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2018 Gent - Wevelgem (World Tour), Belgium

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

80th edition: Sunday, March 25, 2018

Gent-Wevelgem complete results for every edition | 2017 Edition | 2019 edition | Race map | Start list

Deinze - Wevelgem, 251.1 km

Weather in Wevelgem at 2:00 PM, local time: 12C (54F), partly cloudy, with the wind from the NNW at 13 km/hr (8 mph). No rain was forecast.

Peter Sagan

Peter Sagan wins Gent-Wevelgem for the third time. Sirotti photo

The race: Here's the story from winner Peter Sagan's Bora-hansgrohe team.

Bicycle History

In races where so much can depend on good fortune, BORA-hansgrohe today created the luck that brought UCI World Champion, Peter Sagan, to his third Gent-Wevelgem win. First, by driving the pace to reduce the advantage of the day’s break, before supporting the Slovak rider and keeping him safe in the ride to the finale. However, when it came to the sprint, there was no luck required, with Peter starting early and surging ahead, timing his push to perfection with none of his rivals able to come close.

The Stage
On any normal day, a 250km race over hard Belgian terrain would be brutal, especially with the eleven tough climbs and multiple cobblestone sections to make things difficult, but many of the riders at Gent-Wevelgem would still be feeling the efforts of riding E3-Harelbeke just two days earlier, just to make the going even more difficult. After a fairly flat opening 120km came the climbs, with some of the gradients reaching 14%, before a flat 30km to the finish. Positioning would be the key to winning this race – that and a very healthy dose of luck not to puncture or suffer a mechanical and to be in the right place at the right time when the decisive moves came.

The Team Tactics
With a similar profile to Friday’s E3-Harelbeke race, the aim today would be to concentrate on reading the race and being in the right place at the right time. With the outcome of the one-day classics races being so dependent on simple good luck, the team would be planning on making as much of that luck as possible, by riding to support Peter and delivering him to the key points of the stage in a strong position to contest the win.

The Race
The crisp and cold morning saw most of the riders start the day in arm and leg warmers. With 120km to ride before the first climbs of the day, riders would have plenty of time to get warmed up, but this didn’t mean the start was going to be relaxed. The hard pace from the drop of the flag meant a break didn’t go until 35km had been covered, but once the group of six made their move, they really pushed ahead – creating a significant ten-minute gap that spurred the chasing peloton on to reduce their advantage.

The race begins

The race started in Deinze at 11:30 AM.

As always, German National Champion, Marcus Burghardt, was the key player in reducing the break’s lead, cutting it in half over 50km. With Daniel Oss adding to Marcus’ efforts, the pace left some of the peloton dropping off the back, but on the front, a small group, with UCI World Champion, Peter Sagan, in the mix, broke off, first making the catch on the break, before leaving them behind. One of these twenty-three riders, with the group made up of some of the big favourites, would be the race’s winner, and the Slovak rider still had Marcus with him to keep him safe. In the final 2km the attacks came, but Peter stayed calm, saving his energy and keeping a cool head. Starting his sprint from a long way out, nobody could touch the UCI World Champion, and once he was out in front, there was no chance of anyone taking his third Gent-Wevelgem win from him.

Gent Wevelgem podium

The podium, from left: Elia Viviani (2nd), Peter Sagan & Arnaud Demare (3rd). Sirotti photo

From the Finish Line
"I’m very happy and I’m glad to win this race again. My team did a great job. In the finale, there were two of us remaining in the front group and I’m really happy with our performance. Sprints are always like a lottery and I was wondering what was going to happen. In the end, I started my sprint early and it worked out – I had the legs to keep going. I felt good the second time we climbed the Kemmelberg. It wasn’t too stressful and there wasn’t a lot of wind to make things difficult, which is why we came to the finish in a bigger group. It was a different race today from all of the Gent-Wevelgems I’ve ridden and the lack of stress and the better weather conditions made it easier. It wasn’t anywhere near as crazy as the race has been over the last few years, but it was still really fast." – Peter Sagan, UCI World Champion

"Today's great victory at the Gent-Wevelgem is the result of the exceptional effort of every single rider, from start to finish. Rüdiger Selig and Andreas Schillinger pulled hard in the first 50km to control the race and make sure we didn't have a breakaway attempt by one of the stronger teams. Then, our strategy was for the squad to stay together, as long as possible, protecting Peter and avoiding any crashes. There were at least 5-6 strong sprinter teams today, so we had to keep a close eye on all the moves. Juraj Sagan, Maciej Bodnar and Daniel Oss were brilliant in keeping Peter safe and worked so hard throughout the race. In the final 50km Marcus Burghardt played a crucial role in helping Peter, launching attacks and counter-attacks to neutralise the efforts of the other teams. We wanted to see what the situation would be after the final climb on the Kemmelberg and Burgi stayed with Peter who, in the finale, launched a perfectly-timed sprint to take this well-deserved win." – Jan Valach, Sport Director

Complete results:

251.1 kilometers raced at an average speed of 48.990 km/hr

1 Peter Sagan Bora-hansgrohe 5hr 7min 32sec
2 Elia Viviani Quick-Step Floors s.t.
3 Arnaud Démare Groupama-FDJ s.t.
4 Christophe Laporte Cofidis s.t.
5 Jens Debusschere Lotto-Soudal s.t.
6 Oliver Naesen Ag2r La Mondiale s.t.
7 Matteo Trentin Mitchelton-Scott s.t.
8 Zdenek Štybar Quick-Step Floors s.t.
9 Jasper Stuyven Trek-Segafredo s.t.
10 Wout van Aert Veranda's Willems-Crelan s.t.
11 Sacha Modolo EF Education First-Drapac s.t.
12 Jan-Willem van Schip Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij s.t.
13 Michael Matthews Team Sunweb s.t.
14 Greg Van Avermaet BMC s.t.
15 Julien Vermote Dimension Data s.t.
16 Vyacheslav Kuznetsov Katusha-Alpecin s.t.
17 Philippe Gilbert Quick-Step Floors s.t.
18 Marcus Burghardt Bora-hansgrohe s.t.
19 Brian van Goethem Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij s.t.
20 Yves Lampaert Quick-Step Floors +5''
21 Sep Vanmarcke EF Education First-Drapac +8''
22 Guillaume Van Keirsbulck Wanty-Groupe Gobert s.t.
23 Luka Mezgec Mitchelton-Scott +12''
24 Magnus Cort Astana +1' 01''
25 Alexander Kristoff UAE-Team Emirates s.t.
26 Michael Valgren Astana +1' 14''
27 Preben Van Hecke Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise +1' 22''
28 Tony Martin Katusha-Alpecin +2' 49''
29 Justin Jules WB-Aqua Protect-Veranclassic +3' 14''
30 Andrea Pasqualon Wanty-Groupe Gobert s.t.
31 Alex Kirsch WB-Aqua Protect-Veranclassic s.t.
32 Edward Theuns Team Sunweb +3' 17''
33 Jasha Sütterlin Movistar s.t.
34 Mike Teunissen Team Sunweb s.t.
35 Dries Van Gestel Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise s.t.
36 Koen de Kort Trek-Segafredo s.t.
37 Bert Van Lerberghe Cofidis s.t.
38 Timo Roosen LottoNL-Jumbo s.t.
39 Niki Terpstra Quick-Step Floors s.t.
40 Frederik Frison Lotto-Soudal s.t.
41 Jelle Wallays Lotto-Soudal s.t.
42 Danny van Poppel LottoNL-Jumbo s.t.
43 Filippo Ganna UAE-Team Emirates s.t.
44 Daniel Oss Bora-hansgrohe s.t.
45 Gianni Moscon Sky s.t.
46 Alexey Lutsenko Astana s.t.
47 Florian Sénéchal Quick-Step Floors s.t.
48 John Degenkolb Trek-Segafredo s.t.
49 Heinrich Haussler Bahrain-Merida s.t.
50 Sebastian Langeveld EF Education First-Drapac s.t.
51 Coen Vermeltfoort Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij +5' 34''
52 Rudy Barbier Ag2r La Mondiale s.t.
53 Ryan Gibbons Dimension Data s.t.
54 Rick Zabel Katusha-Alpecin s.t.
55 Juraj Sagan Bora-hansgrohe s.t.
56 Gijs Van Hoecke LottoNL-Jumbo s.t.
57 Jérémy Lecroq Vital Concept s.t.
58 Edward Planckaert Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise s.t.
59 Lars Bak Lotto-Soudal s.t.
60 Marcel Sieberg Lotto-Soudal s.t.
61 Julien Duval Ag2r La Mondiale s.t.
62 Huub Duyn Veranda's Willems-Crelan s.t.
63 Christophe Noppe Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise s.t.
64 Stefan Küng BMC s.t.
65 Michael Schär BMC s.t.
66 Roy Curvers Team Sunweb s.t.
67 Stijn Devolder Veranda's Willems-Crelan s.t.
68 Jorge Arcas Movistar s.t.
69 Zico Waeytens Veranda's Willems-Crelan s.t.
70 Owain Doull Sky s.t.
71 Olivier Le Gac Groupama-FDJ s.t.
72 Boy van Poppel Trek-Segafredo s.t.
73 Hugo Houle Astana s.t.
74 Laurens De Vreese Astana s.t.
75 Carlos Barbero Movistar s.t.
76 Nélson Oliveira Movistar s.t.
77 Christian Knees Sky s.t.
78 Francisco Ventoso BMC s.t.
79 Dmitriy Gruzdev Astana s.t.
80 Michal Golas Sky s.t.
81 Edvald Boasson Hagen Dimension Data s.t.
82 Pim Ligthart Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij s.t.
83 Andrey Amador Movistar +5' 39''
84 Kristijan Koren Bahrain-Merida s.t.
85 Ignatas Konovalovas Groupama-FDJ s.t.
86 Jimmy Duquennoy WB-Aqua Protect-Veranclassic s.t.
87 Jacopo Guarnieri Groupama-FDJ s.t.
88 Simone Consonni UAE-Team Emirates s.t.
89 Héctor Carretero Movistar s.t.
90 Ian Stannard Sky s.t.
91 Tom Devriendt Wanty-Groupe Gobert s.t.
92 Maarten Wynants LottoNL-Jumbo s.t.
93 Dylan Groenewegen LottoNL-Jumbo s.t.
94 Jos van Emden LottoNL-Jumbo s.t.
95 Jürgen Roelandts BMC s.t.
96 Tom Scully EF Education First-Drapac s.t.
97 Mathew Hayman Mitchelton-Scott s.t.
98 Cyril Lemoine Cofidis s.t.
99 Dylan van Baarle Sky s.t.
100 Jack Bauer Mitchelton-Scott s.t.
101 Alexander Edmondson Mitchelton-Scott s.t.
102 Nico Denz Ag2r La Mondiale +11' 47''
103 Floris Gerts Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij s.t.
104 Kenneth Van Rooy Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise s.t.
105 Luke Durbridge Mitchelton-Scott s.t.
106 Benjamin King Dimension Data s.t.
107 Stijn Vandenbergh Ag2r La Mondiale s.t.
108 Antoine Duchesne Groupama-FDJ s.t.
109 Tanguy Turgis Vital Concept s.t.
110 Ramon Sinkeldam Groupama-FDJ s.t.
111 Jay Thomson Dimension Data s.t.
112 Bert De Backer Vital Concept s.t.
113 Lukas Spengler WB-Aqua Protect-Veranclassic s.t.
114 Geoffrey Soupe Cofidis s.t.
115 Mark McNally Wanty-Groupe Gobert s.t.
116 Gediminas Bagdonas Ag2r La Mondiale s.t.
117 Kenneth Vanbilsen Cofidis s.t.
118 Marco Marcato UAE-Team Emirates s.t.
119 Michael Van Staeyen Cofidis s.t.
120 Sjoerd van Ginneken Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij s.t.
121 Alberto Bettiol BMC s.t.
122 Iván García Bahrain-Merida s.t.
123 Kristoffer Halvorsen Sky s.t.
124 Sonny Colbrelli Bahrain-Merida s.t.
125 Julien Stassen WB-Aqua Protect-Veranclassic s.t.
126 Oliviero Troia UAE-Team Emirates s.t.
127 Ben Swift UAE-Team Emirates s.t.
128 Alex Dowsett Katusha-Alpecin s.t.
129 David Per Bahrain-Merida s.t.
130 Jenthe Biermans Katusha-Alpecin s.t.
131 Borut Božic Bahrain-Merida s.t.
132 Michael Hepburn Mitchelton-Scott s.t.
133 Nicolas Dougall Dimension Data s.t.
134 Luka Pibernik Bahrain-Merida s.t.
135 Michael Goolaerts Veranda's Willems-Crelan s.t.
136 Taylor Phinney EF Education First-Drapac s.t.
137 Pieter Vanspeybrouck Wanty-Groupe Gobert s.t.
138 Tim Declercq Quick-Step Floors s.t.
139 Jempy Drücker BMC s.t.
140 Tom Leezer LottoNL-Jumbo s.t.
141 Bryan Coquard Vital Concept s.t.
142 Maciej Bodnar Bora-hansgrohe s.t.
143 Oscar Gatto Astana s.t.
144 Kenny Dehaes WB-Aqua Protect-Veranclassic s.t.
145 Jasper De Buyst Lotto-Soudal s.t.
146 Tony Gallopin Ag2r La Mondiale s.t.
147 Kris Boeckmans Vital Concept s.t.
148 Dries De Bondt Veranda's Willems-Crelan s.t.
149 Julien Morice Vital Concept +11' 56''

Course map:

Gent Wevelgem map

2018 Gent-Wevelgem course map

Start list with back numbers, March 24: 2018

BMC
1 VAN AVERMAET Greg
2 ROELANDTS Jurgen
3 BETTIOL Alberto
4 SCHÄR Michael
5 KÜNG Stefan
6 DRUCKER Jean-Pierre
7 VENTOSO Francisco
BORA-HANSGROHE
11 SAGAN Peter
12 BODNAR Maciej
13 BURGHARDT Marcus
14 OSS Daniel
15 SAGAN Juraj
16 SCHILLINGER Andreas
17 SELIG Rüdiger
LOTTO-SOUDAL
21 HOFLAND Moreno
22 DE BUYST Jasper
23 DEBUSSCHERE Jens
24 FRISON Frederik
25 BAK Lars Ytting
26 SIEBERG Marcel
27 WALLAYS Jelle
QUICK-STEP FLOORS
31 GILBERT Philippe
32 DECLERCQ Tim
33 LAMPAERT Yves
34 VIVIANI Elia
35 SENECHAL Florian
36 STYBAR Zdenek
37 TERPSTRA Niki
AG2R LA MONDIALE
41 NAESEN Oliver
42 BAGDONAS Gediminas
43 BARBIER Rudy
44 DENZ Nico
45 DUVAL Julien
46 GALLOPIN Tony
47 VANDENBERGH Stijn
ASTANA
51 DE VREESE Laurens
52 GATTO Oscar
53 GRUZDEV Dmitriy
54 HOULE Hugo
55 LUTSENKO Alexey
56 CORT NIELSEN Magnus
57 VALGREN ANDERSEN Michael
BAHRAIN-MERIDA
61 COLBRELLI Sonny
62 BOZIC Borut
63 GARCIA CORTINA Ivan
64 HAUSSLER Heinrich
65 KOREN Kristjan
66 PER David
67 PIBERNIK Luka
EF EDUCATION FIRST-DRAPAC
71 VANMARCKE Sep
72 DOCKER Mitchell
73 LANGEVELD Sebastian
74 MCLAY Daniel
75 MODOLO Sacha
76 PHINNEY Taylor
77 SCULLY Thomas
GROUPAMA-FDJ
81 DEMARE Arnaud
82 CIMOLAI Davide
83 DUCHESNE Antoine
84 GUARNIERI Jacopo
85 KONOVALOVAS Ignatas
86 LE GAC Olivier
87 SINKELDAM Ramon
MITCHELTON-SCOTT
91 TRENTIN Matteo
92 BAUER Jack
93 EDMONDSON Alexander
94 HAYMAN Mathew
95 HEPBURN Michael
96 DURBRIDGE Luke
97 MEZGEC Luka
MOVISTAR
101 AMADOR Andrey
102 ARCAS PEÑA Jorge
103 BARBERO Carlos
104 BENNATI Daniele
105 CARRETERO Hector
106 OLIVEIRA Nelson
107 SÜTTERLIN Jasha
DIMENSION DATA
111 BOASSON HAGEN Edvald
112 GIBBONS Ryan
113 DOUGALL Nick
114 KING Benjamin
115 THOMSON Jay Robert
117 VERMOTE Julien
KATUSHA-ALPECIN
121 MARTIN Tony
122 BIERMANS Jenthe
123 DOWSETT Alex
124 GONCALVES Jose
125 KUZNETSOV Vyacheslav
126 PLANCKAERT Baptiste
127 ZABEL Rick
LOTTO NL-JUMBO
131 GROENEWEGEN Dylan
132 WYNANTS Maarten
133 LEEZER Tom
134 ROOSEN Timo
135 VAN EMDEN Jos
136 VAN HOECKE Gijs
137 VAN POPPEL Danny
SKY
141 MOSCON Gianni
142 DOULL Owain
143 HALVORSEN Kristoffer
144 KNEES Christian
145 STANNARD Ian
146 GOLAS Michal
147 VAN BAARLE Dylan
TEAM SUNWEB
151 MATTHEWS Michael
152 ARNDT Nikias
153 CURVERS Roy
154 HOFSTEDE Lennard
156 STAMSNIJDER Tom
156 TEUNISSEN Mike
157 THEUNS Edward
TREK-SEGAFREDO
161 STUYVEN Jasper
162 DE KORT Koen
163 REIJNEN Kiel
164 PEDERSEN Mads
165 RAST Grégory
166 DEGENKOLB John
167 VAN POPPEL Boy
UAE-TEAM EMIRATES
171 KRISTOFF Alexander
172 BYSTROM Sven Erik
173 CONSONNI Simone
174 GANNA Filippo
175 MARCATO Marco
176 SWIFT Ben
177 TROIA Oliviero
SPORT VLAANDEREN-BALOISE
181 CAPIOT Amaury
182 NOPPE Christophe
183 PLANCKAERT Edward
184 VAN GESTEL Dries
185 VAN HECKE Preben
186 VAN ROOY Kenneth
187 WARLOP Jordi
WANTY–GROUPE GOBERT
191 DUPONT Timothy
193 PASQUALON Andrea
194 MCNALLY Mark
195 VAN KEIRSBULCK Guillaume
196 DEVRIENDT Tom
197 VANSPEYBROUCK Pieter
198 OFFREDO Yoann
VERANDA'S WILLEMS-CRELAN
201 VAN AERT Wout
202 LEYSEN Senne
203 DE BONDT Dries
204 DUYN Huub
205 GOOLAERTS Michael
206 DEVOLDER Stijn
207 WAEYTENS Zico
WB-AQUA PROTECT-VERANCLASSIC
211 DEHAES Kenny
212 JULES Justin
213 DUQUENNOY Jimmy
214 KIRSCH Alex
215 STASSEN Julien
216 SPENGLER Lukas
217 VANTOMME Maxime
COFIDIS
221 LAPORTE Christophe
222 CHETOUT Loïc
223 SOUPE Geoffrey
224 LEMOINE Cyril
225 VAN STAEYEN Michael
226 VAN LERBERGHE Bert
227 VANBILSEN Kenneth
ROOMPOT-NEDERLANDSE LOTERIJ
231 WIPPERT Wouter
232 GERTS Floris
233 LIGTHART Pim
234 VAN GINNEKEN Sjoerd
235 VAN GOETHEM Brian
236 VAN SCHIP Jan Willem
237 VERMELTFOORT Coen
VITAL CONCEPT CYCLING CLUB
241 BOECKMANS Kris
242 COQUARD Bryan
243 DE BACKER Bert
244 LE BON Johan
245 LECROQ Jérémy
246 MORICE Julien
247 TURGIS Tanguy