Jasper Philipsen triumphed in a hugely eventful edition of In Flanders Fields decided in a bunch sprint after a long late two-up move by Alpecin-Premier Tech teammate Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) was reeled in close to the line. Van der Poel took off with Van Aert on the Kemmelberg and the two stayed away for nearly 30 kilometres and to within sight of the finish. Not even the arrival of Alec Segaert (Bahrain Victorious) to boost the break could stop the peloton from reeling the trio in, but despite Van der Poel's defeat, Alpecin still claimed the win thanks to Philipsen.
The WorldTour event is the second stop for 'Flemish Holy Week’ part of the Spring Classics, which begins at E3 Saxo Classic two days before and is followed by Dwars door Vlaanderen and then Tour of Flanders.
As the name suggests, In Flanders Fields-from Middelkerke to Wevelgem rolls through Flanders Fields, an area forever entwined with World War I, with the race paying homage to the victims of the ‘Great War’ each year.
In the 2026 the race will start in Middelkerke on the Belgian coast rather than in Ypres.
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In 2024 Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) surged ahead of Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) in a two-up sprint after the pair escaped with 30 kilometres to go.
Pedersen won again in 2025, attacking 72 kilometres from the finish, riding to the day's breakaway and then going off the front solo with more than 50km remaining.
The victory was a record-equalling third for the Danish rider, who claimed his first win in Gent-Wevelgem in 2020. However, the path to Gent-Wevelgem hasn't been smooth for Pedersen, with a heavy crash at the start of February making it a race against time to return to the Spring Classics in competitive form.
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Gent-Wevelgem History
The men’s race was first held in 1934, while a women’s race was 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 plus 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.
Stephen is one of the most experienced members of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. Before becoming Editor-at-large, he was Head of News at Cyclingnews. He has previously worked for Shift Active Media, Reuters and Cycling Weekly. He is a member of the Board of the Association Internationale des Journalistes du Cyclisme (AIJC).
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