2024 Gent - Wevelgem (World Tour), Belgium

Ghent - Wevelgem (English), Gand - Wevelgem (French)

86th edition: Sunday, March 24, 2024

Gent-Wevelgem complete results for every edition | 2023 edition | Map & profile | Photos | Start list

Ypres (Ieper)- Wevelgem, 253.1 km

Mads Pedersen wins the 86th edition of Gent-Wevelgem.

Les Woodland's book Tour of Flanders: The Inside Story - The rocky roads of the Ronde van Vlaanderen is available in print, Kindle eBook and audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Weather at the finish city of Wevelgem at 1:10 PM, local time: 11C (51F), partly cloudy, with the wind from the west at 29 km/hr (18 mph). There is a 4% chance of rain.

The race: Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X Mobility) & Yevgeniy Gidich (Astana Qazaqstan) did not start. Not long after the start Jasper Dejaegher (Flanders Baloise) abandoned. About 100 kilometers into the race Jan Tratnik (Visma | Lease a bike) quit the race after crashing.

The start line.

Here's the report from winner Mads Pedersen's Team Lidl-Trek:

After an incredible team effort and fourth place finish at Milano-Sanremo, it seemed only a matter of time before Mads Pedersen found his winning legs. At Gent-Wevelgem on Sunday, he unearthed that power, sprinting from long range from a leadout position with Mathieu van der Poel on his wheel, and forcing the defending World Champion to sit up in the closing meters. Pedersen recorded his first win of the Classics season.

“I had to believe that the sprint was good enough to beat Mathieu,” Pedersen said after the race. “With the shaky showings lately, it was hard to believe, but I had to try the sprint and nothing else. It was a gamble and I took the front because I knew he would be happy, and Deceuninck would be happy, if the bunch came back with [Jasper] Philipsen. So I had to keep the speed high and hope I still had the legs for the sprint.”

An hour into the race, the riders are forming echelons.

Once again, Lidl-Trek was the most aggressive team on the course. Jonathan Milan, who finished fifth after taking third in the bunch sprint, was the first solo attacker on the day with roughly 80 kilometers to go. The move forced Van der Poel to expend energy driving a select group of breakaway riders to close the gap, allowing Pedersen and Jasper Stuyven to sit behind. Lidl-Trek suffered a setback when Stuyven punctured, but Pedersen sat comfortably while Milan stayed out front for nearly 20 kilometers.

“With Johnny attacking it was the first move from the team to put pressure on the rest of the guys,” Pedersen said. “And luckily for us, Mathieu had to work there to close him. We were up for the challenge to keep going like that. Luckily for me it took a long time for Mathieu and the guys in the breakaway to close Johnny, and it made it in my favor.”

Pedersen attacked once Milan was reeled in, as the second of three passes on the daunting Kemmelberg climb loomed. He would continue to put pressure on the group, knowing that a high pace was in his team’s favor. He and Van der Poel would eventually find themselves as the only two riders left, dropping the last hanger-on, Laurence Pithie, when Pedersen accelerated on the final pass of the Kemmelberg with under 40 kilometers to go.

Pedersen and Van der Poel began working together to keep the peloton at bay, but Pedersen knew that eventually the entente would end. Van der Poel’s teammate, Jasper Philipsen, is one of the fastest sprinters in the world, and Pedersen knew that Van der Poel had incentive to force Pedersen to work or else let Philipsen come back and contest the sprint.

And with about 20 km to go, the two kings of wattage, Mads Pedersen and Mathieu van der Poel, are about a minute ahead of their nearest chasers.

With Van der Poel stuck to his wheel in the closing kilometer, Pedersen was only left with hope that his legs would hold out against one of the strongest riders in the world. He opened up his sprint early. Van der Poel went with him and clawed back half a bike length, but no more. Knowing he couldn’t close the gap, Van der Poel sat up, and Pedersen coasted to victory.

“It’s never nice to be up against a guy like [Van der Poel,]” Pedersen said. “He’s the world champion, and he is one of the biggest stars in cycling, and he’s pretty damn good. The only thing I could do was to believe in myself and hope it would be enough, and yeah, luckily it was. It’s a bit of pressure and a bit stressful to have him around when we have to sprint.”

The victory confirmed Lidl-Trek’s strength as a team throughout the Classics season. On Friday, Stuyven took second at E3 Saxo Classic and three Lidl-Trek riders placed in the top 10. The effort was a good sign for what came Sunday.

“After E3 we talked about having numbers and we did a strong team performance,” Pedersen said. “And I think what we left Friday, we picked up again today. So we’re really happy with the team and the classics squad we have and hopefully we can keep building on what we’re doing.”

With the next Monument of the cycling season looming next weekend, the result is especially encouraging. This Lidl-Trek men’s team seems tailor-built for the Classics, but a win on the famed cobble course will be a lot to ask in this age of superstars.

But the team has shown repeatedly that its teamwork will put it in position to win every race it enters. There’s nothing more a rider like Pedersen could ask for.

“New sponsor, new responsibility, more pressure, new signings, everything is getting bigger and bigger, and I think the whole team is living up to what we want and where we want to be,” Pedersen said. “And I think again, that’s what we need to be able to beat these superstars of cycling because, don’t get me wrong, but on our team, we don’t have these superstars. But with the right numbers, we are able to beat them.”

Complete results:

• 171 riders listed to start
• 2 riders did not start, 73 abandoned.
• 98 classified finishers

253.1 kilometers raced at an average speed ot 45.196 km/hr

1	Mads Pedersen	Lidl-Trek	5hr 36min 0sec
2	Mathieu van der Poel	Alpecin-Deceuninck	s.t.
3	Jordi Meeus	Bora-hansgrohe	@ 16sec
4	Jasper Philipsen	Alpecin-Deceuninck	s.t.
5	Jonathan Milan	Lidl-Trek	s.t.
6	Olav Kooij	Visma | Lease a Bike	s.t.
7	Biniam Girmay	Intermarché-Wanty	s.t.
8	Tim Merlier	Soudal Quick-Step	s.t.
9	Dylan Groenewegen	Jayco-AlUla	s.t.
10	Matteo Trentin	Tudor Pro Cycling	s.t.
11	Oliver Naesen	Decathlon Ag2r La Mondiale	s.t.
12	Stefan Bissegger	EF Education-EasyPost	s.t.
13	Matej Mohoric	Bahrain Victorious	s.t.
14	Stefan Küng	Groupama-FDJ	s.t.
15	Luca Mozzato	Arkea-B&B Hotels	s.t.
16	Laurenz Rex	Intermarché-Wanty	s.t.
17	Corbin Strong	Israel-Premier Tech	s.t.
18	Marius Mayrhofer	Tudor Pro Cycling	s.t.
19	Mikkel Bjerg	UAE Team Emirates	s.t.
20	Jonas Abrahamsen	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
21	Fred Wright	Bahrain Victorious	s.t.
22	Fabian Lienhard	Groupama-FDJ	s.t.
23	Rasmus Tiller	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
24	Sandy Dujardin	TotalEnergies	s.t.
25	Ben Turner	INEOS Grenadiers	s.t.
26	Laurence Pithie	Groupama-FDJ	s.t.
27	Nils Politt	UAE Team Emirates	s.t.
28	Alexis Renard	Cofidis	s.t.
29	Piet Allegaert	Cofidis	s.t.
30	Kamil Malecki	Q36.5 Pro Cycling	s.t.
31	Max Walscheid	Jayco-AlUla	s.t.
32	António Morgado	UAE Team Emirates	s.t.
33	Dries Van Gestel	TotalEnergies	s.t.
34	Pierre Gautherat	Decathlon Ag2r La Mondiale	s.t.
35	Michael Valgren	EF Education-EasyPost	s.t.
36	Anthony Turgis	TotalEnergies	s.t.
37	Casper Van Uden	dsm-firmenich-PostNL	s.t.
38	Madis Mihkels	Intermarché-Wanty	s.t.
39	Tiesj Benoot	Visma | Lease a Bike	s.t.
40	Jasper Stuyven	Lidl-Trek	s.t.
41	Otto Vergaerde	Lidl-Trek	s.t.
42	Thomas Gachignard	TotalEnergies	s.t.
43	Magnus Sheffield	INEOS Grenadiers	s.t.
44	Tim Van Dijke	Visma | Lease a Bike	s.t.
45	Danny Van Poppel	Bora-hansgrohe	s.t.
46	Edward Theuns	Lidl-Trek	0:28
47	Gianni Vermeersch	Alpecin-Deceuninck	s.t.
48	Bert Van Lerberghe	Soudal Quick-Step	s.t.
49	Søren Kragh Andersen	Alpecin-Deceuninck	s.t.
50	Timo Kielich	Alpecin-Deceuninck	0:39
51	Gil Gelders	Soudal Quick-Step	0:50
52	Hugo Page	Intermarché-Wanty	s.t.
53	Kasper Asgreen	Soudal Quick-Step	1:42
54	Marco Haller	Bora-hansgrohe	1:48
55	Yves Lampaert	Soudal Quick-Step	s.t.
56	Mike Teunissen	Intermarché-Wanty	3:09
57	Albert Torres	Movistar	4:20
58	Nico Denz	Bora-hansgrohe	s.t.
59	Arnaud Démare	Arkea-B&B Hotels	s.t.
60	Rick Pluimers	Tudor Pro Cycling	s.t.
61	Michael Matthews	Jayco-AlUla	s.t.
62	Ben Swift	INEOS Grenadiers	s.t.
63	Sven Erik Bystrøm	Groupama-FDJ	s.t.
64	Harry Sweeny	EF Education-EasyPost	s.t.
65	David Dekker	Arkea-B&B Hotels	5:17
66	Tord Gudmestad	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
67	Tom Van Asbroeck	Israel-Premier Tech	s.t.
68	Andrea Pasqualon	Bahrain Victorious	s.t.
69	Lorenzo Milesi	Movistar	s.t.
70	Emilien Jeannière	TotalEnergies	s.t.
71	Luke Lamperti	Soudal Quick-Step	s.t.
72	Milan Fretin	Cofidis	s.t.
73	Fabio Christen	Q36.5 Pro Cycling	s.t.
74	Yevgeniy Fedorov	Astana Qazaqstan	s.t.
75	Mathias Norsgaard	Movistar	s.t.
76	Liam Slock	Lotto Dstny	s.t.
77	Michele Gazzoli	Astana Qazaqstan	s.t.
78	Lars Craps	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
79	Dries De Bondt	Decathlon Ag2r La Mondiale	s.t.
80	Mathis Le Berre	Arkea-B&B Hotels	s.t.
81	William Blume Levy	Uno-X Mobility	s.t.
82	Dylan Vandenstorme	Team Flanders-Baloise	s.t.
83	Riley Pickrell	Israel-Premier Tech	s.t.
84	Mick Van Dijke	Visma | Lease a Bike	s.t.
85	Daan Hoole	Lidl-Trek	s.t.
86	Lewis Askey	Groupama-FDJ	s.t.
87	Hugo Houle	Israel-Premier Tech	s.t.
88	Johan Jacobs	Movistar	s.t.
89	Arnaud De Lie	Lotto Dstny	5:32
90	Georg Zimmermann	Intermarché-Wanty	7:17
91	Szymon Sajnok	Q36.5 Pro Cycling	s.t.
92	Cyrus Monk	Q36.5 Pro Cycling	s.t.
93	Edvald Boasson-Hagen	Decathlon Ag2r La Mondiale	s.t.
94	Brent Van Moer	Lotto Dstny	s.t.
95	Edoardo Affini	Visma | Lease a Bike	s.t.
96	John Degenkolb	dsm-firmenich-PostNL	s.t.
97	Cees Bol	Astana Qazaqstan	s.t.

 

Race map & profile:

2024 Gent-Wevelgem map

2024 Gent-Wevelgem profile

2024 Gent-Wevelgem photos by Fotoreporter Sirotti.

Mads Pedersen knows he beat Mathieu van der Poel.

Mads Pedersen has good reason to sit up and celebrate.

Here comes the pack...

The sprint for third approaches the line.

The field sprint for third place, won by Jordi Meeus (Bora-hansgrohe)

Danny Van Poppel was 45th, the last rider in the first chase group.

After a tough day at the office Kasper Asgreen finishes 53rd, @ 1min 42sec

A handshake as Mads Pedersen climbs on to the podium.

And of course, a selfie.

Third-place Jordi Meeus

Second-place Mathieu van der Poel

2024 Gent-Wevelgem winner Mads Pedersen

Start list with back numbers, March 23, 2024:

	Team Visma | Lease A Bike
1	Tiesj Benoot
2	Olav Kooij
3	Jan Tratnik
4	Edoardo Affini
5	Tosh Van Der Sande
6	Mick Van Dijke
7	Tim Van Dijke
	Alpecin-Deceuninck
11	Mathieu van der Poel
12	Jasper Philipsen
13	Timo Kielich
14	Søren Kragh Andersen
15	Silvan Dillier
16	Ramon Sinkeldam
17	Gianni Vermeersch
	Intermarché-Wanty
21	Biniam Girmay
22	Madis Mihkels
23	Hugo Page
24	Laurenz Rex
25	Adrien Petit
26	Mike Teunissen
27	Georg Zimmermann
	Soudal Quick-Step
31	Tim Merlier
32	Yves Lampaert
33	Gil Gelders
34	Josef Cerný
35	Bert Van Lerberghe
36	Kasper Asgreen
37	Luke Lamperti
	Arkea-B&B Hotels
41	Arnaud Démare
42	David Dekker
43	Mathis Le Berre
44	Luca Mozzato
45	Daniel Mclay
46	Miles Scotson
47	Alan Riou
	Astana Qazaqstan Team
51	Cees Bol
52	Yevgeniy Fedorov
53	Michele Gazzoli
54	Yevgeniy Gidich
55	Max Kanter
56	Michael Mørkøv
57	Gleb Syritsa
	Bahrain Victorious
61	Matej Mohoric
62	Matevz Govekar
63	Kamil Gradek
64	Fran Miholjevic
65	Andrea Pasqualon
66	Dusan Rajovic
67	Fred Wright
	Bora-hansgrohe
71	Jordi Meeus
72	Nico Denz
73	Marco Haller
74	Filip Maciejuk
75	Ryan Mullen
76	Luis-Joe Lührs
77	Danny Van Poppel
	Cofidis
81	Piet Allegaert
82	Stanislaw Aniolkowski
83	Aimé De Gendt
84	Milan Fretin
85	Nolann Mahoudo
86	Alexis Renard
87	Axel Zingle
	Decathlon Ag2r La Mondiale
91	Oliver Naesen
92	Edvald Boasson-Hagen
93	Dries De Bondt
94	Sander De Pestel
95	Pierre Gautherat
96	Jordan Labrosse
97	Sam Bennett
	EF Education-EasyPost
101	Stefan Bissegger
103	Jack Rootkin-Gray
104	Jonas Rutsch
105	Harry Sweeny
106	Michael Valgren
107	Yuhi Todome
	Groupama-FDJ
111	Stefan Küng
112	Lewis Askey
113	Sven Erik Bystrøm
114	Olivier Le Gac
115	Fabian Lienhard
116	Laurence Pithie
117	Sam Watson
	INEOS Grenadiers
121	Jhonnatan Narvaez
122	Elia Viviani
123	Cameron Wurf
124	Magnus Sheffield
125	Ben Swift
126	Connor Swift
127	Ben Turner
	Lidl-Trek
131	Mads Pedersen
132	Otto Vergaerde
133	Edward Theuns
134	Daan Hoole
135	Alex Kirsch
136	Jonathan Milan
137	Jasper Stuyven
	Movistar Team
141	Fernando Gaviria
142	Mathias Norsgaard
143	Johan Jacobs
144	Davide Cimolai
145	Manlio Moro
146	Lorenzo Milesi
147	Albert Torres
	Team dsm-firmenich-PostNL
151	John Degenkolb
152	Patrick Eddy
153	Julius Van Den Berg
154	Nils Eekhoff
155	Enzo Leijnse
156	Niklas Märkl
157	Casper Van Uden
	Team Jayco-Alula
161	Michael Matthews
162	Luke Durbridge
163	Dylan Groenewegen
164	Luka Mezgec
165	Kelland O'Brien
166	Elmar Reinders
167	Max Walscheid
	UAE Team Emirates
171	Sebastian Molano
172	Ivo Oliveira
173	Mikkel Bjerg
174	Alvaro Hodeg
175	António Morgado
176	Nils Politt
177	Michael Vink
	Israel-Premier Tech
181	Hugo Hofstetter
182	Hugo Houle
183	Oded Kogut
184	Riley Pickrell
185	Jake Stewart
186	Corbin Strong
187	Tom Van Asbroeck
	Lotto Dstny
191	Arnaud De Lie
192	Cédric Beullens
193	Mathijs Paasschens
194	Lionel Taminiaux
195	Liam Slock
196	Brent Van Moer
197	Jasper De Buyst
	Uno-X Mobility
201	Alexander Kristoff
202	Jonas Abrahamsen
203	Stian Fredheim
204	Tord Gudmestad
205	Erik Resell
206	Rasmus Tiller
207	William Blume Levy
	Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team
211	Szymon Sajnok
212	Fabio Christen
213	Tobias Ludvigsson
214	Kamil Malecki
215	Cyrus Monk
217	Nicolò Parisini
	Team Flanders-Baloise
221	Lars Craps
222	Jasper Dejaegher
223	Siebe Deweirdt
224	Jules Hesters
225	Noah Vandenbranden
226	Yentl Vandevelde
227	Dylan Vandenstorme
	TotalEnergies
231	Dries Van Gestel
232	Lucas Boniface
233	Sandy Dujardin
234	Thomas Gachignard
235	Emilien Jeannière
236	Lorrenzo Manzin
237	Anthony Turgis
	Tudor Pro Cycling Team
241	Matteo Trentin
242	Sebastian Kolze Changizi
243	Jacob Eriksson
244	Petr Kelemen
245	Marius Mayrhofer
246	Rick Pluimers
247	Maikel Zijlaard