Mathieu van der Poel to keep winning at Ghent-Wevelgem 2024

The excitement of the weekend before the Tour of Flanders continues with the dispute of another one of the great classics of spring, the Gent-Wevelgem 2024, where Mathieu van der Poel will try to finish off a great weekend that has started in an unbeatable way by winning the E3 Saxo Classic.

The best riders fine-tune their form for the Tour of Flanders at Gent-Wevelgem

Another date with the cobbles at Gent-Wevelgem, another one of the most relevant classics of the Belgian spring, just one step below the Tour of Flanders, the great race of the Flemish spring which will take place only 7 days after the Gent-Wevelgem 2024 on Sunday, March 24.

Clear favorite

After what we saw in the E3 Saxo Classic, the top candidate for victory can only be Mathieu van der Poel, who seems determined to end all qualifiers. However, the route with fewer walls and a long flat section between the last climb of the Kemmelberg and the finish in Wevelgem make it not a sure thing for him to win this race, and it is not unlikely that we will see a similar scenario to Milan-San Remo with Alpecin-Deceuninck resorting to plan B with the legs of Jasper Philipsen.

In any case, the absence of Wout van Aert, who has preferred to do his final test before Flanders in Dwars door Vlaanderen next Wednesday, a race with less toughness than Gent-Wevelgem, makes the victory very likely for the Belgian team.

Few cyclists on the start list who can challenge Van der Poel, if any. Here, obviously, we have to consider two possibilities. The first is that the race breaks in the climbing area, in which case we could point to names like Arnaud de Lie, although he is starting to be labeled as a perennial contender; a Jhonatan Narváez in great form; or a Mads Pedersen who, despite his good start to the year and being at the front, can't find that extra edge to secure a victory. We also can't rule out in this scenario a Matej Mohoric who is always ready to seize his opportunity and is a finisher who usually doesn't fail when the occasion arises.

As we mentioned before, in this race we can't rule out a sprint finish by a more or less numerous group, which is why many fast men are encouraged to participate. In addition to the aforementioned Philipsen and a Mads Pedersen who should never be ruled out in these finishes, we find contenders to win in a sprint finish in the legs of cyclists like Tim Merlier, Michael Matthews, or Juan Sebastian Molano, selecting those who are most likely to survive the walls and cobblestone sections.

Gent-Wevelgem 2024 Route

Despite its name, Gent-Wevelgem does not start anywhere near this beautiful Flemish city as it did last year, limiting its route to the western part of Flanders with the start in the town of Ypres, just a few kilometers from Wevelgem. A border area with neighboring France. A region that, considering the weather that the riders enjoyed in the E3 Saxo Classic and the initial forecast that it will worsen, could be decisive in toughening up the race as this area is fully exposed to the inclemencies of the nearby North Sea.

The other key factor of this Gent-Wevelgem is the distance, a race that goes up to 253 kilometers, a figure similar to what they will have to cover in a week at the Tour of Flanders but totally atypical in today's cycling and ultimately creates a real natural selection in the peloton, especially considering that the toughness in the form of cobbled climbs and flat sections is concentrated in the last third of the race.

A finish marked by the different climbs of the Kemmelberg, a hill that dominates this area and is ascended several times using its multiple slopes, making this race a delight for the spectators who will enjoy it on-site.

How to watch the Gent-Wevelgem 2024

As usual, Eurosport will allow us to follow Gent-Wevelgem live. Coverage of the race starts at 13:40 but only through its app and website due to the overlap with the final stage of the Volta a Catalunya. It won't be until the end of this, around 14:15, when we can follow the live broadcast on Eurosport 2 until approximately 16:45 when its conclusion is scheduled.