The usual festive atmosphere has, understandably, not quite yet returned, but the Flemish cycling carnival moved on to Deinze on Sunday morning for the start of Gent-Wevelgem. While Friday’s E3 Harelbeke doubles as something of a dress rehearsal for the Tour of Flanders, Gent-Wevelgem has a character of its own, with sprinters and Ronde contenders alike all in the mix for victory on Menenstraat.
The big news ahead of the start was the absence of Alexander Kristoff (Kastusha) due to illness. The Norwegian had already struggled at E3 Harelbeke on Friday, and will have undoubted cause for concern as he bids to defend his Tour of Flanders crown. Ian Stannard (Sky), a fine third at E3 Harelbeke, was another late withdrawal due to illness.
“It’s just a small flu, and I think some other guys in other teams have suffered with this. It’s a hard time of year to try and stay healthy, with the cold, but we will try to make the best out of it,” Kristoff’s teammate Sven Erik Bystrom told Cyclingnews. “Now Alexander will try to recover so that he has a good preparation for the Ronde Van Vlaanderen next Sunday, and then we will have to take one day at a time.”
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Greg Van Avermaet (BMC), meanwhile, was back in action after skipping E3 Harelbeke as a precaution due to an illness of his own. Winner of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Tirreno-Adriatico already this year, the Belgian downplayed his chances at the start. “No Easter eggs for me today. I’m feeling ok, but I’m not 100 percent,” he said. “If I can finish the race today, I’ll definitely be ok for the Tour of Flanders.”
The long trek to the Franco-Belgian border, through West Flanders flatlands redolent of Jacques Brel’s Plat Pays leaves the peloton exposed to the North Sea winds, and while conditions are not as extreme as twelve months ago, this race’s intrinsic difficulties remain.
"I expect a hard race, a tough race, a windy race. It’s going to be nervous. Gent-Wevelgem is famous for this. My priority is to come home healthy," Fabian Cancellara (Trek-Segafredo) said. ““It is how it is, eh. It’s the same for everyone. It’s Gent-Wevelgem. So Gent-Wevelgem’s history is almost always like this – cold, snow, wind, the Kemmel. It is how it is.”
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