79th Gent-Wevelgem, 26th March 2017, 249 km, 1.UWT

[Max Rockatansky]

Gent-Wevelgem - In Flanders Fields
Deinze › Wevelgem (249 km)

Hillie 1 Den Appel (125,7k)
Hillie 2 Le Steen Acker (120,3k)
Helling 1 Catsberg / Mont des Cats (113,6k)
Helling 2 Kokereelberg / Mont Kokereel (110,1k)
Helling 3 Vert Mont (107,8k)
Helling 4 Zwarte Berg / Mont Noir: Côte du Ravel Put (105,5k)
Helling 5 Zwarte Berg / Mont Noir: Côte de la Blanchisserie (100,3k)
Helling 6 Le Ravensberg (93,8k)
Hillie 3 Speelberg (92,3k)
Helling 7 Baneberg (82,7k)
Hillie 4 De Pingelaar (77,6k)
Helling 8 Kemmelberg-Belvedère (74,7k)
Helling 9 Monteberg (70,7k)
Hillie 5 Kraaiberg (65,6k)
Hillie 6 Mesenberg (64,2k)

Plugstreet Experience 14-18 (km 59,5 to km 52,7)

Plugstreet 1 (59,5k)
Hillie 7 La Hutte (58,9k)
Plugstreet 2 (57k)
Plugstreet 3 (54,8k)
Hillie 8 Rosenbergstraat (52,7k)
Hillie 9 De Trompe (50,7k)
Helling 10 Baneberg (38,9k)
Helling 11 Kemmelberg-Ossuaire (34,9k)



Bora - Hansgrohe
1 SAGAN, Peter
2 BENNETT, Sam
3 BODNAR, Maciej
4 BURGHARDT, Marcus
5 KOLAR, Michael
6 SAGAN, Juraj
7 SARAMOTINS, Aleksejs
8 SCHILLINGER, Andreas

Quick-Step Floors
11 BOONEN, Tom
12 DECLERCQ, Tim
13 DEVENYNS, Dries
14 GAVIRIA, Fernando
15 KEISSE, Iljo
16 STYBAR, Zdenek
17 TERPSTRA, Niki
18 TRENTIN, Matteo

Lotto Soudal
21 DEBUSSCHERE, Jens
22 ROELANDTS, Jurgen
23 BOECKMANS, Kris
24 FRISON, Frederik
25 HOFLAND, Moreno
26 MERTZ, Remy
27 BAK, Lars Ytting
28 SIEBERG, Marcel

BMC Racing Team
31 VAN AVERMAET, Greg
32 DILLIER, Silvan
33 OSS, Daniel
34 QUINZIATO, Manuel
35 SCOTSON, Miles
36 KÜNG, Stefan
37 VENTOSO, Francisco
38 VLIEGEN, Loïc

AG2R La Mondiale
41 NAESEN, Oliver
42 VANDENBERGH, Stijn
43 DENZ, Nico
44 ENGER, Sondre Holst
45 GOUGEARD, Alexis
46 HOULE, Hugo
47 BARBIER, Rudy
48 BAGDONAS, Gediminas

Astana Pro Team
51 BRESCHEL, Matti
52 DE VREESE, Laurens
53 GATTO, Oscar
54 GRIVKO, Andrei
55 GRUZDEV, Dmitriy
56 LUTSENKO, Alexey
57 TLEUBAYEV, Ruslan
58 VALGREN, Michael

Bahrain Merida Pro Cycling Team
62 BONIFAZIO, Niccolo
63 BOZIC, Borut
64 COLBRELLI, Sonny
65 GARCIA CORTINA, Ivan
66 INSAUSTI, Jon Ander
67 PER, David
68 PIBERNIK, Luka

Cannondale-Drapac Pro Cycling Team
71 VANMARCKE, Sep
72 VAN ASBROECK, Tom
73 PHINNEY, Taylor
74 SCULLY, Thomas
75 LANGEVELD, Sebastian
76 VAN BAARLE, Dylan
77 BEVIN, Patrick
78 WIPPERT, Wouter

FDJ
81 DÉMARE, Arnaud
82 DELAGE, Mickaël
83 GUARNIERI, Jacopo
84 HOELGAARD, Daniel
85 KONOVALOVAS, Ignatas
86 LADAGNOUS, Matthieu
87 LE GAC, Olivier
88 SARREAU, Marc

Movistar Team
91 ARCAS, Jorge
92 BARBERO, Carlos
93 BICO, Nuno
94 CARAPAZ, Richard
96 QUINTANA, Dayer
97 SÜTTERLIN, Jasha
98 BENNATI, Daniele

ORICA-Scott
101 KEUKELEIRE, Jens
102 HAYMAN, Mathew
103 EWAN, Caleb
104 JUUL-JENSEN, Christopher
105 DOCKER, Mitchell
106 KLUGE, Roger
107 MEZGEC, Luka
108 CORT NIELSEN, Magnus

Dimension Data
111 CAVENDISH, Mark
112 BOASSON HAGEN, Edvald
113 DOUGALL, Nick
114 EISEL, Bernhard
115 FARRAR, Tyler
116 JANSE VAN RENSBURG, Reinardt
117 THOMSON, Jay Robert
118 THWAITES, Scott

Team Katusha - Alpecin
121 MARTIN, Tony
122 PLANCKAERT, Baptiste
123 BIERMANS, Jenthe
124 KUZNETSOV, Viacheslav
125 HALLER, Marco
126 MØRKØV, Michael
127 BYSTRØM, Sven Erik
128 ZABEL, Rick

Team LottoNL-Jumbo
131 BOOM, Lars
132 CASTELIJNS, Twan
133 GROENEWEGEN, Dylan
134 ROOSEN, Timo
135 TANKINK, Bram
136 VAN EMDEN, Jos
137 WAGNER, Robert
138 WYNANTS, Maarten

Team Sky
141 ROWE, Luke
142 STANNARD, Ian
143 DOULL, Owain
144 KNEES, Christian
145 MOSCON, Gianni
146 DIBBEN, Jonathan
147 VAN POPPEL, Danny
148 WIŚNIOWSKI, Łukasz

Team Sunweb
151 DE BACKER, Bert
152 WAEYTENS, Zico
153 CURVERS, Roy
154 ANDERSEN, Søren Kragh
155 MATTHEWS, Michael
156 SINKELDAM, Ramon
157 TEUNISSEN, Mike
158 ARNDT, Nikias

Trek - Segafredo
161 STUYVEN, Jasper
162 THEUNS, Edward
163 DEGENKOLB, John
164 FELLINE, Fabio
165 PEDERSEN, Mads
166 RAST, Gregory
167 BEPPU, Fumiyuki
168 DE KORT, Koen

UAE Team Emirates
171 CONSONNI, Simone
172 GANNA, Filippo
173 KUMP, Marko
174 LAENGEN, Vegard Stake
175 MARCATO, Marco
176 MODOLO, Sacha
177 TROIA, Oliviero
178 ZURLO, Federico

Sport Vlaanderen - Baloise
181 CAPIOT, Amaury
182 FARAZIJN, Maxime
183 PLANCKAERT, Edward
184 SALOMEIN, Jarl
185 STEELS, Stijn
186 VAN LERBERGHE, Bert
187 VAN ROOY, Kenneth
188 WALLAYS, Jens

Wanty - Groupe Gobert
191 VAN KEIRSBULCK, Guillaume
193 DEVRIENDT, Tom
194 KREDER, Wesley
195 PASQUALON, Andrea
196 STENUIT, Robin
197 VANSPEYBROUCK, Pieter
198 DEHAES, Kenny
199 MCNALLY, Mark

Vérandas Willems-Crelan
201 DEVOLDER, Stijn
202 CORDEEL, Sander
203 DE BONDT, Dries
204 BILLE, Gaetan
205 DUIJN, Huub
206 DUPONT, Timothy
207 GOOLAERTS, Michael
208 KRUOPIS, Aidis

Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
211 CHETOUT, Loïc
212 CLAEYS, Dimitri
213 HOFSTETTER, Hugo
214 LAPORTE, Christophe
215 LEMOINE, Cyril
216 SÉNÉCHAL, Florian
217 VAN STAEYEN, Michael
218 VANBILSEN, Kenneth

WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect
221 DE WINTER, Ludwig
222 ISTA, Kevyn
223 JANS, Roy
224 KIRSCH, Alex
225 NAESEN, Lawrence
226 ROBEET, Ludovic
227 STASSEN, Julien
228 VANTOMME, Maxime

Israel Cycling Academy
231 BOIVIN, Guillaume
232 DEMPSTER, Zakkari
233 LOWNDES, Jason
234 PERRY, Ben
235 RAIM, Mihkel
236 VAN WINDEN, Dennis
237 WILLIAMS, Tyler
238 YECHEZKEL, Aviv

Roompot - Nederlandse Loterij
241 ASSELMAN, Jesper
242 DE VRIES, Berden
243 KREDER, Raymond
244 LIGTHART, Pim
245 LOOIJ, Andre
246 MOURIS, Jens
247 REINDERS, Elmar
248 VAN DER HOORN, Taco

 

[Alexandre B.]

Sagan is really the perfect rider for this race profile.

 

[Anderis]

Re:

Sagan is really the perfect rider for this race profile.

He is a perfect rider for any race profile without big mountains close to the finish line.

 

[Alexandre B.]

It's kinda true, but Kemmelberg is such a beast that the other hard sprinters (Kristoff, Degenkolb, Démare, Gaviria) will likely be dropped, leaving Sagan with the more punchy type (GVA, Vanmarcke, maybe Rowe and Benoot).

 

[Netserk]

 

[SKSemtex]

Re:

I would never afford to tell the one who opened the thread that he did kind of bad job, but this time it was really below the standard.

 

[Netserk]

I hadn't seen the openrunner profile of the new segment before, so to me the OP was quite great, given that the rest of the route is like it always is.

 

[Maaaaaaaarten]

The new unpaved section is pretty cool, I think.

But why still no Kasselberg

 

[dlwssonic]

I like how they are just making this race harder and harder every year

 

[Valv.Piti]

I like how they are just making this race harder and harder every year

Yeah its genuinely a very, very hard race now at 250 km. When did it get so long?
Anyways, just hoping that nobody of the biggest favourites will crash so we can get a major showdown next week. To me it G-W has always felt a bit meh, but I must admit this is a proper man's race now!

 

[Maaaaaaaarten]

I like how they are just making this race harder and harder every year

Yeah its genuinely a very, very hard race now at 250 km. When did it get so long?
Anyways, just hoping that nobody of the biggest favourites will crash so we can get a major showdown next week. To me it G-W has always felt a bit meh, but I must admit this is a proper man's race now!

It's been >230km since 2012. I think it always used to be this long but once upon a time the UCI decided to have silly rules about how long races were allowed to be based on their silly artificial ranking systems. This screwed over a lot of classics historically. Flèche used to be >250km in some editions and Paris-Bruxelles used to be from Paris to Brussels (and later still >250km for a long while). In recent years GW has fortunately simply gone back to a proper length for a prestigious classic.

 

[Echoes]

Yeah its genuinely a very, very hard race now at 250 km. When did it get so long?

In 1948! 276km long.

Question to ask is when did it get so short: 1990: 204km (while in 1989 it was still 276km) just like all of the races that did not belong to the UCI World Cup at that time. Thanks Mr Verbrugghen.

Back to its more or less rightful distance in 2012: 234.6km. But the harm was done.
http://www.siteducyclisme.net/wedstrijdfiche.php?wedstrijdid=169

 

[Valv.Piti]

250 km seems about right for G-W now. Is it the same case for E-3, Het Volk, K-B-K..?

 

[Echoes]

It's a little different. Omloop and Kuurne being the season openers have long remained rather short. Just like the Laigueglia which has never been longer than 200km.

Omloop was only extended to 218km in 1978 when you started to have some decent stage races around the Med earlier in the season. But in 1989 it was 244km and 198km in 1990. http://www.siteducyclisme.net/wedstrijdfiche.php?wedstrijdid=347

Kuurne's length has varied every year before 1990, sometimes longer than 220km, sometimes shorter than 200.

Harelbeke's length varied between 210km and 230km until 1989. 231km in 1988, 211km in 1989, 201km in 1990
http://www.siteducyclisme.net/wedstrijdfiche.php?wedstrijdid=148

But the same goes to many Italian semi-classics such as the Three Valleys or the late Tour of Lazio.

Maarten, you are mixing things up a bit. Paris-Brussels was longer than Milan-Sanremo. 301km in 1987, 294km in 1989, 246km in 1990. The Arrow was about equal length to present-day "monuments" and pretty much equal on the hierarchy. 253km in 1989. 208km in 1990.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

On paper a perfect profile.
Stijn, Stannard or Boonen ftw.

 

[Max Rockatansky]

Maarten, you are mixing things up a bit. Paris-Brussels was longer than Milan-Sanremo. 301km in 1987, 294km in 1989, 246km in 1990. The Arrow was about equal length to present-day "monuments" and pretty much equal on the hierarchy. 253km in 1989. 208km in 1990.

This must have been a great race with that length and I heard there were also some really challenging cobble sectors in it?

I will include the profile later in the op. Just thought everybody knows how the races look like.

 

[BaylorBelef]

Looks to be insane this year. I'm excited

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re:

Looks to be insane this year. I'm excited

Agree, G-W has become a very good race again.

 

[jsem94]

Going to be great!

 

[SlickMongoose]

What's the weather forecast like? Any chance of crazy echelons?

 

[barmaher]

Unfortunately, the wind is forecast from the east on Sunday, so it looks like a headwind on the run in to Wevelgem.

 

[fauniera]

Maps and other info about the Plugstreets: http://www.villedecomines-warneton.be/loisirs/sports/GentWevelgem/gent-wevelgem-dossier-de-presse-fr.pdf

 

[sQiD]

https://cyclingtips.com/news/patrick-lefevere-founder-of-ghent-wevelgem-turning-in-his-grave/

 

[swuzzlebubble]

is this the longest of the semi-classics?

 

[Max Rockatansky]

Re:

is this the longest of the semi-classics?

This is a full classic.

https://cyclingtips.com/news/patrick-lefevere-founder-of-ghent-wevelgem-turning-in-his-grave/

“This has nothing to do with road racing. Suppose that the peloton stays together and a group of 150 rides through the narrow roads. Is that what the organizers want to see? I think Georges Matthys, one of the founders of the course, turns over in his grave.”

He sounds like Donald Trump here. Crying like always. It's called road cycling, not paved road cycling. Comparing a race from 1934 with today.