Mechanics with wheels wait for riders(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
The 2018 Gent-Wevelgem peloton enters the city(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Riders go down near the end of gent-Wevelgem(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
The 2018 Gent-Wevelgem peloton plows through a field during the 2018 race(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
The 2018 Gent-Wevelgem peloton(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Greg Van Avermaet on the cobbles at Gent-Wevelgem(Image credit: Getty Images)
The Spring Classics continue to pick up speed with Sunday's 81st running of Gent-Wevelgem, a 251.5km jaunt through the Belgium countryside that starts in Deinze and finishes in Wevelgem nearly six hours later.
Three-time world champion Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) claimed his third win in the race last year, beating Elia Viviani (Deceuninck-QuickStep) and Arnaud Demare (Groupama-FDJ) in a sprint from a group of about two-dozen survivors.
Marta Bastianelli, riding for Ale Cipollini, won the fifth edition women's race last year in a reduced-bunch sprint ahead of Julien D'Hoore (Mitchelton-Scott) and Lisa Klein (Canyon-SRAM). The women's 136.8km race will be decided in the morning before the men's event.
In anticipation of this year's race, we've put together some photos from 2018 featuring windswept echelons, cobbled climbs and the mud-laden fields of Flanders. Click or swipe through the gallery above for a glimpse of last year's action as we get ready for the 2019 festivities.
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