What a day of racing. The men’s race seemed locked–Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel were clear–joined by Alec Segaert of Bahrain – Victorious, but then, well, we saw life ain’t a simulation. Because somehow–whether it was the wind, tired legs, or just bike racin’, the trio got caught.
Immediately, MvdP got into leadout mode, because Alpecin-Premier Tech has a helluva backup.
Jasper Philipsen timed it to perfection to win Gent-Wevelgem, or In Flanders Fields Middelkerke-Wevelgem, if you want to be technical, after a race shaped, but not decided, by van der Poel and van Aert.
Sunday’s race
An eight-man break went clear early and built a sizeable gap, with Alpecin-Premier Tech keeping things in check behind. The expected crosswinds in De Moeren never fully split the race, though tension and a crash thinned the bunch before the hill zone.
On the Kemmelberg, Van Aert lit things up. As he does. Only Van der Poel could match him, and the pair quickly turned the race into a head-to-head, sweeping up the remnants of the break and forging clear. For a moment, it looked like a duel for the win. It was a bit of a taste of the good ole days, right?
But the chasers never fully cracked. Teams riding for the sprint gradually clawed their way back, and in a dramatic twist, the leaders were caught inside the flamme rouge.
From there, Philipsen delivered, just smoking it past Tobias Lund Andresen to seal a hard-earned victory, with Christophe Laporte third. Visma got on the podium, but they probably wanted more. Still, some great racing where it didn’t seem all pre-determined, essentially.
Wiebes again
Lorena Wiebes made it three in a row at In Flanders Fields, taking control on the Kemmelberg before finishing it off in Wevelgem, though not without a brief moment of doubt on the line. Again, a bit of, OMG will she win? It is good for the sport.
An early break of four animated the opening kilometres, but the race came alive on the Plugstreets, where a dangerous move formed featuring Wiebes and Elisa Balsamo. Crashes left Wiebes isolated, yet she flipped that into an advantage. Some of those crashes involved Human Powered Health’s Maggie Coles-Lyster, who unfortunately crashed twice, along with national champ Alison Jackson, who once again lit it up.
On the final ascent of the Kemmelberg, the Dutch champion forced the pace, riding clear before easing slightly to form a five-rider group with Fleur Moors, Elise Chabbey, Eleonora Gasparrini and Karlijn Swinkels. Behind, the chase lacked cohesion, and the gap held.
Attacks came late, particularly from Gasparrini, but Wiebes covered everything. The quintet arrived together, and Wiebes opened her sprint from distance, holding off a fast-closing Moors to win, with Swinkels third.
Jackson finished 64th; Coles-Lyster and Éloïse Camiré (Minimax Cycling Team) both called it a day before the finish.