Ghent-Wevelgem 2025: favorites and how to watch

After withdrawing from the E3 Saxo Classic dispute that was initially on the calendar, Tadej Pogacar will also not participate in Gante-Wevelgem, which will take place next Sunday, March 30, a race that usually has a more unpredictable development and is open to a greater number of alternatives than what usually happens in the rest of the Belgian cobblestone classics.

Favorites to win Gante-Wevelgem 2025

A completely unpredictable race is being presented for Gante-Wevelgem 2025 due to the absence of Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert, who did not initially have it in their program, and at the last minute, Tadej Pogacar, who seems to finally face the Paris-Roubaix.

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The absence of the three monsters means that the next level in determining the favorites for victory falls on the winner of the Gante-Wevelgem 2024, the Danish Mads Pedersen, who will have to confirm, both in this race and a couple of days before in E3 Saxo Classic, the excellent form he showed in Paris-Nice.

Among the classics specialists, we cannot forget the ever-present Matej Mohoric or names like Jordi Meeus or Tiesj Benoot.

However, as we say, this is a race that is usually tremendously crazy and in which cyclists with pure power can take advantage of their conditions. Here we would have to include a Jasper Philipsen who will carry the Alpecin-Deceuninck leadership in the absence of Van der Poel or a Filippo Ganna who has plenty of terrain to show his qualities, especially after the demonstrated improvement in climbing he showed during the Tirreno-Adriatico.

Route Gante-Wevelgem 2025

Despite its name, the Gante-Wevelgem has not started in the beautiful Flemish city for years but is limited to the region near Wevelgem, a neighboring city of Harelbeke and Kortrijk on the border with France.

In fact, the race does not head towards the Flemish Ardennes where the Tour of Flanders is held but heads northwest along the border with France, reaching in its first part even to the shores of the nearby North Sea, passing very close to La Panne in an initial section, the first 140 of the 250 kilometers that this Gante-Wevelgem covers, on completely flat terrain and fully exposed to the merciless wind that always hits this region.

The last third of the race gets really interesting when the race faces the hills located on the border with France, especially the Kemelberg, a symbol of this race that is tackled 3 times out of the 9 ascents that the cyclists will have to face in this race. From the last ascent to the finish line, there are 34 flat kilometers that usually propose interesting pursuits.

How to watch Gante-Wevelgem 2025

Unlike what happened with the E3 Saxo Classic, there will be no problems to enjoy the broadcast of this Gante-Wevelgem 2025 since the last stage of the Volta a Catalunya ends early. Therefore, we can enjoy a good Sunday afternoon full of cycling on Eurosport and the Max platform, which will offer the race between 13:40 and 17:00.