Merida
132 Michael Hepburn (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
133 Nicolas Dougall (RSA) Dimension Data
134 Luka Pibernik (Slo) Bahrain-Merida
135 Michael Goolaerts (Bel) Veranda’s Willems Crelan
136 Taylor Phinney (USA) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale
137 Pieter Vanspeybrouck (Bel) Wanty-Groupe Gobert
138 Tim Declercq (Bel) Quick-Step Floors
139 Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) BMC Racing Team
140 Thomas Leezer (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo
141 Bryan Coquard (Fra) Vital Concept Club
142 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe
143 Oscar Gatto (Ita) Astana Pro Team
144 Kenny Dehaes (Bel) WB Aqua Protect Veranclassic
145 Jasper De Buyst (Bel) Lotto Soudal
146 Tony Gallopin (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
147 Kris Boeckmans (Bel) Vital Concept Club
148 Dries De Bondt (Bel) Veranda’s Willems Crelan
149 Julien Morice (Fra) Vital Concept Club 0:11:56
DNF Johan Le Bon (Fra) Vital Concept Club
DNF Mads Pedersen (Den) Trek-Segafredo
DNF Wouter Wippert (Ned) Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij
DNF Gregory Rast (Swi) Trek-Segafredo
DNF Sven Erik Bystrøm (Nor) UAE Team Emirates
DNF Amaury Capiot (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
DNF Andreas Schillinger (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
DNF Rüdiger Selig (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
DNF Kiel Reijnen (USA) Trek-Segafredo
DNF Lennard Hofstede (Ned) Team Sunweb
DNF Mitchell Docker (Aus) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale
DNF Daniel McLay (GBr) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale
DNF Davide Cimolai (Ita) FDJ
DNF Daniele Bennati (Ita) Movistar Team
DNF Jordi Warlop (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise
DNF Senne Leysen (Bel) Veranda’s Willems Crelan
DNF Nikias Arndt (Ger) Team Sunweb
DNF Moreno Hofland (Ned) Lotto Soudal
DNF Tom Stamsnijder (Ned) Team Sunweb
DNF Yoann Offredo (Fra) Wanty-Groupe Gobert
DNF José Gonçalves (Por) Katusha-Alpecin
DNF Maxime Vantomme (Bel) WB Aqua Protect Veranclassic
DNF Loic Chetout (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
DNF Baptiste Planckaert (Bel) Katusha-Alpecin
DNS Timothy Dupont (Bel) Wanty-Groupe Gobert