Christophe Laporte wins Gent - Wevelgem, Wout van Aert finishes second as they dominate competition
Cycling
Exactly as was the case in the 2022 E3 Saxo Classic, Christophe Laporte and Wout van Aert have obliterated the competition and rode alone to the finish. Laporte has won Gent-Wevelgem after a tremendous collective performance for Jumbo-Visma.
A brutal day out for the riders. 260 kilometers under grey skies, rain and strong winds. A true day in Flandres made for the tough men. A strong breakaway went up the road, it took a while for it to happen but eventually two groups came together including big figures. It was formed by Greg van Avermaet, Jelle Wallays, Mike Teunissen, Milan Fretin, Sandy Dujardin, Yevegniy Fedorov, Elmar Reinders, Colin Joyce, Jenthe Biermans, Guillaume van Keirsbluck, Johan Jacobs, Luca van Boven, Lewis Askey and Aaron van Poucke.
A strong group, but not even with favourable conditions could they get much freedom. The strong winds frequently saw high speeds in the peloton where the tension was constantly high. The first time up the Kemmelberg saw a split, with the likes of Kragh Andersen, Laporte, van Hooydonck, Pedersen and Mohoric all in the front split. However Quick-Step pulled the peloton back into the gravel sectors and beyond.
The breakaway was caught by the attacking group, in the meantime, but all were caught with 56 kilometers to go. Anthony Turgis attacked right after, but into the second time up the Kemmelberg the race exploded in a decisive way. Wout van Aert and Christophe Laporte attacked the climb and went off the front. The race was virtually decided. With perfect collaboration the duo quickly opened a gap whilst even with some cooperation, the peloton could only see the duo ride further and further away.
Van Aert looked to have the best legs as he dropped Laporte in the final climb of the Kemmelberg, but they stayed together and kept expanding their gap through the final kilometers with apparent ease. The peloton saw plenty of attacks both up the climb and in the following kilometers and slowly the reduced peloton lost riders. The gap reached 2 minutes with 6 kilometers to go.
The race for third place saw an important attack with 2 kilometers to go as Mikkel Bjerg, Frederik Frison and Sep Vanmarcke nailed their timing. Laporte crossed the line first as the Dutch team arrived at the finish comfortably. Mads Pedersen managed to bridge across to the chasing trio inside the final kilometer, but didn't have enough energy left for the sprint, and Sep Vanmarcke took the final step of the podium, celebrating a strong result over the line.
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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- He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- What a race! I didn't expect Vanthourenhout to collapse like that, and Wyseure did take the fight to Nys, but there was no doubt at the end. I also wonder what Aubin Sparfel would be capable of were he to race in the elites now. In the U23 ranks he is making good work of Giel Lejeune, who himself is among the better riders in the elites, and a top 10 contender in the big races (3rd at Kleebergcross, 8th at Berencross and 5th at Heerderstrand). In the French Cup, Sparfel is significantly better than Romain Debord (8th at Koppenbergcross and 10th at the Euros) and Rémi Lelandais (12th at Koppenbergcross and 19th at the Euros).
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
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🇧🇪 #GW23 Christophe (& Wout)! 💥 Impressive, guys!
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