Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) laid down a major marker in his quest to win the Tour of Flanders by taking an emphatic victory in Gent-Wevelgem.
The Belgian entered into a very early escape group as the race was blown apart in crosswinds along with teammate Nathan Van Hooydonck, who played a critical in Van Aert's success.
On the second of three ascents of the Kemmelberg, Van Aert whittled down what was a group of 25 riders to just nine, but had sprinters Sam Bennett (Deceuninck-Quickstep), Michael Matthews (BikeExchange), Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain-Victorious), Matteo Trentin (UAE Team Emirates), Giacomo Nizzolo (Qhubeka-Assos), Danny van Poppel (Intermarché-Wanty Gobert) and time trialist Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ) to contend with.
Trentin's pace on the final trip over the key climb dropped Van Hooydonck but he battled back to the leading group and, after helping nail back an attack from Küng, he attacked and distanced Bennett - who had suffered a bout of severe stomach distress - and Van Poppel, then led out the sprint which Van Aert won handily over Nizzolo and Trentin.
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