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2016 Gent - Wevelgem (World Tour), Belgium

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

78th edition: Sunday, March 27, 2016

Gent-Wevelgem Podium History | 2015 Edition | 2017 edition | Course map | Start list

Deinze - Wevelgem, 242.8 km

Peter Sagan wins 2016 Gent-Wevelgem

Peter Sagan wins 2016 Gent-Wevelgem

The Climbs:

The Race: Here's the tale as told by winner Peter Sagan's Tinkoff team.

Olympics 50 Craziest Stories

A stunning victory for Peter Sagan today as he took his first win in the rainbow stripes of the UCI World Champion’s jersey at Gent-Wevelgem. In the second of the four cobblestone classics, and in a contrast to his win in 2013 which he won after a solo breakaway, Peter took the win in a four-man sprint, having escaped in a group 34km from the finish.

Speaking at the finish, a thrilled Sagan talked about his first win. “I'm very happy that I've won finally with this jersey. It's an important race for me also - it’s the second time I have won here. I want to dedicate this victory to my father in law as he had a hard time yesterday and I'm very happy to have won this race for him, and for our team owner, Oleg Tinkov.”

The 234km course was flat for the first 125km, but these more open sections of the course were exposed and windswept, sapping the energy reserves of the riders. After this, at 140km, the climbs came thick and fast – ten climbs in the space of 65km. It was on these climbs the race would be won or lost.

Peter Sagan was in the front group from early on in the race, among the other race favourites, but stayed hidden in order to save energy for the finish. A tailwind was helping the bunch along for the first half of the race, but the riders knew this would be working against them on the home stretch. Hitting the major climbs, the field was stretched out, however no major splits had formed. It was after the final climb, the Kemmelberg, that the decisive move was made and the race was on.

With 34km to go, Fabian Cancellara of Trek-Segafredo went, taking Sagan with him, and bridging the gap to Katusha’s Kuznetsov, who was further up the road. Having been joined by LottoNL-Jumbo’s Vanmarcke, the breakaway quickly built up a lead of 35 seconds on the rest of the peloton.

With 5km of the race left and a 45 second time gap, it seemed certain the break wasn’t going to be caught. The chase had fallen apart, meaning it was all down to the four riders in the breakaway, and the race was to be decided with a sprint to the line. At less than 2km to the finish, the breakaway slowed, looking at each other to see who was going to make their move. Finally after Cancellara feigned an attack, Kuznetsov went and Sagan followed, using the Russian rider to lead him out and take the win in the sprint.

From the finish, Peter described the break. “The final was very hard because we were in a breakaway. I wasn’t going to make the same mistake as before and pull until the finish. We had a gap, I started from third position, and I said I had to go behind him and he pulled me in a very good sprint.”

At the finish, Sagan was quick to thank his teammates, who were instrumental in keeping him safe in the early stages of the race. “I am very happy for today. I have to thank my teammates as they did a lot of hard work today. From the start they were a bit on the back foot but they came again. We played a bit with the group, and it was good from them. I had a hard time yesterday I am very happy for today. It was very hard and I want to thank my teammates. Every race is different and today was my day.”

Peter continued, describing the final 30km of the race. “In the final it was a hard race with the strong wind and we went full gas. In the final we attacked with Fabian in the last cobblestone climb, Kemmelberg, and made the breakaway. Then I think the fans also saw the breakaway - we worked well together from the start. In the sprint the speed was very slow as we spent a lot of time on the front of the group. Today I felt very, very good and the victory is here and for that I'm very happy.”

Sport Director, Tristan Hoffman, was full of praise for Peter and the team. “It was clear from the start that we go with Peter today, and the guys were all focused on the plan. Pavel Brutt was in the first breakaway - they were let go but there were crosswinds and big splits in the peloton so the situation was always changing. A big split in the peloton came behind with 30 or so riders coming across, including Peter. Then there was a chase group behind and we had five others there too so we were always in a good situation.”

While the racing was hard, the team worked well, continued Tristan. “It came back together and kept changing but the guys always stayed calm and protected peter. When Pavel Brutt went again the others could focus on looking after him and positioning him for the difficulties. Then on the last climb Peter went full gas and got a gap, ending up in the front with three others. They had to go full gas, but without blowing himself up before the sprint, and he gauged his effort well. On the big roads they were chasing hard behind but they rode really strong at front and held the gap, and at the end he finished it off in style.”

After two of the cobblestone classics, there remain the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. After taking his first win of the season, Peter was philosophical about the coming races. “For sure what is very important is I have good condition. Friday was a different race and today was much better for me. I am very happy and I am on good form for Flanders and Roubaix. E3 was a different race and you can see the end of the race was different. Everybody knows I was tired – I worked a lot on Friday. In life there are more important things than placings – I’m riding for passion, not for ambition.”

Tristan praised Sagan’s approach to racing. “Peter is a great champion - the other races that he has almost won, he was disappointed but always quick to focus on the next one. He knows how to handle these moments and how to focus and give everything. It's great to work with him.”

Complete Results:

242.8 kilometers raced at an average speed of 41.014 km/hr

1 Peter Sagan Tinkoff 5hr 55min 12sec
2 Sep Vanmarcke LottoNL-Jumbo s.t.
3 Viacheslav Kuznetsov Katusha s.t.
4 Fabian Cancellara Trek-Segafredo s.t.
5 Arnaud Démare FDJ @ 11sec
6 Fernando Gaviria Etixx-Quick Step s.t.
7 Jürgen Roelandts Lotto-Soudal s.t.
8 Jacopo Guarnieri Katusha s.t.
9 Greg Van Avermaet BMC s.t.
10 Michael Mørkøv Katusha s.t.
11 Giacomo Nizzolo Trek-Segafredo s.t.
12 Luka Mezgec Orica-GreenEdge s.t.
13 Pieter Vanspeybrouck Topsport Vlaanderen s.t.
14 Aleksejs Saramotins IAM Cycling s.t.
15 Tiesj Benoot Lotto-Soudal s.t.
16 Koen de Kort Giant - Alpecin s.t.
17 Pavel Brutt Tinkoff s.t.
18 Edvald Boasson Hagen Dimension Data s.t.
19 Andriy Grivko Astana s.t.
20 Tom Boonen Etixx-Quick Step +17''
21 Niki Terpstra Etixx-Quick Step +19''
22 Luke Rowe Sky +24''
23 Stijn Vandenbergh Etixx-Quick Step +28''
24 Daniel Oss BMC +59''
25 Jens Keukeleire Orica-GreenEdge +1' 07''
26 Bryan Coquard Direct Énergie +1' 22''
27 Berden de Vries Roompot Oranje Peloton +5' 08''
28 Alexander Porsev Katusha s.t.
29 Tom Van Asbroeck LottoNL-Jumbo s.t.
30 Maarten Tjallingii LottoNL-Jumbo s.t.
31 Cyril Lemoine Cofidis s.t.
32 Manuel Quinziato BMC s.t.
33 Taylor Phinney BMC s.t.
34 Edward Theuns Trek-Segafredo s.t.
35 Michal Golas Sky s.t.
36 Andrey Amador Movistar s.t.
37 Oscar Gatto Tinkoff s.t.
38 Sacha Modolo Lampre Merida s.t.
39 Nikolas Maes Etixx-Quick Step s.t.
40 Zico Waeytens Giant - Alpecin s.t.
41 Bert Van Lerberghe Topsport Vlaanderen +6' 05''
42 Lars Bak Lotto-Soudal s.t.
43 Bram Tankink LottoNL-Jumbo +6' 06''
44 Amaury Capiot Topsport Vlaanderen +6' 08''
45 Yohann Gène Direct Énergie +6' 11''
46 Zdenek Štybar Etixx-Quick Step +6' 16''
47 Matteo Trentin Etixx-Quick Step s.t.
48 Jasha Sütterlin Movistar +6' 21''
49 Mitch Docker Orica-GreenEdge +7' 16''
50 Grégory Rast Trek-Segafredo s.t.
51 Laurens De Vreese Astana +11' 05''
52 Paolo Simion Bardiani CSF s.t.
53 Michael Schär BMC s.t.
54 Jesper Asselman Roompot Oranje Peloton s.t.
55 Roy Jans Wanty-Groupe Gobert s.t.
56 Marcus Burghardt BMC s.t.
57 Murilo Fischer FDJ s.t.
58 Mickaël Delage FDJ s.t.
59 Tomasz Kiendys CCC Sprandi Polkowice s.t.
60 Marko Kump Lampre Merida s.t.
61 Jasper De Buyst Lotto-Soudal s.t.
62 Bert De Backer Giant - Alpecin s.t.
63 Raymond Kreder Roompot Oranje Peloton s.t.
64 Michael Van Staeyen Cofidis s.t.
65 Gediminas Bagdonas Ag2r s.t.
66 Robert Wagner LottoNL-Jumbo s.t.
67 Roy Curvers Giant - Alpecin s.t.
68 Mike Teunissen LottoNL-Jumbo s.t.
69 Sébastien Turgot Ag2r s.t.
70 Guillaume Van Keirsbulck Etixx-Quick Step +11' 05''
71 Danny van Poppel Sky +11' 09''
72 Sylvain Chavanel Direct Énergie +11' 11''
73 Marco Coledan Trek-Segafredo s.t.
74 Maciej Bodnar Tinkoff s.t.
75 Sander Helven Topsport Vlaanderen s.t.
76 Josef Cerný CCC Sprandi Polkowice s.t.
77 Marco Haller Katusha s.t.
78 Wesley Kreder Roompot Oranje Peloton s.t.
79 Yaroslav Popovych Trek-Segafredo s.t.
80 Tyler Farrar Dimension Data +11' 57''
81 Nicolas Dougall Dimension Data +12' 02''
82 Simon Pellaud IAM Cycling +12' 03''

2016 Gent-Wevelgem map:

2016Gent-Wevelgem map

Start list with back numbers, March 26, 2016:

TINKOFF
1 SAGAN Peter
2 BASKA Erik
3 BLYTHE Adam
4 BODNAR Maciej
5 BRUTT Pavel
6 GOGL Michael
7 KOLAR Michal
8 GATTO Oscar
ETIXX - QUICK STEP
11 BOONEN Tom
12 GAVIRIA RENDON Fernando
13 MAES Nikolas
14 VAN KEIRSBULCK Guillaume
15 STYBAR Zdenek
16 TERPSTRA Niki
17 TRENTIN Matteo
18 VANDENBERGH Stijn
LOTTO - SOUDAL
21 GREIPEL André
22 FRISON Frederik
23 DE BUYST Jasper
24 DEBUSSCHERE Jens
25 BAK Lars Ytting
26 ROELANDTS Jurgen
27 SIEBERG Marcel
28 BENOOT Tiesj
BMC
31 VAN AVERMAET Greg
32 DRUCKER Jean Pierre
33 OSS Daniel
34 PHINNEY Taylor
35 QUINZIATO Manuel
36 SCHÄR Michael
37 BURGHARDT Marcus
38 ZABEL Rick
KATUSHA
41 KRISTOFF Alexander
42 HALLER Marco
43 BYSTROM Sven Erik
44 GUARNIERI Jacopo
45 LAGUTIN Sergey
46 MORKOV Michael
47 KUZNETSOV Vyacheslav
48 PORSEV Alexander
TREK-SEGAFREDO
51 CANCELLARA Fabian
52 BEPPU Fumiyuki
53 BONIFAZIO Niccolo
54 NIZZOLO Giacomo
55 POPOVYCH Yaroslav
56 RAST Grégory
57 THEUNS Edward
58 COLEDAN Marco
LOTTO NL - JUMBO
61 VANMARCKE Sep
62 TANKINK Bram
63 TEUNISSEN Mike
64 TJALLINGII Maarten
65 VAN ASBROECK Tom
66 VAN EMDEN Jos
67 LEEZER Tom
68 WAGNER Robert
DIMENSION DATA
71 BOASSON HAGEN Edvald
72 BRAMMEIER Matthew
73 JANSE VAN RENSBURG Reinardt
74 DOUGALL Nick
75 FARRAR Tyler
76 DEBESAY Mekseb Abrha
77 RENSHAW Mark
78 THOMSON Jay Robert
AG2R LA MONDIALE
81 BAGDONAS Gediminas
82 DANIEL Maxime
83 DENZ Nico
84 GAUDIN Damien
85 GOUGEARD Alexis
86 HOULE Hugo
87 JAUREGUI Quentin
88 TURGOT Sébastien
ASTANA
91 DE VREESE Laurens
92 BOOM Lars
93 GRIVKO Andriy
94 GRUZDEV Dmitriy
95 WESTRA Lieuwe
96 KAMYSHEV Arman
97 LUTSENKO Alexey
98 SMUKULIS Gatis
CANNONDALE
101 BRESCHEL Matti
102 BETTIOL Alberto
103 BEVIN Patrick
104 BAUER Jack
105 LANGEVELD Sebastian
106 VAN BAARLE Dylan
107 WIPPERT Wouter
108 MARANGONI Alan
FDJ
111 DEMARE Arnaud
112 DELAGE Mickael
113 FISCHER Murilo Antonio
114 LE GAC Olivier
115 KONOVALOVAS Ignatas
116 LADAGNOUS Matthieu
117 LE BON Johan
118 OFFREDO Yohan
IAM CYCLING
121 HAUSSLER Heinrich
122 HOLLENSTEIN Reto
123 HOWARD Leigh
124 KLUGE Roger
125 LAENGEN Vegard Stake
126 PELLAUD Simon
127 NAESEN Oliver
128 SARAMOTINS Aleksejs
LAMPRE - MERIDA
131 CATTANEO Mattia
132 XU Gang
133 FENG Chun Kai
134 FERRARI Roberto
135 KUMP Marko
136 MODOLO Sacha
137 PIBERNIK Luka
138 ZURLO Federico
MOVISTAR
141 AMADOR Andrey
142 ARCAS Jorge
143 BETANCUR Carlos Alberto
144 SANTOS SIMOES Nelson Filipe
145 PEDRERO Antonio
146 LOBATO Juan Jose
147 SÜTTERLIN Jasha
148 VENTOSO Francisco José
GIANT-ALPECIN
151 ANDERSEN Søren Kragh
152 CURVERS Roy
153 DE BACKER Bert
154 DE KORT Koen
155 SINKELDAM Ramon
156 STAMSNIJDER Tom
157 TIMMER Albert
158 WAEYTENS Zico
ORICA GREENEDGE
161 KEUKELEIRE Jens
162 DOCKER Mitchell
163 DURBRIDGE Luke
165 BEWLEY Sam
166 MEZGEC Luka
167 CORT NIELSEN Magnus
168 TUFT Svein
SKY
171 STANNARD Ian
172 GOLAS Michal
173 KNEES Christian
174 PUCCIO Salvatore
175 ROWE Luke
176 FENN Andrew
177 VAN POPPEL Danny
178 VIVIANI Elia
TOPSPORT VLAANDEREN
181 VAN HECKE Preben
182 HELVEN Sander
183 RICKAERT Jonas
184 CAPIOT Amaury
185 VAN HOECKE Gijs
186 VAN LERBERGHE Bert
187 VAN MEIRHAEGHE Jef
188 VANSPEYBROUCK Pieter
WANTY – GROUPE GOBERT
191 DE HAES Kenny
192 DEMOITIE Antoine
193 ANTONINI Simone
194 DEVRIENDT Tom
195 JANS Roy
196 MARCATO Marco
197 MCNALLY Mark
198 NAPOLITANO Danilo
BARDIANI CSF
201 STERBINI Luca
202 TONELLI Alessandro
203 BOEM Nicola
204 COLBRELLI Sonny
205 MAESTRI Mirco
206 ROTA Lorenzo
207 RUFFONI Nicola
208 SIMION Paolo
CCC SPRANDI POLKOWICE
211 KIENDYS Tomasz
212 KUREK Adrian
213 PALUTA Michal
214 MARYCZ Jaroslaw
215 MATYSIAK Bartlomiej
216 CERNY Josef
217 STEPNIAK Grzegorz
218 PONZI Simone
COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CRÉDITS
221 AHLSTRAND Jonas
222 VAN STAEYEN Michael
223 HOFSTETTER Hugo
224 BOUHANNI Nacer
225 LAPORTE Christophe
226 LEMOINE Cyril
227 SENECHAL Florian
228 VAN BILSEN Kenneth
DIRECT ENERGIE
231 CARDIS Romain
232 CHAVANEL Sylvain
233 COQUARD Bryan
234 GENE Yohann
235 HUREL Tony
236 MORICE Julien
237 PETIT Adrien
238 TULIK Angelo
ROOMPOT ORANJE PELOTON
241 ASSELMAN Jesper
242 DE VRIES Berden
243 KERKHOF Tim
244 KREDER Raymond
245 KREDER Wesley
246 LOOIJ André
247 SLIK Ivar
248 MARKUS Barry