Gent–Wevelgem

The event was created in honour of Gaston Rebry, although he never participated.

Created in 1934 and originally run by the newspaper Gazet van Antwerpen, the race's finish town of Wevelgem was selected because it was the home town of the event's first owner, local textile manufacturer Georges Matthijs.[3] [lower-alpha 1] Its origin is a tribute to Gaston Rebry, a native of Wevelgem, who was one of the stars of cycling in Belgium in the 1930s.

The first edition was run on 9 September 1934 as an amateur race on a flat, 120 km route.[6] The race only had Belgian participants and was won by Gustave Van Belle.[lower-alpha 2] In 1936 the race distance was increased to 168 km and Robert Van Eenaeme was the first professional winner.

The event had its only interruptions during World War II, and was subsequently organized again as a professional event in 1945. Gaston Rebry, by then president of bike club "Het Vliegend Wiel", was the new race director. Robert Van Eenaeme was declared winner of the first post-War edition, surprisingly ten days after the race was over, after officials had closer inspected the photo finish.[6]

In 1947 Gent–Wevelgem was granted a springtime date on the calendar and gained prestige. Organizer Rebry managed to line up Italian cycling icons Gino Bartali and Fausto Coppi, who attracted vast numbers of spectators to the race.

In 1957 the race became part of the short-lived Trophy of Flanders, a two-day formula with the Omloop Het Volk, in which Gent–Wevelgem was raced on Saturday, the Omloop on Sunday.[6] In the 1960s the race garnered international prestige. Belgian cycling legends Rik Van Looy and Eddy Merckx won the race three times; Tour de France winner Jacques Anquetil was the first French winner in 1964.

The race was in a constant search of identity and re-invention, as reflected in the regular route and calendar changes. In 1977 the distance was 277 km, the longest edition ever, featuring eleven climbs in the Flemish Ardennes and a double ascent of the Kemmelberg.[6] The arduous edition was won by Bernard Hinault, claiming his first international success.

Italian sprint star Mario Cipollini is one of six riders who won the race three times.

Since the 1980s the race has built a reputation as a sprinters' classic. Italian sprint star Mario Cipollini claimed three victories.[7][8] Sean Kelly, Guido Bontempi, Djamolidine Abdoujaparov and Tom Steels are some of the other sprint specialists on the roll of honour.[9]

In 2003, Gent–Wevelgem abandoned its original start location Ghent and moved to suburban Deinze.[10] Tom Boonen claimed his first classic victory in 2004, later proceeding to equal the winning record of three wins.[11][12][13][14] For many decades, the race held a mid-week position between the Tour of Flanders and Paris–Roubaix. In 2011, the race was included in the UCI World Tour and returned to a Sunday date in the weekend between Milan–San Remo and the Tour of Flanders.[lower-alpha 3][15]

Since 2015, the event is named Gent–Wevelgem – In Flanders Fields, after the iconic war poem by John McCrae.[1] Organizers wanted to commemorate the 100th anniversary of World War I, as the Westhoek region was at the heart of the war and is home to several Commonwealth war graves. The 2015 edition was won by Luca Paolini, but was particularly memorable as it was run in abysmal weather, with strong winds scourging the peloton. Several riders were blown violently off their bikes, including Geraint Thomas when he was leading the breakaway group,[16] prompting media to describe the race as "mayhem" and "one of the wildest bike races in recent years".[17][18] Only 39 riders finished the race.[19]

The 2016 edition was marred by the death of Belgian rider Antoine Demoitié, suffering fatal injuries from a crash and collision with a motor bike.[20][21] Peter Sagan won the 2018 event, marking Sagan's third Gent–Wevelgem title and sixth podium finish, thereby becoming the most successful rider in the race's history.[5]

Since 2004, the race starts in Deinze, East Flanders, 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) southwest of Ghent.[24] After the unofficial start on the city's Market Square, the route heads west, facing 100 kilometres through the wind-swept flatlands of West Flanders, up to and along the North Sea coast before turning south into the North department of France.[3][23] After 120 km comes the cobbled Kasselberg climb in Cassel, which is addressed twice in quick succession.[lower-alpha 4] After the Katsberg, the second hill in France, the race re-enters Belgium after 50 kilometres (31 mi) on French roads, to enter the key section of the race in Heuvelland.[22]

The hill zone in the very south of West Flanders holds three climbs, the Baneberg, Monteberg and Kemmelberg, covered within twelve kilometres of one another.[23] This succession of climbs is interspersed with technical descents along narrow country roads, including the difficult descent of the Kemmelberg. The Kemmelberg is the hardest and most iconic climb of the race.[22]

After these three bergs, the course loops round and riders re-ascend the Baneberg–Monteberg-Kemmelberg sequence, covering a total of nine categorized climbs.[22] After the top of the ultimate climb of the Kemmelberg, some 35 kilometres (22 mi) from the finish, the course invariably ensues on a long and flat run-in to Wevelgem.[3] The finish is on the Vanackerestraat, Wevelgem's central avenue.

The essential ingredients of Gent–Wevelgem have remained the same for decades. First to take their toll on the peloton, in the opening 100 kilometres, are the crosswinds and often rainy weather on exposed, flat roads across Flanders’ largest open plain. As teams try to protect and position their captains in the early stages of the race, splits and echelons at this point frequently see 40 to 60 riders eliminated from the running.[3]

The Kemmelberg first featured in 1955 and has become the centrepiece of the race. The steepest slopes reach 23 % gradient near the top.

Subsequently, after hours of pounding across the Flanders flatlands and the occasional excursion to Northern France, the riders approach the hill zone in Heuvelland, which features the day's most difficult ascents. The hills are at the heart of the action and usually the sites where breakaways are formed. The race's most renowned climb is the Kemmelberg, a fully cobbled hill road in Kemmel with gradients up to 23%, but equally notorious for its difficult and technical descent.

The Kemmelberg, the highest point in the region, is the toughest climb and the emotional centrepiece of the race.[22] Named after Camulos, the Celtic god of war, the Kemmelberg's summit lies atop a thickly wooded ridge which was the scene of the Battle of the Lys in April 1918, in which more than 200,000 soldiers died.[3] The climb has been controversial in the past because of several severe crashes in its descent. In 2007 French rider Jimmy Casper crashed heavily, suffering numerous facial and other fractures.[26][27] In 2016 the climb was addressed by its steepest road for the first time in more than 20 years.[28][29]

After the Kemmelberg, the ultimate battle between breakaways formed on the bergs and the chasing peloton unfolds on the 35-kilometre flat roads towards the finish. Despite its reputation as a sprinter's classic, Gent–Wevelgem's breakaways frequently hold off their pursuers because of the unpredictable terrain.[3]

The Kemmelberg is one of the only cobbled sites in the race.

Although media usually classify Gent–Wevelgem as a cobbled classic,[30] the route actually has very few sections of cobbled roads. Only the Kemmelberg and the upper stretches of the Kasselberg are cobbled, totaling a possible maximum of two kilometres of cobbled section, which is significantly less than the other cobbled races of Flanders and Northern France. Moreover, there are no flat sections of pavé and both cobbled climbs are in excellent condition, as they are part of a busy suburban traffic network.

Riders in italics are still active

Wins	Rider	Country	Editions
3	Robert Van Eenaeme	Belgium	1936, 1937, 1945
	Rik Van Looy	Belgium	1956, 1957, 1962
	Eddy Merckx	Belgium	1967, 1970, 1973
	Mario Cipollini	Italy	1992, 1993, 2002
	Tom Boonen	Belgium	2004, 2011, 2012
	Peter Sagan	Slovakia	2013, 2016, 2018
2	Raymond Impanis	Belgium	1952, 1953
	Briek Schotte	Belgium	1950, 1955
	Frans Aerenhouts	Belgium	1960, 1961
	Freddy Maertens	Belgium	1975, 1976
	Guido Bontempi	Italy	1984, 1986
	Tom Steels	Belgium	1996, 1999