Ghent-Wevelgem: Wout Van Aert's act, Christophe Laporte's victory

Belgium's Wout van Aert (L) and France's Christophe Laporte, March 26, 2023. AFP - JASPER JACOBS

Text by: Farid Achache Follow

2 min

Christophe Laporte won the Ghent-Wevelgem classic on Sunday 26 March. The Frenchman crossed the finish line hand in hand with the Belgian Wout Van Aert, the strongest man of the day.

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Under dog weather, there was him, and the others. Wout Van Aert distinguished himself again this Sunday on the classic Ghent-Wevelgem. Fifty-five kilometers from the finish, the Belgian shook the coconut tree, on the slippery cobblestones of Mount Kemmel, a great difficulty of the day, where only his teammate Christophe Laporte managed to take the wheel of the one who has nine stage victories on the Tour de France. Van Aert also had the honour of wearing the Yellow Jersey and the Green Jersey for the best sprinter. In 2022, he was named super-combative of the 109th edition of the Grande Boucle.

« He asked me if I wanted to win, he knew the answer »

A great lord, Van Aert gave victory to Christophe Laporte, who was beaten last year by Eritrean Biniam Girmay. Laporte is the fourth Frenchman to win in Wevelgem after Jacques Anquetil, Bernard Hinault and Philippe Gaumont in 1997. "He asked me if I wanted to win, he knew the answer. He was stronger than me today, I thank him. He's a great champion. It's a kid's dream to win a classic and I'm very proud and happy. It takes a lot of sacrifice to get to this point," commented Christophe Laporte. Winner of a stage in the last Tour de France, Laporte signed between Ypres and Wevelgem, his best success in a one-day race.

On Friday, Wout Van Aert won the E3 Classic after a fabulous show by dominating his two great rivals, Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogacar, in the sprint. Already winner a year ago in Harelbeke, the cyclo-cross specialist, he is triple world champion, reassured himself by signing his first success of the season.

A week before the Tour of Flanders (2 April), the second Monument of the season after Milan-Sanremo, Wout Van Aert seems to be one of the main favourites. Second behind his great rival Mathieu van der Poel in 2020, Wout Van Aert dreams of hanging his name on the list of winners of the Ronde, which has existed since 1913.

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  • Cycling
  • France
  • Belgium