Sagan gets his win at Gent-Wevelgem

Published March 27, 2016 12:00PM

Peter Sagan picked up his first victory in the rainbow jersey Sunday with a win at Gent-Wevelgem. The Tinkoff star triumphed in a cagey four-man sprint at the end of a long, windy day in Belgium to take his second career title in the race.

Sep Vanmarcke (LottoNL – Jumbo) took second, with Viacheslav Kuznetsov in third, delivering a podium performance for Katusha despite the eleventh-hour withdrawal of his teammate Alexander Kristoff, a pre-race favorite, due to illness.

Fabian Cancellara (Trek – Segafredo) was the last of the four across the line, while FDJ’s Arnaud Démare won the sprint for fifth in the peloton behind.

Excitement over the race finale was tempered by news from a hospital in nearby Lille, France. 25-year-old Belgian Antoine Demoitié (Wanty – Groupe Gobert) was struck by moto after a fall as the race passed through Sainte-Marie-Cappel in northern France. According to the AFP, Demoitié passed away after being transported to intensive care.

Top 10

Sunday’s event took place under mostly dry but windy conditions in the Flemish countryside, which led to splits even from the first hour of racing.

Groups broke apart and reformed throughout the afternoon after the peloton set out on the 243-kilometer journey from Denize, near Ghent, to Wevelgem. After a five-man move of Matteo Trentin (Etixx – Quick-Step), Daniel Oss (BMC Racing), Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek – Segafredo), Tiesj Benoot (Lotto – Soudal), and Pavel Brutt (Katusha) was reeled in, Kuznetsov jumped clear on his own as the peloton approached the day’s final few climbs.

The 26-year-old Russian opened up a gap of nearly a minute, but soon found himself riding with company. Cancellara attacked on the Kemmelberg and Sagan and Vanmarcke followed. They bridged to Kuznetsov to form a lead quartet some 35 kilometers from the finish.

Zdenek Stybar (Etixx – Quick-Step), Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing), and Luke Rowe (Sky) tried to give chase, forming a second group on the road, but the four up the road only increased the advantage as the parcours flattened out.

The peloton reabsorbed the chasing trio, but the bunch was unable to put much of a dent into the advantage of the escapees, which collaborated well as the kilometers ticked down.

When it became clear that the win would come out of the group up front, none of the four wanted to be the one to lead out the sprint. Kuznetsov finally took it up inside the final few hundred meters and opened up a small gap, but Sagan jumped with him and then blew past to take the win.

“The sprint was very slow because we had a lot of time in front of the group,” Sagan said. “And the guys know Fabian is fast after a lot of kilometers like today. And they know I’m fast if I feel good

For Sagan, the win could help relieve a bit of pressure. The 26-year-old Slovakian has already racked up six second-place finishes this season, including a runner-up result in Friday’s E3 Harelbeke, but until crossing the finish line in Wevelgem he had not won a race since taking the world championship title in Richmond last year.

Gent-Wevelgem results

1. Peter SAGAN, TINKOFF, in 5:55:12

2. Sep VANMARCKE, TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO, at :00

3. Viacheslav KUZNETSOV, TEAM KATUSHA, at :00

4. Fabian CANCELLARA, TREK – SEGAFREDO, at :00

5. Arnaud DEMARE, FDJ, at :11

6. Fernando GAVIRIA RENDON, ETIXX – QUICK STEP, at :11

7. Jurgen ROELANDTS, LOTTO SOUDAL, at :11

8. Jacopo GUARNIERI, TEAM KATUSHA, at :11

9. Greg VAN AVERMAET, BMC RACING TEAM, at :11

10. Michael MORKOV, TEAM KATUSHA, at :11

11. Giacomo NIZZOLO, TREK – SEGAFREDO, at :11

12. Luka MEZGEC, ORICA – GreenEDGE, at :11

13. Pieter VANSPEYBROUCK, TOPSPORT VLAANDEREN – BALOISE, at :11

14. Aleksejs SARAMOTINS, IAM CYCLING, at :11

15. Tiesj BENOOT, LOTTO SOUDAL, at :11

16. Koen DE KORT, TEAM GIANT – ALPECIN, at :11

17. Pavel BRUTT, TINKOFF, at :11

18. Edvald BOASSON HAGEN, DIMENSION DATA, at :11

19. Andriy GRIVKO, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at :11

20. Tom BOONEN, ETIXX – QUICK STEP, at :17

21. Niki TERPSTRA, ETIXX – QUICK STEP, at :19

22. Luke ROWE, TEAM SKY, at :24

23. Stijn VANDENBERGH, ETIXX – QUICK STEP, at :28

24. Daniel OSS, BMC RACING TEAM, at :59

25. Jens KEUKELEIRE, ORICA – GreenEDGE, at 1:07

26. Bryan COQUARD, DIRECT ENERGIE, at 1:22

27. Berden DE VRIES, ROOMPOT – ORANJE PELOTON, at 5:08

28. Alexander PORSEV, TEAM KATUSHA, at 5:08

29. Tom VAN ASBROECK, TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO, at 5:08

30. Maarten TJALLINGII, TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO, at 5:08

31. Cyril LEMOINE, COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS, at 5:08

32. Manuel QUINZIATO, BMC RACING TEAM, at 5:08

33. Taylor PHINNEY, BMC RACING TEAM, at 5:08

34. Edward THEUNS, TREK – SEGAFREDO, at 5:08

35. Michal GOLAS, TEAM SKY, at 5:08

36. Andrey AMADOR BIKKAZAKOVA, MOVISTAR TEAM, at 5:08

37. Oscar GATTO, TINKOFF, at 5:08

38. Sacha MODOLO, LAMPRE – MERIDA, at 5:08

39. Nikolas MAES, ETIXX – QUICK STEP, at 5:08

40. Zico WAEYTENS, TEAM GIANT – ALPECIN, at 5:08

41. Bert VAN LERBERGHE, TOPSPORT VLAANDEREN – BALOISE, at 6:05

42. Lars Ytting BAK, LOTTO SOUDAL, at 6:05

43. Bram TANKINK, TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO, at 6:06

44. Amaury CAPIOT, TOPSPORT VLAANDEREN – BALOISE, at 6:08

45. Yohann GENE, DIRECT ENERGIE, at 6:11

46. Zdenek STYBAR, ETIXX – QUICK STEP, at 6:16

47. Matteo TRENTIN, ETIXX – QUICK STEP, at 6:16

48. Jasha SÜTTERLIN, MOVISTAR TEAM, at 6:21

49. Mitchell DOCKER, ORICA – GreenEDGE, at 7:16

50. Grégory RAST, TREK – SEGAFREDO, at 7:16

51. Laurens DE VREESE, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at 11:05

52. Paolo SIMION, BARDIANI CSF, at 11:05

53. Michael SCHÄR, BMC RACING TEAM, at 11:05

54. Jesper ASSELMAN, ROOMPOT – ORANJE PELOTON, at 11:05

55. Roy JANS, WANTY – GROUPE GOBERT, at 11:05

56. Marcus BURGHARDT, BMC RACING TEAM, at 11:05

57. Murilo Antonio FISCHER, FDJ, at 11:05

58. Mickael DELAGE, FDJ, at 11:05

59. Tomasz KIENDYS, CCC SPRANDI POLKOWICE, at 11:05

60. Marko KUMP, LAMPRE – MERIDA, at 11:05

61. Jasper DE BUYST, LOTTO SOUDAL, at 11:05

62. Bert DE BACKER, TEAM GIANT – ALPECIN, at 11:05

63. Raymond KREDER, ROOMPOT – ORANJE PELOTON, at 11:05

64. Michael VAN STAEYEN, COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS, at 11:05

65. Gediminas BAGDONAS, AG2R LA MONDIALE, at 11:05

66. Robert WAGNER, TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO, at 11:05

67. Roy CURVERS, TEAM GIANT – ALPECIN, at 11:05

68. Mike TEUNISSEN, TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO, at 11:05

69. Sébastien TURGOT, AG2R LA MONDIALE, at 11:05

70. Guillaume VAN KEIRSBULCK, ETIXX – QUICK STEP, at 11:05

71. Danny VAN POPPEL, TEAM SKY, at 11:09

72. Sylvain CHAVANEL, DIRECT ENERGIE, at 11:11

73. Marco COLEDAN, TREK – SEGAFREDO, at 11:11

74. Maciej BODNAR, TINKOFF, at 11:11

75. Sander HELVEN, TOPSPORT VLAANDEREN – BALOISE, at 11:11

76. Josef CERNY, CCC SPRANDI POLKOWICE, at 11:11

77. Marco HALLER, TEAM KATUSHA, at 11:11

78. Wesley KREDER, ROOMPOT – ORANJE PELOTON, at 11:11

79. Yaroslav POPOVYCH, TREK – SEGAFREDO, at 11:11

80. Tyler FARRAR, DIMENSION DATA, at 11:57

81. Nick DOUGALL, DIMENSION DATA, at 12:02

82. Simon PELLAUD, IAM CYCLING, at 12:03

DNF Erik BASKA, TINKOFF

DNF Adam BLYTHE, TINKOFF

DNF Michael GOGL, TINKOFF

DNF Michal KOLÁR, TINKOFF

DNF André GREIPEL, LOTTO SOUDAL

DNF Frederik FRISON, LOTTO SOUDAL

DNF Jens DEBUSSCHERE, LOTTO SOUDAL

DNF Marcel SIEBERG, LOTTO SOUDAL

DNF Jean-Pierre DRUCKER, BMC RACING TEAM

DNF Rick ZABEL, BMC RACING TEAM

DNF Sven erik BYSTRØM, TEAM KATUSHA

DNF Sergey LAGUTIN, TEAM KATUSHA

DNF Fumiyuki BEPPU, TREK – SEGAFREDO

DNF Niccolo BONIFAZIO, TREK – SEGAFREDO

DNF Jos VAN EMDEN, TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO

DNF Thomas LEEZER, TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO

DNF Matt BRAMMEIER, DIMENSION DATA

DNF Reinardt JANSE VAN RENSBURG, DIMENSION DATA

DNF Mekseb DEBESAY, DIMENSION DATA

DNF Mark RENSHAW, DIMENSION DATA

DNF Jay Robert THOMSON, DIMENSION DATA

DNF Maxime DANIEL, AG2R LA MONDIALE

DNF Nico DENZ, AG2R LA MONDIALE

DNF Damien GAUDIN, AG2R LA MONDIALE

DNF Hugo HOULE, AG2R LA MONDIALE

DNF Quentin JAUREGUI, AG2R LA MONDIALE

DNF Lars BOOM, ASTANA PRO TEAM

DNF Dmitriy GRUZDEV, ASTANA PRO TEAM

DNF Lieuwe WESTRA, ASTANA PRO TEAM

DNF Arman KAMYSHEV, ASTANA PRO TEAM

DNF Alexey LUTSENKO, ASTANA PRO TEAM

DNF Gatis SMUKULIS, ASTANA PRO TEAM

DNF Matti BRESCHEL, CANNONDALE PRO CYCLING TEAM

DNF Alberto BETTIOL, CANNONDALE PRO CYCLING TEAM

DNF Patrick BEVIN, CANNONDALE PRO CYCLING TEAM

DNF Jack BAUER, CANNONDALE PRO CYCLING TEAM

DNF Sebastian LANGEVELD, CANNONDALE PRO CYCLING TEAM

DNF Dylan VAN BAARLE, CANNONDALE PRO CYCLING TEAM

DNF Wouter WIPPERT, CANNONDALE PRO CYCLING TEAM

DNF Alan MARANGONI, CANNONDALE PRO CYCLING TEAM

DNF Olivier LE GAC, FDJ

DNF Ignatas KONOVALOVAS, FDJ

DNF Matthieu LADAGNOUS, FDJ

DNF Johan LE BON, FDJ

DNF Yoann OFFREDO, FDJ

DNF Heinrich HAUSSLER, IAM CYCLING

DNF Reto HOLLENSTEIN, IAM CYCLING

DNF Leigh HOWARD, IAM CYCLING

DNF Roger KLUGE, IAM CYCLING

DNF Vegard Stake LAENGEN, IAM CYCLING

DNF Oliver NAESEN, IAM CYCLING

DNF Mattia CATTANEO, LAMPRE – MERIDA

DNF Gang XU, LAMPRE – MERIDA

DNF Chun Kai FENG, LAMPRE – MERIDA

DNF Roberto FERRARI, LAMPRE – MERIDA

DNF Luka PIBERNIK, LAMPRE – MERIDA

DNF Federico ZURLO, LAMPRE – MERIDA

DNF Jorge ARCAS PENA, MOVISTAR TEAM

DNF Carlos Alberto BETANCUR GOMEZ, MOVISTAR TEAM

DNF Nelson Filipe SANTOS SIMOES OLIVEIRA, MOVISTAR TEAM

DNF Antonio PEDRERO LOPEZ, MOVISTAR TEAM

DNF Juan Jose LOBATO DEL VALLE, MOVISTAR TEAM

DNF Francisco José VENTOSO ALBERDI, MOVISTAR TEAM

DNF Søren Kragh ANDERSEN, TEAM GIANT – ALPECIN

DNF Ramon SINKELDAM, TEAM GIANT – ALPECIN

DNF Tom STAMSNIJDER, TEAM GIANT – ALPECIN

DNF Albert TIMMER, TEAM GIANT – ALPECIN

DNF Luke DURBRIDGE, ORICA – GreenEDGE

DNF Sam BEWLEY, ORICA – GreenEDGE

DNF Magnus Cort NIELSEN, ORICA – GreenEDGE

DNF Svein TUFT, ORICA – GreenEDGE

DNF Christian KNEES, TEAM SKY

DNF Salvatore PUCCIO, TEAM SKY

DNF Andrew FENN, TEAM SKY

DNF Elia VIVIANI, TEAM SKY

DNF Preben VAN HECKE, TOPSPORT VLAANDEREN – BALOISE

DNF Jonas RICKAERT, TOPSPORT VLAANDEREN – BALOISE

DNF Gijs VAN HOECKE, TOPSPORT VLAANDEREN – BALOISE

DNF Jef VAN MEIRHAEGHE, TOPSPORT VLAANDEREN – BALOISE

DNF Kenny DE HAES, WANTY – GROUPE GOBERT

DNF Antoine DEMOITIE, WANTY – GROUPE GOBERT

DNF Simone ANTONINI, WANTY – GROUPE GOBERT

DNF Tom DEVRIENDT, WANTY – GROUPE GOBERT

DNF Marco MARCATO, WANTY – GROUPE GOBERT

DNF Mark MCNALLY, WANTY – GROUPE GOBERT

DNF Danilo NAPOLITANO, WANTY – GROUPE GOBERT

DNF Luca STERBINI, BARDIANI CSF

DNF Alessandro TONELLI, BARDIANI CSF

DNF Nicola BOEM, BARDIANI CSF

DNF Sonny COLBRELLI, BARDIANI CSF

DNF Mirco MAESTRI, BARDIANI CSF

DNF Lorenzo ROTA, BARDIANI CSF

DNF Nicola RUFFONI, BARDIANI CSF

DNF Adrian KUREK, CCC SPRANDI POLKOWICE

DNF Michal PALUTA, CCC SPRANDI POLKOWICE

DNF Jaroslaw MARYCZ, CCC SPRANDI POLKOWICE

DNF Bartlomiej MATYSIAK, CCC SPRANDI POLKOWICE

DNF Grzegorz STEPNIAK, CCC SPRANDI POLKOWICE

DNF Simone PONZI, CCC SPRANDI POLKOWICE

DNF Jonas AHLSTRAND, COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS

DNF Hugo Hofstetter, COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS

DNF Nacer BOUHANNI, COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS

DNF Christophe LAPORTE, COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS

DNF Florian SENECHAL, COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS

DNF Kenneth VAN BILSEN, COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS

DNF Romain CARDIS, DIRECT ENERGIE

DNF Tony HUREL, DIRECT ENERGIE

DNF Julien MORICE, DIRECT ENERGIE

DNF Adrien PETIT, DIRECT ENERGIE

DNF Angelo TULIK, DIRECT ENERGIE

DNF Tim KERKHOF, ROOMPOT – ORANJE PELOTON

DNF André LOOIJ, ROOMPOT – ORANJE PELOTON

DNF Ivar SLIK, ROOMPOT – ORANJE PELOTON

DNF Barry MARKUS, ROOMPOT – ORANJE PELOTON

DNS Alexander KRISTOFF, TEAM KATUSHA

DNS Alexis GOUGEARD, AG2R LA MONDIALE

DNS Ian STANNARD, TEAM SKY