Gent-Wevelgem 2025

Mads Pedersen wins Gent-Wevelgem

Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) won the 2025 Gent-Wevelgem, attacking 72 kilometres from the finish, riding to the day's breakaway and then going off the front solo with more than 50km remaining.

The victory was a record-equalling third for the Danish rider, who beat Mathieu van der Poel in 2024 and claimed his first win in Gent-Wevelgem in 2020.

A tailwind and Lidl-Trek disrupting the chase meant the peloton was fighting for the final two podium spots, with Tim Merlier (Soudal-Quickstep) out-pacing Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) for second and third. 

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The 77th edition of Gent-Wevelgem in Flanders Fields will be held on March 30, 2025, on the same day as the Gent-Wevelgem Women's race.

The WorldTour event is the second stop for 'Flemish Holy Week’ part of the Spring Classics, which begins at E3 Saxo Classic two days before and is followed by Dwars door Vlaanderen and then Tour of Flanders.

Gent-Wevelgem rolls through Flanders Fields, an area forever entwined with World War I, with the race paying homage to the victims of the ‘Great War’ each year.

In 2023, Jumbo-Visma duo Christophe Laporte and Wout van Aert escaped from the peloton with 50km to go and rode away to victory in Gent-Wevelgem with Laporte crossing the line first. Van Aert’s decision to gift the victory to his teammate Laporte was questioned by three Belgian legends Eddy Merckx, Tom Boonen and Johan Museeuw.

Last year, Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) surged ahead of Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) in a two-up sprint after the pair escaped with 30 kilometres to go.

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Gent-Wevelgem route

Often harsh weather conditions, especially wind and rain, create havoc with the peloton before the finish that culminates just beyond the final climb of the lung-busting cobbled Kemmelberg. Recent modifications to the course have added more climbs and made the race more closely resemble the Tour of Flanders. 

While the race finishes in Wevelgem, it does not start in Gent. It used to start on the outskirts, in Deinze, but now takes off west in the centre of Ypres. The race takes riders north through windswept De Moeren and over to the North Sea coast, rather than through the main Flemish Ardennes. It also includes some climbs in the very west of Flanders, the iconic and decisive one being the Kemmelberg. Reduced bunch sprints or small breakaways tend to decide the victory.

Full details of the 2025 Gent-Wevelgem route

Gent-Wevelgem History

The men’s race was first held in 1934, while a women’s race was added to the calendar in 2012. Six riders share the prestige of having won the race three times, the most recent addition to the list was in 2018 when Peter Sagan took his third title, which was also a record with a sixth podium. 

Also in the three-time victory club are Belgians Robert Van Eenaeme, Rik Van Looy, Eddy Merckx and Tom Boonen plus Italian Mario Cipollini. In recent years, strong sprinters like Alexander Kristoff (2019), Mads Pedersen (2020) and Wout van Aert (2021) have emerged from front selections to score victories.

In 2022, Eritrean rider Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux) outsprinted Christophe Laporte (Jumbo-Visma) in the final 250 metres on Vanackerestraat for the biggest win of his young career. 

Girmay’s achievement gave him a place in the record books as the first African champion of the cobbled Classic.

Gent-Wevelgem past winners

Gent-Wevelgem 2025 Start List

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Gent-Wevelgem teams

• Alpecin-Deceuninck
• Arkea-B&B Hotels
• Bahrain Victorious
• Cofidis
• Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team
• EF Education - EasyPost
• Groupama-FDJ
• INEOS Grenadiers
• Intermarché - Wanty
• Lidl-Trek
• Movistar Team
• Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe
• Soudal Quick-Step
• Team Jayco AlUla
• Team Picnic PostNL
• Team Visma | Lease a Bike
• UAE Team Emirates
• XDS Astana Team
• Israel - Premier Tech
• Lotto
• Uno-X Mobility
• Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team
• Team Flanders - Baloise
• Tudor Pro Cycling Team
• TotalEnergies