Gent-Wevelgem 2024
Latest News from the Race
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Biniam Girmay blames poor Gent-Wevelgem on forgetting to eat
2022 winner will make Tour of Flanders debut on his 23rd birthday -
Savage, sodden and severe - Inside the 2023 Gent-Wevelgem
Striking photography from a unique edition of an enduring Classic
Date | March 24, 2024 |
Start location | Ypres |
Finish location | Wevelgem |
Distance | 253.1km |
Category | UCI WorldTour |
Previous edition | 2023 Gent-Wevelgem |
2023 Gent-Wevelgem Winner | Christophe Laporte (Fra) Jumbo-Visma) |
A historic Flandrien Classic, the 76th edition of Gent-Wevelgem in Flanders Fields will be held on March 24, 2024.
The WorldTour event is the second stop for 'Flemish Holy Week’ part of the Spring Classics, which begins at E3 Saxo Bank Classic two days before and is followed by Dwars door Vlaanderen and then Tour of Flanders.
Gent-Wevelgem rolls through Flanders Fields for the peloton, an area forever entwined with the First World War, to which the race pays homage to the victims of the ‘Great War’ each year.
Last year, Jumbo-Visma duo Christophe Laporte and Wout van Aert escaped from the peloton with 50km to go and rode away to victory in Gent-Wevelgem with Laporte crossing the line first. The Belgian worked hard on behalf of his teammate and leading the Frenchman into the final kilometres.
Van Aert’s decision to gift the victory to his teammate Laporte was criticized by three Belgian legends Eddy Merckx, Tom Boonen and Johan Museeuw,
Join Cyclingnews' coverage of the 2024 Gent-Wevelgem with race reports, results, photo galleries, news and race analysis.
Often harsh weather conditions, especially wind and rain, create havoc with the peloton before the finish, which culminates just beyond the final climb of the lung-busting cobbled Kemmelberg. Recent modifications to the course have added more climbs and made the race more closely resemble the Tour of Flanders.
The race finishes in Wevelgem but does not start in Gent. It used to start on the outskirts, in Deinze, but now starts west in the centre of Ypres. The race takes riders north through windswept De Moeren and over to the North Sea coast, rather than through the main Flemish Ardennes. It also includes some climbs in the very west of Flanders, the iconic and decisive one being the Kemmelberg. Reduced bunch sprints or small breakaways tend to contest for the victory.
Full details of the 2024 Gent-Wevelgem route
Gent-Wevelgem 2024 Start List
Data powered by FirstCycling
Gent-Wevelgem History
The men’s race was first held in 1934, while a women’s race has been added to the calendar in 2012. Six riders share the prestige of having won the race three times, the most recent addition to the list was in 2018 when Peter Sagan took his third title, which was also a record with a sixth podium.
Also in the three-time victory club are Belgians Robert Van Eenaeme, Rik Van Looy, Eddy Merckx and Tom Boonen, Italian Mario Cipollini. In recent years, strong sprinters like Alexander Kristoff (2019), Mads Pedersen (2020) and Wout van Aert (2021) have emerged from front selections to score victories.
In 2022, Eritrean rider Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux) outsprinted Christophe Laporte (Jumbo-Visma) in the final 250 metres on Vanackerestraat for the biggest win of his young career.
Girmay’s achievement gave him a place in the record books as the first African champion of the cobbled Classic.
Races
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Gent-Wevelgem 202424 March 2024 | Gent | WorldTour
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Elite men | Ypres - Wevelgem2024-03-24 253.1km
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Latest Content on the Race
Biniam Girmay blames poor Gent-Wevelgem on forgetting to eat
By Alasdair Fotheringham published
news 2022 winner will make Tour of Flanders debut on his 23rd birthday
Savage, sodden and severe - Inside the 2023 Gent-Wevelgem
By Patrick Fletcher published
Premium gallery Striking photography from a unique edition of an enduring Classic
Fabian Cancellara's Classics Column: Give Van Aert an Oscar but that was too easy
By Fabian Cancellara published
Analysis Our expert analyst dissects Gent-Wevelgem and criticises the lack of an organised chase
Eddy Merckx critical of Van Aert’s Gent-Wevelgem gift: ‘I wouldn’t have done it’
By Alasdair Fotheringham published
news Johan Museeuw: ‘In 15 years time, Wout might regret this’
Chapman, Ganna and Kwiatkowski among injured at crash-heavy Gent-Wevelgem
By Simone Giuliani published
News Chapman fractures sacrum and suffers from concussion, Ganna has swollen knee and Kwiatkowski skin off
Sep Vanmarcke finds what he had been missing at Gent-Wevelgem
By Barry Ryan, Patrick Fletcher published
News ‘If you can finish third in today’s conditions, you can get a good result in Flanders’
Christophe Laporte: I didn't waste time at Cofidis but I made a great career choice
By Patrick Fletcher published
News 'It was a dream of mine - like winning a stage of the Tour de France - to win a Classic, and I've done it now, thanks to the team and thanks to Wout' says Gent-Wevelgem winner
Top News on the Race
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'We're always going to be a Classics team' – Soudal-QuickStep's troubles continue at Gent-Wevelgem
Team playing catch-up as Tour of Flanders approaches -
Christophe Laporte: I didn't waste time at Cofidis but I made a great career choice
'It was a dream of mine - like winning a stage of the Tour de France - to win a Classic, and I've done it now, thanks to the team and thanks to Wout' says Gent-Wevelgem winner -
'It's almost hard to believe we did it again' – Another procession for Van Aert and Laporte at Gent-Wevelgem
Belgian yields victory to Jumbo-Visma teammate after 55km two-up effort
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Ewan joins De Lie at Gent-Wevelgem with the 'mindset of winning'
Lotto-Dstny, Soudal-QuickStep and Jumbo-Visma field twin sprint options -
How to watch Gent-Wevelgem – live streaming
All the information on how to stream Sunday's cobbled Classic -
Molano hit head-on by driver, ruled out of Gent-Wevelgem
Colombian suffers concussion and broken toe but lucky it wasn't worse after being wiped out in training
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Patrick Lefevere: My lunch was the only good thing about E3
Soudal-QuickStep boss rues another disappointing Classics outing for his team -
Tom Pidock cleared to race after recovering from concussion
Yorkshireman misses E3 Saxo Classic as Ganna leads after Milan-San Remo breakthrough performance -
Girmay confirms he will miss Tour of Flanders
Eritrean sticks to plan to head home: 'My family is the first thing, even more than the bike, so I have to take care of them'
Related Features
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Savage, sodden and severe - Inside the 2023 Gent-Wevelgem
Striking photography from a unique edition of an enduring Classic -
Fabian Cancellara's Classics Column: Give Van Aert an Oscar but that was too easy
Our expert analyst dissects Gent-Wevelgem and criticises the lack of an organised chase -
What is the Kemmelberg? Inside the key climb of Gent-Wevelgem
The war-torn history and brutality of the steep cobbled climb in West Flanders -
The favourites of the cobbled classics - Van der Poel, Van Aert, Pogacar primed for the road to Roubaix
A glance at the men's peloton's rocky road to Flanders and Roubaix -
Winner with a human touch: Girmay finds a home from home at Intermarché
The post-E3 Harelbeke conversation that set up the Eritrean’s Gent-Wevelgem victory