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Gent-Wevelgem Elite Men - Live Coverage

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Hello and welcome to live coverage of the men's Gent-Wevelgem race. The cobbled classics season has been curtailed by coronavirus, so the pressure will be on the riders to deliver the goods in the few races that remain. 

There were a few last-minute changes to the start list yesterday afternoon after Wanty-Group Gobert rider Jan Bakelandts tested positive for coronavirus. He and Tiesj Benoot were on a Belgian TV show together after competing at Brabantse Pijl. It means that Benoot has also had to pull out for safety reasons, though he has not yet been tested for coronavirus. Read more about that here. 

Wanty has been able to supply a substitute for Bakelandts but Team Sunweb is racing one rider down. They are not the only team to be short a rider or two with Groupama-FDJ, Movistar and Cofidis all not fielding their full complement of riders. 

It is a subdued start at the Menin Gate this morning but our reporter Brecht Decaluwe is on the ground. He spoke to Sep Vanmarcke about today's race. 

Alexander Kristoff is the defending champion and will be among the contenders to take the title today. He will face some still competition, though. 

The race will be setting out from Ieper in the next half an hour. If you want to remind yourself what happened last year, then take a look at our report.

Wout van Aert is one of the major favourites for today's race. He has not raced since the World Championships last month.

Gent-Wevelgem 2020 start

Bagpipes played as the riders lined up at the start line under the Menin Gate.  (Image credit: Future)

Mathieu van der Poel, one of the other big favourites, was the last rider to line up at the start line. He missed the podium ceremony this morning. He'll want to make up for his error in the sprint at Brabantse Pijl on Wednesday. 

Gent-Wevelgem 2020 start

The peloton rolls out from the start of Gent-Wevelgem 2020 (Image credit: Future)

As the riders roll through the neutral start, let's recap what today's course looks like. The organisers have kept much of the route under wraps to prevent too many people standing on the roadside but we do know the major parts of this year's route.  There are 11 hellingen packed between the 135k marker and the 198k point, which is 34km to go. In the middle of all of that, there are three plugstreets for the riders to contend with. 

Wout van Aert at the start of the 2020 Gent-Wevelgem

Wout van Aert talking to the press ahead of the 2020 Gent-Wevelgem (Image credit: Future)

The women's race is also taking place today but it is without the defending champion after Kirsten Wild returned a positive test for Covid-19. Read the full story here.

Stage 9 of the Giro d'Italia is also taking place today as this is the madness that the 2020 season is giving us. You can follow the race live here.

It has been a busy start to the day in the peloton. Multiple attacks have gone off the front but nothing has yet stuck.

A group of seven has jumped off the front and has a small lead. They are: Mark Cavendish (Bahrain McLaren), Alexis Gougeard (AG2R), Alexander Konychev (Mitchelton-Scott), Leonardo Basso (INEOS Grenadiers), Julien Morice (B&B Hotels), Kenny Molly (Bingoal) and Gilles De Wilde (Sport Vlaanderen - Baloise). It is unusual to see Mark Cavendish in a breakaway but 2020 has been an unusual year. 

Sebastian Mora has tried to join this leading group but he can't quite make it at the moment. The leaders now have 35 seconds on the peloton behind. 

208km to go

The Belgian weather has turned on the riders and is has started to rain over the riders. We might not be in the spring, but the conditions are pretty similar. 

The leading group now has two minutes on the peloton behind. It is interesting to see Cavendish in the breakaway. In the unlikely event that the break could make it the whole way, he would be the undoubted favourite to take the win. Being in the break also means he starts the climbs earlier than the rest of the pack, like Kristoff did last year, and could still be in the mix in the sprint finish. He could also prove to be a very useful assistant to Sonny Colbrelli if the Italian goes on the attack. 

200km to go

In addition to Cavendish, there are some strong riders in this breakaway. AG2R's Alexis Gougeard is a breakaway stalwart, while Leonardo Basso is also a good companion to have in an escape. 

The riders are passing by Wevelgem for the first time today. The next time they're in Wevelgem will be to contest the finish. 

The lead to the escapees has now increased to five minutes. 

The 23-year-old Kenny Molly, who is in today's breakaway, is making his Gent-Wevelgem debut. He's had a busy season so far and most recently raced at Liege-Bastogne-Liege. In September, he won the mountains classification at the Tour of Slovakia. 

Another of the escapees, Gilles De Wilde will be celebrating his 21st birthday tomorrow. A first-year neo-pro with the Sport Vlaanderen squad, he too is riding Gent-Wevelgem for the first time. Getting into the breakaway today will be a steep learning curve for the young Belgian. 

Sam Bennett would be among the favourites if he can hang onto the pack over the climbs. He's had a decent break from racing since winning the green jersey at the Tour de France and he is riding at the event for the first time since 2015. 

The leaders have been travelling at an average speed of 45.7kph over the first hour of racing.  

Alexander Konychev is another Gent-Wevelgem debutant in the breakaway today. He is riding his first season with Mitchelton-Scott this year. He's been thrown into some big racing in his neo-pro year and rode Milan-San Remo back in August. 

172km to go

We have one abandon so far, Kenneth Van Roy has stepped off the bike. It is not clear why he has had to leave the race. 

Pascal Ackermann has been on strong form this season but he abandoned the BinckBank Tour after two third places in the opening stages. These were his thoughts when he spoke to Sporza at the start of the day. 

The gap to the escapees continues to grow as the riders have ridden 70km. There's under 60km to go until they reach their first climb. 

Mathieu van der Poel will be hoping to make up for Wednesday's second place and take another win. He's been looking pretty relaxed so far today at the back of the peloton. 

The weather is a bit unpredictable in Flanders today. There has been some rain over the riders. It's dry now but there is more rain expected to come after the heavens just opened in Wevelgem. 

Sep Vanmarcke has had a very truncated second part of the 2020 season. With his team not racing in Italy or not replacing cancelled racing days, he's contested just seven days so far. He was understandibly disappointed that Paris-Roubaix was cancelled, thus cutting his race days down even further. 

145km to go

The leaders are approaching De Moeren, where there is a possibility of some echelons. I don't want to build up your hopes just yet, though. 

A slightly slower second hour but still pretty quick with an average speed of 42.5kph. 

De Moeren is right by the border with France. When the race was due to go ahead in its usual slot in March, the organisers had planned a brief jaunt into France but decided several months ago to move the route for this weekend. It proved to be a wise decision given that Paris-Roubaix has had to be cancelled due to the spread of coronavirus. 

There has been a crash in the bunch. It seems about 10 riders have gone down after an Ineos rider hit a pole. We will bring you more news on that when we have it. 

Alpecin-Fenix's Senne Leysen has abandoned the race as a result of the crash. We have no news yet on his condition. 

125km to go

We have a third abandon today after Lukas Postlberger stepped off. He would have been an important rider for Pascal Ackermann in the closing kilometres of the race. 

114km to go

The peloton is going full gas in the chase now and the leaders have just 2:51. They could well be brought back very early in the climb section. 

2:20 is the gap now! Jumbo-Visma means business and this advantage is coming down quickly. 

The riders are just under 10km from the first of today's 11 climbs. 

The riders will take on five climbs before reaching the three plugstreets. The climbs, in order, are: Scherpenberg, Vidaigneberg, Baneberg, Monterberg and Kemmelberg. The Kemmelberg will be ridden three times today, no easy task. 

There was a split in the bunch, which has come together, but we now have attacks coming off the front of the peloton. The race is really on now. 

A puncture for Mathieu van der Poel, who is quickly tended to and back on his way to the peloton. 

Movistar rider Johan Jacobs is trying to bridge the gap to the escapees. He's making some progress, but will it be worth it?

Jacob's gap is still over 1:30 behind the leaders.

The pace was up in the third hour compared to the second, with an average speed of  43.9kph. 

The leaders get a spot of lunch. They're going to need to get it down quickly as the first climbs are coming up very soon. 

WEVELGEM BELGIUM OCTOBER 11 Mark Cavendish of The United Kingdom and Team Bahrain Mclaren Alexander Konychev of Italy and Team Mitchelton Scott Gilles De Wilde of Belgium and Team Sport Vlaanderen Baloise Alexis Gougeard of France and Team Ag2R La Mondiale Leonardo Basso of Italy and Team INEOSGrenadiers Julien Morice of France and Team BB Hotels Vital Concept Kenny Molly of Belgium and Team Bingoal Wb Breakaway during the 82nd GentWevelgem In Flanders Fields 2020 Men Elite a 2325km race from Ypres to Wevelgem GentWevelgem FlandersClassic on October 11 2020 in Wevelgem Belgium Photo by Luc ClaessenGetty Images

The breakaway at the 2020 Gent-Wevelgem. (Image credit: Getty Images Sport)

Jacobs is still in no-man's land between the leaders and the peloton. His chase seems to have lost some momentum at the moment. 

A puncture for Nils Politt. 

It is unfortunate timing for Politt to have that puncture. He's going to have quite the chase to get back onto the bunch. 

The breakaway has taken a bit more time back on the peloton, they now have 2:40 on the riders behind while Jacobs is about 1:30 back. 

John Degenkolb will be aiming to be in the mix at the finish today. He spoke to Sporza before the start and this is what he had to say:

Ineos has now taken up the pace setting in the peloton as they hit the Kemmelberg. Kwiatkowski is the man at the head of proceedings with Luke Rowe right behind him. 

Van der Poel is right behind the Ineos team but there are some gaps further back. This dig by Kwiatkowski is putting the hurt on a few contenders. 

A mechanical for Ackermann on the Kemmelberg. Really bad timing for the German.

79.9km to go

We're getting news that there is rain in Wevelgem, so it might not be dry all the way to the finish. 

An attack from Trentin. 

It looks like Kung and Vanmarcke chasing behind in what has become a small peloton. 

Jacobs has just a 15 seconds gap on the "peloton" and it won't be long before he is caught. 

The first peloton looks to have about 20 riders, and there is another 20 not too far behind them. A bigger group of about 40 is battling about 20 seconds behind the front peloton. 

Trentin has been brought back to the first peloton, which is now being paced by Jampy Drucker. 

The first two pelotons have come back together and the third is almost with them. The riders are restless, though, and there are lots of little moves off this front peloton. 

Jacobs has been brought back and we have a few echelons forming. 

The wind is not blowing super hard but the groups have split up again. The gap between the leaders and the chasers is 1:15.

73km to go

Van Aert really putting the hammer down. He's got about 15 riders with him and there's a 30-40-rider group chasing behind. 

A replay of the crash showes that the UAE rider who crashed got his front wheel stuck in the ridge in the middle of the tarmac. Doull and Oss crashed tried to avoid him. 

Another crash on a corner as Senechal hits the deck and Mullen wipes out on the same turn. The roads are really slippy at the moment. 

70km to go

Van Asbroeck had a mechanical issue on the gravel. An issue with his gearing or his chain, as he lost all drive and came to a sudden stop. 

Van der Poel attacks and he distances some big names, including Van Aert and Kristoff. He has about six other riders with him. 

Van Aert has made contact with the Van der Poel group and there are more about to make the juncture. Amidst all of this, the leaders are just 16 seconds up the road. 

Jumbo-Visma have now put the hammer down with Mike Teunissen and Wout van Aert. They pull a gap out on Van der Poel briefly. This is frenetic. 

66km to go

Right, I'm going to list a few riders that i can see in this front group, Pedersen, Van der Poel, Trentin, Kung, Van Aert, Cavendish, Teunissen. I'd say there are about 30 riders up there. 

Naesen is back in the first chasing group.

It seems that Ineos has missed the cut here. Basso is the only one up in that front group after being in the early breakaway. 

I missed Vanmarcke and Kristoff. They are both up there in this first group. 

63km to go

The main chasing group is now 39 seconds behind this leading group. 

Stybar's move has been brought back and we now have an attack from Vermeersch. 

This front group has 26 riders in it. The chasing peloton has about 30-40. 

Luke Durbridge is leading the chase in the second peloton. The big favourites for Mitchelton-Scott have missed out on this front move. 

Luke Rowe is now up at the front of this leading group. I didn't see him in there, he's been hiding very well. 

There are now 29 seconds between the front group and the chasers. Just nine riders remain in this leading pack.