Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) won his third career victory at Gent-Wevelgem with an astonishing demonstration of power and tenacity.
Pedersen took the race in hand early, attacking 72 kilometers from the finish to cross the early rupture of the day, then pushing all his tokens with a solo attack against Kemmelberg with 56 km to do.
The peloton, previously broken in the winds of Moeren, could barely make a breach in the advantage of 90 seconds of the Dane in the last hour of running thanks to a rear wind and the work of the rest of Lidl-Trek, who sat behind the few hunters, actually disturbing their pursuit.
Lidl-Trek led Jonathan Milan to the Sprint Bunch for the last podium points, but Tim Merlier (Sudal-Quickstep) exceeded the Italian who struck a little too early. Milan had to settle for the third.
“It’s crazy. I didn’t expect to be able to do something like that,” said Pedersen. “Winning here again is super nice.”
“It was in favor of being alone with the full rear wind in the last 20 kilometers. On the plugstreets, I had very good legs, so I was like” OK, let’s try to open the race “. And then, it was the point of no return. It could have ended too, but today it went well, so fortunately, it was a good decision.”
Pedersen, who finished second behind the Flanders tour, the rival Mathieu van der Poel, in the E3 Saxo Classic, two days earlier, equaled the record for the victories of Gent-Wevelgem by Tom Boonen and Eddy Merckx. He played what his victory a week before round means, however, with Van der Poel and Tadej Pogačar absent from today’s race.
“It’s a different race from it, and you know, these two guys are always at a different level,” said Pedersen. “We saw him on Friday with Mathieu. He just dropped me on the Kwaremont. And we also know that Tadej is a very good cyclist, so he is able to do the same. Of course, that gives some confidence for Sunday, and we believe that we can win, but it will not be easy at all.”
Merlier, who crashed during the classic Brugge-de-breakdown breakdown and had to put himself stitches in his knee, revealed that he was opposed to starting Gent-Wevelgem today, but his sports director Iljo Keisse put him on the starting line.
“After Wednesday, I said to Iljo:” I don’t want to start today because I can never be ready “. But he left me on the list and brought me here. So, in the end, I need to thank you to Iljo.”
Merlier had to fight Milan in a full -fledged sprint over almost 300 meters, finally took front just before the line.
“I am really fast, but I know where he never abandons, so in the end, it was a long sprint side by side.”
Milan admitted that he had struck too early in the sprint, “I finished the third but I’m still happy for this podium.”
How it went
A clear sky and a steep breeze welcomed the peloton in Ypres for the start of the 87th edition of Gent-Wevelgem with 250.3 kilometers of cobblestones, `bleeding ” and banks”.
Jules Hester (Flanders-Baloise) launched hostilities but a counterattack from Sam Maisonobe (Cofidis), Jasha Sütterlin (Jayco-Alula), Marco Haller (Tudor) and Emīls Liepiņš (Q36.5) are clear.
Another attack by Victor Vercouillie (Flanders-Baloise), Max Walker (EF Education-Easypost), Samuel Leroux and Alexys Brunel (Totalenergies), Rui Oliveira (Emir Team Emirates XRG) emerged from the peloton and joined the first stage with 228 km to do.
The leaders won almost four minutes before their advantage begins to drop after 80 kilometers of racing.
Crosswinds struck the peloton after 100 kilometers of racing, Lidl-Trek leading to rhythm to leave sprinters like Arnaud de Lie (Lotto), Tim Merlier (Sudal-Quickstep) and Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck).
DE LIE abandoned the race, but MERLIER sent his team to the front to fill the gap. The action brought the escapees in a minute before the first two levels merged with 103 km.
Victor Campenaerts (Visma-Lease Vélo) attacked with Johan Jacobs (Groupama-FDJ) shortly after, but the Swiss runner could not hold the wheel of the former Hour Holder on the Baneberg and returned to the Peloton.
Campenaerts reached the leaders before Monteberg with 94 km. During the first ascent of the Kemmelberg, Vercouillie and Leroux lost contact, a Pedersen survey attack withdrew a small group but it was closed quickly.
Pedersen again attacked the section of three dark plugroesque with 72 km to do and was joined by Arjen Living (Lotto) to cross the break.
Meanwhile, Philipsen suffered a puncture in the worst time possible and had to make his way to the peloton.
Pedersen went to the remains of the early breakaway with 63 km to go, which in fact new, while, Olav Kooij (Visma-Lease Vélo) crashed out of the race.
The breakaway had a minute on the hunting peloton with 60 km to do. Brunel tried to move on the Monteberg, dropping Liepinš and Oliveira. Maisonobe was swung at the back when the group hit Kemmelberg 1.8 km later.
Campenaerts leads to Pace in Kemmelberg, dropping Brunel with Walker and Maisonobe, but Pedersen came above and exploded solo, destroying the rest of the breakaway.
When the dust settled, it was only Campenaerts, Hallery and Living in the Chase group.
The trio could not hold back the load peloton, and a push came from Mikkel Bjerg (Emirates XRG water team) and Philipsen. It was marked by Jasper Stuyven (Lidl-Trek), but the acceleration was sufficient to decrease the three hunters.
Pedersen has kept an advance of 1:25 with 15 km to do despite the Alpine-Deceuninck, the UNO-X mobility and the collaboration of Sudal-Quickstep to try to close it.
Results
Results fed by First cycle