The rider of the Jumbo-Visma formation won by fifteen seconds over the Spaniard Oier Lazkano and the American Neilson Powless after escaping from a group of attackers four kilometers from the finish line.

If Laporte had won in Wevelgem thanks to an offering from his leader, the Belgian Wout Van Aert, this time he owes his success to no one.

On roads that took some of the difficulties of the Tour of Flanders, scheduled for Sunday, he was the strongest and smartest to become the second Frenchman to win in Waregem, fifteen years after Sylvain Chavanel.

"Such a double is difficult to achieve," explained the 30-year-old Varois. This is proof that the condition is good. I trained well after getting sick (before Paris-Nice at the beginning of March, editor's note). I have a lot of freshness."

The 183-kilometre race, spiced up by nineteen difficulties (eleven climbs and eight cobbled sectors), was unbridled, in the absence of the three great favourites of the Ronde on Sunday (Wout Van Aert, Tadej Pogacar and Mathieu van der Poel).

Formidable jumbo-Visma

The last elements of a breakaway of five riders were only taken up less than ten kilometers from the finish by a group of eight in which, in addition to Laporte, his compatriot Valentin Madouas but not Julian Alaphilippe included.

Belgium's Wout van Aert and France's Christophe Laporte of the Jumbo-Visma arm in arm after the cycling race Through Flanders on March 29, 2023 in Waregem, Belgium © JASPER JACOBS / BELGA / AFP

The Belgian Tiesj Benoot "was really strong in the climbs, he was the one who made the selection in the moguls. Afterwards, it worked well in the group and I was able to seize my chance," explained Laporte, who can look forward to the Tour of Flanders with ambition, even if he will have to put himself at the service of Van Aert.

"The two most beautiful races are coming up now (the Ronde and Paris-Roubaix on April 9). We will try to stay the course, it will not be easy. There are three men who are above the rest, Mathieu, Wout and Tadej. We will have to seize opportunities to try to support them," concluded the Frenchman.

He will be able to count on a formidable team. Jumbo-Visma got his hands on the Flanders spring by winning the five cobbled races in preparation for the Tour of Flanders: Het Nieuswlad (with Dylan van Baarle), Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne (Tiesj Benoot), the E3 Classic (Wout Van Aert) and thus Ghent-Wevelgem and Through Flanders. Competition can shake.

© 2023 AFP