Peter Sagan wins Gent-Wevelgem

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Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) claimed his third Gent-Wevelgem title in impressive fashion with a comprehensive sprint win over Elia Viviani (Quick-Step Floors) and Arnaud Démare (Groupama-FDJ).

The World Champion rode a composed race and waited patiently for the final sprint as Quick-Step Floors set about controlling the race after the final ascent of the Kemmelberg. With strength in numbers Viviani came into the sprint as the favourite but the Italian was left boxed in after choosing to follow Matteo Trentin’s (Mitchelton-Scott) wheel. Sagan, meanwhile use his experience to drift onto Jasper Stuyven’s (Trek-Segaredo) left shoulder.

When the sprint opened up with just under 200m to go, Sagan had a clear road ahead of him, and the Bora rider drew his line to the left as Viviani was forced to come through the crowd and then around Démare. The Frenchman had a better line than Viviani but was left exposed when Sagan turned on the afterburners. Viviani found the strength to take second but the ground he conceded at the start of the sprint was too much to make up.

Two days ago, Sagan's form was questioned after he failed to impress in E3 Harelbeke. He may not even be at his very best but he was more than good enough to take the win in Wevelgem. With a week to go until Tour of Flanders, his rivals have been warned.

As for Viviani, the Italian slumped to the floor after crossing the line, a soigneur draping a jacket over his shoulders as the rider failed to fight back the tears of defeat. Until the final 500m, the De Panne winner had put in the perfect performance, making every key split, including the decisive one over the Kemmelberg.

Teammates Philippe Gilbert, Zdenek Stybar and Yves Lampaert all sacrificed their chances for him in the finale, with Gilbert the most impressive of the lot, with a huge turn on the front inside the final 5km. Their work was undone when was Viviani caught in the wheels. A split second of hesitation, saw him go around to the right and back onto Démare’s wheel but by the damage was done.

The role of Stuyven was pivotal. The Trek rider seemed to not only – through no fault of his own – lead out Sagan but also box in Viviani. This left the Quick-Step rider with no choice but to take the more difficult route through the sprint.

How it unfolded

The 174 starters rolled out of Deinze with the sun on their backs and relatively warm conditions for this time of the year. It took a while before a breakaway received space from the peloton but after half an hour of racing Brian van Goethem (Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij) and José Gonçalves (Katusha-Alpecin) took off. They were joined by Frederik Frison (Lotto-Soudal), and later also Filippo Ganna (UAE Team Emirates), Jimmy Duquennoy (WB Aqua Protect Veranclassic) and Jan-Willem van Schip (Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij).

At first, the peloton didn't relent, with the first hour of racing completed at 48 km/h. From there the lead for the six breakaway riders increased and topped nine minutes after 70 kilometres.

Without crosswind the passage through the flatlands of De Moeren didn’t result in a echelon fest but the gap between the leaders and the peloton slowly dropped to five minutes as they approached the first set of climbs. The fight for position started as the peloton swapped roads and main roads, which caused crashes and splits.

The decisive Kemmelberg

The six leaders still had an advantage of five minutes when they tackled the Kemmelberg for the first time. Quick-Step Floors led the peloton over the steep cobbled climb, and Philippe Gilbert accelerated to give a clear indication of both his form, and his team's desire to make the race.

Sixty kilometres from the finish, the first of three Plugstreets featured and BMC Racing charged to the front. The gap between the leaders and the peloton dropped down to three minutes on the first set of dirt roads. On the second plugstreet, the peloton started to stretch out under the pressure from Van Avermaet's men, and a lined-out peloton reached the final plugstreet 'The Catacombs' with almost half the field fighting to remain in contention.

Jelle Wallays launched the attack he had talked up in Lotto-Soudal pre-race press release, and with 200km raced the Belgian was joined by a small number of riders with Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton-Scott) and Zdenek Stybar (Quick-Step Floors) in the breakaway.

A few moments later that group was caught and suddenly Stybar, Tony Gallopin (AG2R La Mondiale), Sacha Modolo (EF Education First-Drapac) and Stefan Küng (BMC) found themselves on the deck after a fall. Wallays didn't give up and featured in a new attempt to sneak away, combining forces with Julien Vermote (Dimension Data), Vyacheslav Kuznetsov (Katusha-Alpecin) and Alex Kirsch (WB Aqua Protect Veranclassic). These four riders bridged up to the six leaders shortly after tackling the Baneberg climb, and just before the final ascent of the Kemmelberg.

With the race wide open Philippe Gilbert anticipated the Kemmelberg and gapped the peloton on the lower slopes. Sep Vanmarcke led the peloton over the cobbles with Trentin, Stybar marking his wheel. Gilbert seemed to have gear problems and his lead was vastly reduced by the time he crested the top with Vanmarcke the rest just a few bike lengths back.

Once over the tough climb, Roompot riders Brian van Goethem and Jan-Willem van Schip survived the Kemmelberg and joined up with Julien Vermote, Alex Kirsch, Jelle Wallays and Kuznetsov. Behind them, the big names combined forces, trying to make the race as hard as possible for John Degenkolb and Alexander Kristoff, who had both been left on the Kemmel.

On the main road towards Ypres, the Sagan and Gilbert group of 23 riders steamed through and brought back the group containing Vermote and Wallays. With almost 30 riders at the front of the race, and most of the sprint teams represented, there was little hope Kristoff and the rest making a return.

Roompot and Quick-Step Floors controlled the lead group an ensured that the pace was just high enough to keep the lead group from attacking, with Mitchelton-Scott also willing to work. Gilbert and Stybar were immense and closed down any thought of an attack with a final roll of the dice from Roompot neutralized in the closing stages.

Vanmarcke put in a late dash for the line but the Belgian was closed down as the sprinters readied themselves for the final push.

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