Gent-Wevelgem 2024

Mads Pedersen outpaces Mathieu van der Poel in two-up sprint

Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) surged ahead of Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and won Gent-Wevelgem in a two-up sprint. The pair rode the final 30km together to set up the battle, Pedersen leading out Van der Poel in the final 500 metres and the defending champion not able to come around the Dane.

From the 44 riders in pursuit of the leaders, Jordi Meeus (Bora-Hansgrohe) finished second, just 16 seconds back. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) edged out Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) for fourth.

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Gent-Wevelgem history

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,

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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

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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.

Gent-Wevelgem past winners