2015 Gent–Wevelgem

the women's race 2015 Gent–Wevelgem (women) September 2019 2015 Gent–Wevelgem 2015 UCI World Tour 7 28http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/uci-confirm-worldtour-calendar-2015 UCI confirm WorldTour Calendar 2015 4 January 2015 Cycling News Gent-Wevelgem-2015 poster.jpg Event poster with previous winner John Degenkolb 29 March 2015http://www.uci.ch/road/calendar/detail#date=20150301&view=list&categ=257&country=0&classc=0 2015 UCI Calendar 4 January 2015 UCI 239 km 6h 20' 55" Luca Paolini KAT 2015 ITA Niki Terpstra EQS 2015 NED Geraint Thomas SKY 2015 GBR 2014 2016 The 2015 Gent–Wevelgem was a one-day cycling classic that took place in Belgium and France on 29 March 2015 over 239 kilometres between Deinze and Wevelgem. It was the 77th edition of the Gent–Wevelgem race, and the seventh race of the 2015 UCI World Tour. The winner was Italy's Luca Paolini of Team Katusha. Gent–Wevelgem was part of the spring classics, denoted as the "sprinter's classic", because its terrain was less challenging than most of the other classics.Henrys Colin Gent-Wevelgem 2015 preview: six fast men who could win the 'sprinter's Classic' http://roadcyclinguk.com/racing/previews/gent-wevelgem-2015-preview-six-fast-men-win-sprinters-classic.html 28 March 2015 RoadCyclingUK 27 March 2015 The 2015 edition followed a 239 km on off route that started in Deinze and ended in Wevelgem. The race took place in difficult weather conditions with heavy wind and rain; as a result, only 39 riders finished the race of the 200 who had started. The race was won by Luca Paolini (KAT 2015), who attacked a small group in the final 6 km off and took a solo victory. Niki Terpstra (EQS 2015) sprinted to second place, ahead of Geraint Thomas (SKY 2015). Route The 2015 Gent–Wevelgem was 239 km off in length, starting in the Belgian city of Deinze, west of the city of Ghent, and finishing in Wevelgem.GW2015 Elite men map profile http://gw.pro.p.assets.flandersclassics.be/files/1817/original/gw2015-elite-men-map-profile.pdf?1426863142 flandersclassics.be 28 March 2015 route-profile PDF https://web.archive.org/web/20150402145733/http://gw.pro.p.assets.flandersclassics.be/files/1817/original/gw2015-elite-men-map-profile.pdf?1426863142 2 April 2015 dead Most of the spring classics centred around Oudenaarde and the many small hills in the nearby region. Gent–Wevelgem, however, travelled west into West Flanders and France and had fewer hills, making it more suitable for sprinters.Ryan Barry Gent–Wevelgem preview: Degenkolb, Kristoff and Cavendish face off in Belgium http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/gent-wevelgem-2015/preview 28 March 2015 Cyclingnews.com 28 March 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150419032740/http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/gent-wevelgem-2015/preview dead 19 April 2015 left|thumb|Route of the 2015 Gent–Wevelgem After the race began in the Grote Markt in Deinze, the route took the riders west towards the coast; after 73 km off of flat roads, they reached Adinkerke, southwest of Nieuwpoort, where the route turned south. They travelled another 23 km off before reaching Roesbrugge and, after 97.8 km off, entered the Nord department of France. The first 12 km off of French roads took them west, before they turned south at Wormhout. The first climb of the day came another 10 km off later, as the riders climbed the Casselberg. A 6 km off on loop brought them round to climb the Casselberg a second time, though from a different direction.GW2015 Elite Men Roadmap http://gw.pro.p.assets.flandersclassics.be/files/1819/original/gw2015-elite-men-roadmap.pdf?1426863524 flandersclassics.be 28 March 2015 nl PDF https://web.archive.org/web/20150402090336/http://gw.pro.p.assets.flandersclassics.be/files/1819/original/gw2015-elite-men-roadmap.pdf?1426863524 2 April 2015 dead The route then turned east; the final French climb was the Catsberg, which came after 143 km off. The riders continued east after this and, after 148.2 km off, re-entered Belgium at Westouter, on the outskirts of Heuvelland, to enter the key section of the race. This began with the climb of the Baneberg, 152 km off from the start. 8 km off later, they climbed the Kemmelberg in the town of Kemmel nl. 4 km off after that, they climbed the Monteberg. This succession of climbs was interspersed with steep descents, including the difficult descent of the Kemmelberg. A flat, 29 km off on section of road followed, as the route went east towards Mesen, then gradually looped back west through Nieuwkerke nl. After this flat section, the riders returned to the same roads that they had ridden previously and repeated the Baneberg–Kemmelberg–Monteberg sequence of climbs. At the top of the second climb of the Monteberg, 34.6 km off remained, mostly on flat roads. The route turned north-east out of Kemmel to Ypres, where several cobbled roads were used. After Ypres, the route turned east through Menen and into Wevelgem. Teams As Gent–Wevelgem was a UCI World Tour event, all 17 UCI WorldTeams were invited automatically and were obliged to send a squad.http://www.uci.ch/mm/Document/News/Rulesandregulation/16/82/39/2-ROA-20150619-E_English.pdf UCI Cycling Regulations: Part 2: Road Races page 110 article 2.15.127 Union Cycliste Internationale 20 August 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150702030045/http://www.uci.ch/mm/Document/News/Rulesandregulation/16/82/39/2-ROA-20150619-E_English.pdf 2 July 2015 Eight Professional Continental teams received wildcard invitations.Belgische ploegen krijgen wildcard voor Gent–Wevelgem http://www.nieuwsblad.be/sportwereld/cnt/dmf20150205_01512575 26 October 2015 Het Nieuwsblad Belga Corelio 5 February 2015 nl Belgian teams get wildcards for Gent–Wevelgem With eight riders on each team, the peloton at the beginning of the race was made up of 200 riders.Gent - Wevelgem 2015 - Classic http://www.procyclingstats.com/race/Gent_Wevelgem_2015-startlist 26 October 2015 ProCyclingStats BV ProCyclingStats UCI WorldTeams ALM AST BMC OPQ FDJ IAM LAM LTB MOV OGE GRS GIA KAT BEL SKY TTS TFR 2015 UCI Professional Continental teams COF EUC ROO MTN NRI TNE TSV WGG 2015 Pre-race favourites thumbnail|upright|John Degenkolb (TGA 2015) won the 2014 Gent–Wevelgem (podium ceremony photographed) and was among the favourites for the 2015 race. The 2015 Gent–Wevelgem was without two of the main classics riders, Tom Boonen (EQS 2015) and Fabian Cancellara (TFR 2015), both of whom had been injured in races earlier in the spring. However, their absence was not expected to affect the race as much as it would other races in the classics season, such as the Tour of Flanders the following weekend, as Gent–Wevelgem was particularly suited to sprinters.Puddicombe Stephen Ghent-Wevelgem 2015 preview http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/racing/ghent-wevelgem-2015-preview-164271 28 March 2015 Cycling Weekly 28 March 2015 This was because it had fewer climbs than the other spring classics; difficulty often came from crosswinds on the exposed parts of West Flanders. The defending champion, John Degenkolb (GIA 2015), was the principal favourite for victory before the race. He had won Milan–San Remo the week before and was in good form. A sprinter, Degenkolb had good ability at getting over short climbs, having had no difficulty on the Kemmelberg in the 2014 Gent–Wevelgem.Henrys Colin Gent-Wevelgem 2015 preview: six fast men who could win the 'sprinter's Classic' http://roadcyclinguk.com/racing/previews/gent-wevelgem-2015-preview-six-fast-men-win-sprinters-classic.html 28 March 2015 Road Cycling UK Mpora 27 March 2015 Alexander Kristoff (KAT 2015), who was second in Milan–San Remo and fourth a few days earlier at E3 Harelbeke, was also among the favourites, especially in the bad weather expected for Gent–Wevelgem. Peter Sagan (TTS 2015), the 2013 champion, was also in form following E3 Harelbeke, and was expected to be able to win either from a bunch sprint or from an attack. The EQS 2015 y team was also expected to feature strongly in the race, even in Boonen's absence. They were led by Mark Cavendish, one of the strongest sprinters, who had already won Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne, which was similar to Gent–Wevelgem. Other options for the team included Zdeněk Štybar, second in E3 Harelbeke. SKY 2015 also brought a strong squad. Their team included Geraint Thomas, the winner of E3 Harelbeke, Ian Stannard, the winner of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, and Bradley Wiggins, but they were expected to support sprinter Elia Viviani. There were many other riders considered to have a chance of victory in the race. These included classics riders such as Sep Vanmarcke (BEL 2015), Daniel Oss and Greg Van Avermaet (both BMC 2015) and sprinters such as André Greipel (LTB 2015), Arnaud Démare (FDJ 2015), Nacer Bouhanni (COF 2015), Sam Bennett (TNE 2015), Heinrich Haussler (IAM 2015), Sacha Modolo (LAM 2015), Adam Blythe (OGE 2015), Tyler Farrar and Edvald Boasson Hagen (both MTN 2015). Moreno Hofland (BEL 2015 y) was also expected to be among the favourites, but he withdrew the day before the race with an illness.Boom en Hofland laten Gent–Wevelgem schieten http://www.ad.nl/ad/nl/1018/Wielrennen/article/detail/3932028/2015/03/28/Boom-en-Hofland-laten-Gent-Wevelgem-schieten.dhtml 28 March 2015 Algemeen Dagblad 28 March 2015 nl Race report The race took place in very wet and windy conditions. This included a headwind in the early stages of the race, which delayed the formation of a breakaway. When the breakaway did form, it included seven riders, who built up a nine-minute lead within the first hour of racing. These riders were Tim Kerkhof (ROO 2015), Alexis Gougeard (ALM 2015), Albert Timmer (TGA 2015 y), Alex Dowsett (MOV 2015), Pavel Brutt (SAX 2015 yes), Jesse Sergent (TFR 2015 yes) and Mirko Tedeschi (STH 2015). Soon afterwards the peloton was split into groups as riders began to withdraw from the race.Decaluwé Brecht Paolini wins Gent–Wevelgem http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/gent-wevelgem-2015/results/ 26 October 2015 Cyclingnews.com 31 March 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150509152514/http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/gent-wevelgem-2015/results dead 9 May 2015 The principal difficulty throughout the race was the wind: Cyclingnews.com described the riders as "constantly balancing on their bike, leaning into the wind, trying not to be blown off the road". thumb|Jürgen Roelandts (LTS 2015) spent more than 50 km off in a solo breakaway and eventually finished seventh. As the riders entered the flat lands near the Belgian coast, the winds became more problematic. Around three-quarters of the peloton had been dropped or had withdrawn from the race by the time the riders turned back inland. Gert Steegmans (TFR 2015 yes) was blown sideways into a ditch; the wind knocked several other riders over and caused Martin Velits (QST 2015 yes) and Lars Bak (LTS 2015 yes) to withdraw from the race. Mark Cavendish crashed and was forced to chase to attempt to rejoin the leading riders. The conditions were so severe that some team officials called for the race to be neutralised to ensure the riders' safety.Farrand Stephen Gent — Wevelgem As It Happened http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/gent-wevelgem-2015/live-report/ 26 October 2015 Cyclingnews.com 29 March 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150506123549/http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/gent-wevelgem-2015/live-report dead 6 May 2015 Shortly afterwards, two large groups came back together. The main peloton was therefore made up of around 100 riders and was approximately two minutes behind the breakaway. The breakaway was caught soon afterwards. Around Cassel, the peloton was again split into small groups by the strong winds. The front group was reduced to 25 riders. Bradley Wiggins was left behind and withdrew from the race, along with Edvald Boasson Hagen (MTN 2015 yes), who had hit a pole by the side of the road and had broken his clavicle.Fractured collarbone for Boasson Hagen http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/fractured-collarbone-for-boasson-hagen/ 26 October 2015 Cyclingnews.com 30 March 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150504013057/http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/fractured-collarbone-for-boasson-hagen dead 4 May 2015 The front group included Vanmarcke, Thomas, Kristoff and Sagan, with Démare, Greipel, Matti Breschel and Van Avermaet joining soon afterwards. On the Catsberg, Maarten Tjallingii (TLJ 2015 y) attacked alone and gained a one-minute lead over the main group. Several riders attacked the group but no one was able to get away and they came to the Kemmelberg together. Jürgen Roelandts (LTS 2015 yes) attacked after the summit of the Kemmelberg. He initially built a small lead over the chasing group, which was led by riders from QST 2015 yes. They stopped chasing, however, after Zdeněk Štybar suffered a puncture. This allowed riders to attack the group. Stijn Vandenbergh (QST 2015 yes) was the first to attack; he was then joined first by Daniel Oss (BMC 2015 yes) and Thomas, and then also by Jens Debusschere (LTS 2015 yes) and Vanmarcke. Despite their superior numbers, Roelandts was able to maintain his lead; the peloton, meanwhile, quickly fell a long way behind. Riders continued to crash during this period, including Sylvain Chavanel (IAM 2015 y) and Mathew Hayman (OGE 2015 y). Jack Bauer (TCG 2015 yes) suffered a crash when another rider's rain jacket got caught in the spokes of his wheels; he picked up his bike and threw it into a ditch. With many of the team cars full, some riders asked for directions so that they could ride directly to their team hotels rather than completing the race.Brown Gregor Wind like never before in Belgium's Gent–Wevelgem classic http://velonews.competitor.com/2015/03/news/wind-like-never-before-in-belgiums-gent-wevelgem-classic_364972 https://web.archive.org/web/20150401151529/http://velonews.competitor.com/2015/03/news/wind-like-never-before-in-belgiums-gent-wevelgem-classic_364972 dead 1 April 2015 26 October 2015 VeloNews 30 March 2015 Luca Paolini (KAT 2015 yes) attacked from the main group and caught the five chasers, with Niki Terpstra (QST 2015 yes) doing the same shortly afterwards. While Paolini and Terpstra were chasing, Geraint Thomas was blown violently from his bike, landing on his left shoulder. He landed on the grass and was able to rejoin the group, although he appeared to be shaken by the crash.Brown Gregor Geraint Thomas blown off the road in Ghent-Wevelgem http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/geraint-thomas-blown-off-the-road-in-ghent-wevelgem-164379 26 October 2015 Cycling Weekly 29 March 2015 As the riders approached the Kemmelberg for the final time, Roelandts had a lead of around two minutes. Vandenbergh led up the climb, with Thomas following closely and the other riders struggling. Vanmarcke and Terpstra soon caught up, with Debusschere quickly following. Paolini eventually returned to the group, but Oss was unable to do so. As they crossed the final climb of the day with 30 km off remaining, Roelandts had a one-minute lead ahead of the six-man group. By this point, Roelandts had led solo for around 50 km off and was beginning to struggle. He was caught with around 20 km off remaining. As he was caught, Terpstra suffered a puncture. He quickly returned to the group and immediately attacked, with Paolini joining him. Thomas led the chase, with Vanmarcke and Debusschere looking tired.Wynn Nigel Luca Paolini wins memorable edition of Ghent-Wevelgem http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/racing/luca-paolini-wins-memorable-edition-of-ghent-wevelgem-164332 26 October 2015 Cycling Weekly 29 March 2015 The six riders therefore came into the final 10 km off together. With around 6 km off remaining, Paolini attacked and was chased down by the other riders; he then attacked again and built a gap, which he was able to maintain to the finish.Ryan Barry Paolini takes canny victory after gruelling Gent–Wevelgem http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/paolini-takes-canny-victory-after-gruelling-gent-wevelgem/ 26 October 2015 Cyclingnews.com 30 March 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150415050151/http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/paolini-takes-canny-victory-after-gruelling-gent-wevelgem dead 15 April 2015 Terpstra beat Thomas to second place, followed by Vandenbergh, Debusschere, and Vanmarcke within a minute and Roelandts and Oss further behind. The main peloton came in more than five minutes behind Paolini, with Kristoff winning the sprint for ninth place ahead of Sagan. Only 39 riders finished the race. Results thumb|Luca Paolini (KAT 2015) attacked in the final kilometres to win a solo victory. Result (1–10)http://uitslagen.kbwb-rlvb.com/index_bestanden/pdf2012/2015/GENTWEVELGENHERENUITSLAG.pdf PDF Uitslag – Résultat – Result Uitslagen KBWB-RLVB Royal Belgian Cycling League 29 March 2015 23 June 2021 1 Luca Paolini ITA KAT 2015 6h 20' 55" 2 Niki Terpstra NED EQS 2015 + 11" 3 Geraint Thomas GBR SKY 2015 + 11" 4 Stijn Vandenbergh BEL EQS 2015 + 18" 5 Jens Debusschere BEL LTB 2015 + 26" 6 Sep Vanmarcke BEL BEL 2015 + 40" 7 Jürgen Roelandts BEL LTB 2015 + 1' 51" 8 Daniel Oss ITA BMC 2015 + 4' 15" 9 Alexander Kristoff NOR KAT 2015 + 6' 54" 10 Peter Sagan SVK TTS 2015 + 6' 54" Post-race analysis thumbnail|upright|Niki Terpstra (EQS 2015) finished second after several crashes for his teammates (pictured at the 2015 Le Samyn). There was widespread comment in the media after the race about the weather conditions. Cyclingnews.com described it as "mayhem" and "one of the wildest [races] in recent years".Gallery: Gent–Wevelgem mayhem http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/gallery-gent-wevelgem-mayhem/ 27 October 2015 Cyclingnews.com 31 March 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150501175927/http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/gallery-gent-wevelgem-mayhem dead 1 May 2015 Paolini said that he had crashed twice on the way to victory and had used a total of three bikes, but also that he had been lucky later in the race. He said "we're up in the north and this is real cycling". Paolini pointed at his head and heart as he crossed the finish line – the same gesture that he had performed when winning a stage in the 2013 Giro d'Italia – and explained the gesture as indicating that such wins required "head and heart as much as legs". Patrick Lefevere, the EQS 2015 yes team manager, afterwards described the team's "bad luck" throughout the race, which included crashes for Cavendish and Martin Velits and punctures for Terpstra and Štybar. Lefevere pointed to the absence of Tom Boonen as a reason for his riders' nervousness.Decaluwé Brecht Terpstra makes the best of a challenging Gent–Wevelgem http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/terpstra-makes-the-best-of-a-challenging-gent-wevelgem/ 27 October 2015 Cyclingnews.com 30 March 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150501181745/http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/terpstra-makes-the-best-of-a-challenging-gent-wevelgem dead 1 May 2015 Geraint Thomas felt that the other riders had been looking at him in particular to chase Paolini because of his win in the E3 Harelbeke; he said that he "didn't have much left" in the sprint at the end of the race.Ryan Barry Thomas survives crash to take third place at Gent–Wevelgem http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/thomas-survives-crash-to-take-third-place-at-gent-wevelgem/ 27 October 2015 Cyclingnews.com 30 March 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150501180017/http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/thomas-survives-crash-to-take-third-place-at-gent-wevelgem dead 1 May 2015 VeloNews wrote that the riders had come close to calling for the neutralisation of the race because of the extreme weather conditions. The winds reached approximately 70 to(-) 80 kph on -1 and were so strong that the riders were even unable to form into echelons. However the website also quoted Brian Cookson, the president of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), who described the conditions as "very difficult, but not impossible" and the race as "a real classic". References External links Category:Gent–Wevelgem Gent-Wevelgem Gent-Wevelgem