Gent-Wevelgem Elite Men - Live Coverage
Follow all the action live as the cobbled classics begin
How to watch the Classics – Gent-Wevelgem TV, live stream
Gent-Wevelgem: Wout van Aert begins penultimate race of season with high ambitions
Defending Gent-Wevelgem women's champion Kirsten Wild out after COVID-19 positive
Benoot out of Gent-Wevelgem after contact with COVID-19 positive Bakelants
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.
🇧🇪 #GWE20 Bikes approved @federalepolitie?👮🏻 pic.twitter.com/cyVjExmRG8October 11, 2020
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.
"It is a different season but same weather. Not a lot of wind but always some in the Moeren.
"It's fantastic location but there shouldn't have been music. Apart from that it's a perfect fit for this particular race. The lack of fans along the course will make it different. Sometimes you thrive on the atmosphere, sometimes it makes you blow up your engine. I didn't do many races so I don't know where I'll be today."
Alexander Kristoff is the defending champion and will be among the contenders to take the title today. He will face some still competition, though.
"It is at a different part if year but the race suits me. The same riders are here. I had a good Tour, just like the team. Usually I don't feel great after the Tour but now there was a big goal. The big favourites to me are Mathieu and Wout."
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.
"It was good to be back home. I rested a bit and tried to recharge the batteries. I trained well in the past 10 days. Recon went well but riding on the cobbles remains difficult. I'll only know in the race how I come out of the post-Tour and worlds.
"The Moeren is the first critical point. I don't care if I'll be in a small or big group when heading to the finish. The classics riders approach these races with another schedule than other years. This is sometimes a build-up race for some but now it's a real target for everyone.
This start is bizarre, not to be on a podium to wave to the fans. Then again it's good the race can get underway."
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.
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.
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 gap is growing and now stands at 50 seconds. Astana and Israel Start-Up Nation are driving the chase behind after missing the move.
🏁 C’est parti pour @GentWevelgem ! 📸 @FRJ_photo #GWE20 l #ThereIsNoTry pic.twitter.com/ZUo4L7X9ryOctober 11, 2020
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
The latest time check has the escapees at four minutes over the peloton.
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.
Seven riders have forged on up the road in the opening kilometres of #GWE20. It's great to see Leonardo Basso at the head of the race in Belgium. pic.twitter.com/5tbhlC5nBtOctober 11, 2020
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.
Speaking to Sporza, he had this to say ahead of the start: "It's really nice to perform here. It's a super hard race. The level is quite high here. It's my first race after the Tour and I don't know how the legs will be. In training it's been going well. You never know until the race gets underway. I should be pretty ok. Normally I'm stronger now (compared to last year). There's a few leaders in our team. We have a versatile team. There's a lot of guys who can do something today."
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
Deceuninck-QuickStep is setting the pace in the peloton. The leaders' advantage has settled at five minutes, for now.
#GWEmen The advantage of the leading group is now 6'30" #GWE20 pic.twitter.com/AInqvHHRVQOctober 11, 2020
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.
"My shape is really good right now. It's better for me to have a hard race. My acceleration now isn't as good so I prefer a hard race. Last year? I didn't finish. It was too long and too hard. Three times over the Kemmel is a lot. I've never done it three times in a race. That will be hard."
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.
This is what he said at the start of the day:
"The night after the Brabantse Pijl wasn't super although I usually don't sleep well after a race. I replayed the sprint a couple of times in my head. It was a missed chance.
"The Kemmel was hard last year but the race was hard too with the wind. It was one of the hardest races I've done. This year there'll be wind again. This year I expect a group of ten riders to crest the Kemmel and if they can find co-operate then that'll be the group that will battle for victory.
[On Tim Merlier] "We talked about his chances. I'm the man who has to be there with the attackers and Tim has to try and survive. Last year there was a big group who sprinted and he has the capabilities to feature that main group too. We have two leaders today."
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.
Before this weekend, he told Belgian media that he'd "been training for six to seven months to be almost 100 per cent for the first time in my life. I've never lost my morale during this difficult season, even though I have few racing days."
145km to go
The six escapees continue to build their advantage and now have 7:30 over the peloton with 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.
Notre incontournable baroudeur @KennyMollyKai est le régional de @GentWevelgem. Déjà échappé à #liegebastogneliege il ne pouvait que prendre l’échappée ce dimanche « in Flanders Fields » 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻#gentwevelgem pic.twitter.com/BL4ct8FG4IOctober 11, 2020
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
The riders are fast approaching the first climbs of the day and the leaders still have more than seven minutes over the peloton behind. The wind in De Moeren is not blowing too strong today so it has not done much damage to the bunch right now.
#GWEmen The time gap is reducing. The peloton follows at 5'08" #GWE20October 11, 2020
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
Jumbo-Visma is setting the pace on the front of the peloton and they've done some serious damage to the advantage of the escapees. The gap has fallen to just 3:20 now. They do not want the six up front to have too much of an advantage when they hit the hellingen section.
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.
#GWEmen We are quickly approaching the hill zone now. 2'03" is the current gap! #GWE20October 11, 2020
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.
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:
"The race will open early and in the climbs you have to be there. We definitely need some luck and need as many guys as we can in the main group.
Getting a win [in Luxembourg] was great for the confidence, after crasing out from the Tour. In the Brabantse Pijl I had some bad luck but it poorly timed puncture."
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.
The road is a mixture of dry and wet but at least the rain has stopped, for now. We even have some sunshine.
79.9km to go
A few teams have now come forward to help with the driving of this pace. Alpecin-Fenix and Trek-Segafredo are now lending a hand. The gap to the leaders is being demolished. The advantage of the escapees has dropped to 1:50.
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
There have been a few crashes and Daniel Oss has ended up in a field. Owain Doull and a UAE rider have also gone down. Meanwhile, Wout van Aert is putting the pressure on.
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
The wind is gathering some pace now as the riders reach the plugstreets. The gravel roads are soaked with the rain and there is standing water in patches.
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
The breakaway has been caught. I wonder if Cavendish can hold on in this leading group.
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
Stybar is up there and he puts in a big attack. Cavendish follows him.
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.