Gent-Wevelgem 2023 is the next Flemish cycling classic after E3 Harelbeke. Compared to the E3 and also to the Tour of Flanders Topographically not quite as demanding, but still made for classic specialists.
Gent-Wevelgem: Trademark Kemmelberg
Over the years, the Kemmelberg has become a trademark of Gent-Wevelgem. A short cobblestone ramp that is up to 23 per cent steep. The first edition of Gent-Wevelgem took place in 1934. A total of six riders have won the Flemish one-day race three times, making them record winners: Peter Sagan, Eddy Merckx, Rik van Looy, Mario Cipollini, Tom Boonen and Robert van Eenaeme. From a German perspective, Andreas Klier (2003), Marcus Burghardt (2007) and John Degenkolb (2014) were victorious.
Gent-Wevelgem 2023: The route
At 260.9 kilometres, Gent-Wevelgem 2023 is around twelve kilometres longer than last year's version. The first half of the race is almost flat, without any major obstacles. However, the riders should still be wide awake, as the wind can already break up the peloton here.
In the second part of the race, a total of nine short climbs (the so-called Hellingen) have to be mastered. The Kemmelberg is tackled a total of three times - twice on the east side in combination with the Monteberg and once from the west after the Baneberg. After the last crossing of the Kemmelberg, there are still around 35 kilometres to the finish.
Decisive attack on the Kemmelberg?
Some teams will try to make the race very difficult until then in order to catch the best sprinters. This constellation often makes Gent-Wevelgem a very tactical race. It is possible to get away on the Kemmelberg and get the better of the sprinters. However, this is very difficult on your own. The chances are much higher with a few rivals in a small group.
The 2022 version was similar. Four riders around the eventual winner Biniam Girmay from Eritrea broke away with a counter attack after the Kemmelberg around 25 kilometres before the finish. The group could no longer be caught. In the end, Girmay made history. He was the first rider from Africa to win a cycling classic.
The Hellingen of Gent-Wevelgem 2023
- Scherpenberg | kilometre 166
- Baneberg | kilometre 170.7
- Monteberg | kilometre 176.7
- Kemmelberg (Belvedere) | kilometre 178.5
- Monteberg | kilometre 207.3
- Kemmelberg (Belvedere) | kilometre 209.1
- Scherpenberg | kilometre 216.6
- Baneberg | kilometre 221.3
- Kemmelberg (Ossuaire) | kilometre 226.6
Ghent-Wevelgem 2023: TV broadcast and live stream
The men's and women's races can be seen live on television on Eurosport 2 to see. The men's broadcast begins at 2:15 pmfollowed by the women's race. Discovery+ and GCN+ (both via paid subscription) also offer a live stream of Ghent-Wevelgem 2023.
The transmission times at a glance
- Men | 14:15 - 17:15 Eurosport 2
- Women | 17:15 - 18:30 Eurosport 2
Gent-Wevelgem 2023: The start list
Intermarche-Circus-Wanty
- 1 Biniam Girmay
- 2 Baptiste Planckaert
- 3 Laurenz Rex
- 4 Hugo Page
- 5 Boy van Poppel
- 6 Mike Teunissen
- 7 Taco van der Hoorn
Soudal - Quick Step
- 11 Tim Merlier
- 12 Yves Lampaert
- 13 Kasper Asgreen
- 14 Fabio Jakobsen
- 15 Tim Declercq
- 16 Florian Senechal
- 17 Bert van Lerberghe
Alpecin-Deceuninck
- 21 Jasper Philipsen
- 22 Silvan Dillier
- 23 Seal Ghys
- 24 Sören Kragh Andersen
- 25 Alexander Krieger
- 26 Maurice Ballerstedt
- 27 Gianni Vermeersch
Jumbo-Visma
- 31 Wout van Aert
- 32 Christophe Laporte
- 33 Olav Kooij
- 34 Timo Roosen
- 35 Tim van Dijke
- 36 Jos van Emden
- 37 Nathan van Hooydonck
AG2R-Citroën Team
- 41 Greg van Avermaet
- 42 Pierre Gautherat
- 43 Lawrence Naesen
- 44 Oliver Naesen
- 45 Valentin Retailleau
- 46 Damien Touze
- 47 Stan Dewulf
Trek-Segafredo
- 51 Jasper Stuyven
- 52 Toms Skujins
- 53 Daan Hoole
- 54 Alex Kirsch
- 55 Mads Pedersen
- 56 Otto Vergaerde
- 57 Edward Theuns
Astana Qazaqstan Team
- 61 Mark Cavendish
- 62 Yevgeniy Gidich
- 63 Leonardo Basso
- 64 Yevgeniy Fedorov
- 65 Dmitriy Gruzdev
- 66 Davide Martinelli
- 67 Gleb Syritsa
Bahrain-Victorious
- 71 Matej Mohoric
- 72 Kamil Gradek
- 73 Jonathan Milan
- 74 Nikias Arndt
- 75 Andrea Pasqualon
- 76 Filip Maciejuk
- 77 Fred Wright
Bora-Hansgrohe
- 81 Sam Bennett
- 82 Marco Haller
- 83 Shane Archbold
- 84 Jordi Meeus
- 85 Ryan Mullen
- 86 Nils Politt
- 87 Danny van Poppel
Cofidis
- 91 Piet Allegaert
- 92 Simone Consonni
- 93 Wesley Kreder
- 94 Christophe Noppe
- 95 Maximilian Walscheid
- 96 Alexis Renard
- 97 Jelle Wallays
EF Education EasyPost
- 101 Alberto Bettiol
- 102 Stefan Bissegger
- 103 Owain Doull
- 104 Marijn van den Berg
- 105 Jonas Rutsch
- 106 Tom Scully
- 107 Lukasz Wisniowski
Groupama-FDJ
- 111 Arnaud Demare
- 112 Lewis Askey
- 113 Stefan Küng
- 114 Olivier Le Gac
- 115 Fabian Lienhard
- 116 Jake Stewart
- 117 Samuel Watson
Ineos Grenadiers
- 121 Filippo Ganna
- 122 Kim Heiduk
- 123 Michal Kwiatkowski
- 124 Jhonatan Narvaez
- 125 Magnus Sheffield
- 126 Connor Swift
- 127 Ben Turner
Movistar
- 131 Fernando Gaviria
- 132 Ivan Garcia Cortina
- 134 Johan Jacobs
- 135 Mathias Norsgaard
- 136 Lluis Mas
- 137 Ivan Romeo
Arkea-Samsic
- 141 Kevin Ledanois
- 142 Andrii Ponomar
- 143 David Dekker
- 144 Jenthe Biermans
- 145 Daniel McLay
- 146 Luca Mozzato
- 147 Clement Russo
Team DSM
- 151 John Degenkolb
- 152 Sean Flynn
- 153 Pavel Bittner
- 154 Tobias Lund Andresen
- 155 Nils Eekhoff
- 156 Casper van Uden
- 157 Kevin Vermaerke
Team Jayco-AlUla
- 161 Dylan Groenewegen
- 162 Luka Mezgec
- 163 Luke Durbridge
- 164 Elmar Reinders
- 165 Campbell Stewart
- 166 Zdenek Stybar
- 167 Kelland O'Brien
UAE Team Emirates
- 171 Tim Wellens
- 172 Pascal Ackermann
- 173 Matteo Trentin
- 174 Vegard Stake lengths
- 175 Felix Groß
- 176 Rui Oliveira
- 177 Mikkel Bjerg
Lotto-Dstny
- 181 Arnaud De Lie
- 182 Caleb Ewan
- 183 Cedric Beullens
- 184 Jasper De Buyst
- 185 Frederik Frison
- 186 Brent van Moer
- 187 Florian Vermeersch
Team Flanders-Baloise
- 191 Ruben Apers
- 193 Vito Braet
- 194 Alex Colman
- 195 Sander De Pestel
- 196 Milan Fretin
- 197 Jules Hester
- 198 Aaron van Poucke
Bingoal WB
- 201 Louis Blouwe
- 202 Dorian De Maeght
- 203 Ludovic Robeet
- 204 Ceriel Desal
- 205 Luca van Boven
- 206 Guillaume van Keirsbulck
- 207 Julian Mertens
Human Powered Health
- 211 Stephen Bassett
- 212 Adam De Vos
- 213 Colin Joyce
- 214 Bart Lemmen
- 215 Benjamin Perry
- 216 Sebastian Schönberger
- 217 Gijs van Hoecke
Israel-Premier Tech
- 221 Sep Vanmarcke
- 222 Hugo Houle
- 223 Derek Gee
- 224 Jens Reynders
- 225 Tom van Asbroeck
- 226 Guy Sagiv
- 227 Rick Zabel
Uno-X Pro Cycling Team
- 231 Alexander Kristoff
- 232 Louis Bendixen
- 233 Martin Urianstad
- 234 Erik Nordsaeter Resell
- 235 Sören Waerenskjold
- 236 William Blume Levy
- 237 Rasmus Tiller
TotalEnergies
- 241 Peter Sagan
- 242 Edvald Boasson Hagen
- 243 Daniel Oss
- 244 Sandy Dujardin
- 245 Geoffrey Soupe
- 246 Anthony Turgis
- 247 Dries van Gestel
Gent-Wevelgem 2023: Women's race
The women's race, which is part of the UCI Women's World Tour and took place for the first time in 2012, will start at 14:00, which means that the women should reach the finish around an hour after the men. The programme includes 162.5 kilometres - 3.5 more than in 2022. The characteristics of the course are similar to those of the men's race. The female riders take on almost 100 kilometres before having to conquer seven climbs within around 30 kilometres.
The key section for the women is also the Kemmelberg. As in 2022, it is around 35 kilometres from the final passage to the finish. Last year, there was a sprint by a large group in Wevelgem, which was won by the Italian Elisa Balsamo.
Gent-Wevelgem 2023: The most important info
Date: Sunday, 26 March
Distance: 260.9 kilometres (men), 162.5 kilometres (women)
Edition: 85th men, 12th women
Official start: 11:00 (men), 14:00 (women)
Finish: ~16:48 - 17:22 (men), ~18:04 - 18:31 (women)
All winners of Gent-Wevelgem since 2012
- 2012 Lizzie Armitstead (Great Britain)
- 2013 Kirsten Wild (Netherlands)
- 2014 Lauren Hall (USA)
- 2015 Floortje Mackaij (Netherlands)
- 2016 Chantal van den Broek-Blaak (Netherlands)
- 2017 Lotta Henttala (Sweden)
- 2018 Marta Bastianelli (Italy)
- 2019 Kirsten Wild (Netherlands)
- 2020 Jolien d'Hoore (Belgium)
- 2021 Marianne Vos (Netherlands)
- 2022 Elisa Balsamo (Italy)
Gent-Wevelgem: All winners since 1934
- 1934 Gustave van Belle (Belgium)
- 1935 Albert Depreitere (Belgium)
- 1936 Robert van Eenaeme (Belgium)
- 1937 Robert van Eenaeme (Belgium)
- 1938 Hubert Godart (Belgium)
- 1939 Andre Declerck (Belgium)
- 1945 Robert van Eenaeme (Belgium)
- 1946 Ernest Sterckx (Belgium)
- 1947 Maurice Desimpelaere (Belgium)
- 1948 Valere Ollivier (Belgium)
- 1949 Marcel Kint (Belgium)
- 1950 Briek Schotte (Belgium)
- 1951 Andre Rosseel (Belgium)
- 1952 Raymond Impanis (Belgium)
- 1953 Raymond Impanis (Belgium)
- 1954 Rolf Graf (Switzerland)
- 1955 Briek Schotte (Belgium)
- 1956 Rik van Looy (Belgium)
- 1957 Rik van Looy (Belgium)
- 1958 Noel Fore (Belgium)
- 1959 Leon van Daele (Belgium)
- 1960 Frans Aerenhouts (Belgium)
- 1961 Frans Aerenhouts (Belgium)
- 1962 Rik van Looy (Belgium)
- 1963 Benoni Beheyt (Belgium)
- 1964 Jacques Anquetil (France)
- 1965 Noel De Pauw (Belgium)
- 1966 Herman van Springel (Belgium)
- 1967 Eddy Merckx (Belgium)
- 1968 Walter Godefroot (Belgium)
- 1969 Willy Vekemans (Belgium)
- 1970 Eddy Merckx (Belgium)
- 1971 Georges Pintens (Belgium)
- 1972 Roger Swerts (Belgium)
- 1973 Eddy Merckx (Belgium)
- 1974 Barry Hoban (Great Britain)
- 1975 Freddy Maertens (Belgium)
- 1976 Freddy Maertens (Belgium)
- 1977 Bernard Hinault (France)
- 1978 Ferdi van den Haute (Belgium)
- 1979 Francesco Moser (Italy)
- 1980 Henk Lubberding (Netherlands)
- 1981 Jan Raas (Netherlands)
- 1982 Frank Hoste (Belgium)
- 1983 Leo van Vliet (Netherlands)
- 1984 Guido Bontempi (Italy)
- 1985 Eric Vanderaerden (Belgium)
- 1986 Guido Bontempi (Italy)
- 1987 Teun van Vliet (Netherlands)
- 1988 Sean Kelly (Ireland)
- 1989 Gerrit Solleveld (Netherlands)
- 1990 Herman Frison (Belgium)
- 1991 Djamolidine Abduzhaparov (Uzbekistan)
- 1992 Mario Cipollini (Italy)
- 1993 Mario Cipollini (Italy)
- 1994 Wilfried Peeters (Belgium)
- 1995 Lars Michaelsen (Denmark)
- 1996 Tom Steels (Belgium)
- 1997 Philippe Gaumont (France)
- 1998 Franck Vandenbroucke (Belgium)
- 1999 Tom Steels (Belgium)
- 2000 Geert van Bondt (Belgium)
- 2001 George Hincapie (USA)
- 2002 Mario Cipollini (Italy)
- 2003 Andreas Klier (Germany)
- 2004 Tom Boonen (Belgium)
- 2005 Nico Mattan (Belgium)
- 2006 Thor Hushovd (Norway)
- 2007 Marcus Burghardt (Germany)
- 2008 Oscar Freire (Spain)
- 2009 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Norway)
- 2010 Bernhard Eisel (Austria)
- 2011 Tom Boonen (Belgium)
- 2012 Tom Boonen (Belgium)
- 2013 Peter Sagan (Slovakia)
- 2014 John Degenkolb (Germany)
- 2015 Luca Paolini (Italy)
- 2016 Peter Sagan (Slovakia)
- 2017 Greg van Avermaet (Belgium)
- 2018 Peter Sagan (Slovakia)
- 2019 Alexander Kristoff (Norway)
- 2020 Mads Pedersen (Denmark)
- 2021 Wout van Aert (Belgium)
- 2022 Biniam Girmay (Eritrea)
