Dwars door Vlaanderen 2026: Ganna outguns Van Aert in thriller

fotobureau Cor VosWout van Aert attacks from the peloton on the Eikenberg and he catches Romain Grégoire and Niklas Larsen. He drops them one by one and keeps the chasing peloton at bay. But not Filippo Ganna. The Italian attacks in the final kilometres, catches the Belgian in the last 50 metres, and wins Dwars door Vlaanderen. (Slideshow route/profile)

Results 2026 Dwars door Vlaanderen

1. Filippo Ganna (ita) 3:48:27
2. Wout van Aert (bel) s.t.
3. Søren Wærenskjold (nor) + 0:01
4. Biniam Girmay (eri) s.t.
5. Laurence Pithie (nzl) s.t.
6. Orluis Aular (Ven) s.t.
7. Christophe Laporte (fra) s.t.
8. Jasper Philipsen (bel) s.t.
9. Vito Braet (bel) s.t.
10. Mads Pedersen (den) s.t.

Race report
Despite plenty of movement, there is still no break on the Berg Ten Houte. Then Matthew Brennan, Christophe Laporte, Paul Magnier, Mads Pedersen, Florian Vermeersch, Tobias Lund Andresen, Jonas Abrahamsen, Søren Kragh Andersen, Mathias Vacek, Benoît Cosnefroy, Mick van Dijke, Thibaud Gruel, Dana Hoole, Alberto Bettiol, Stan de Wulf, Hugo Page, Søren Wærenskjold, Rick Pluimers join forces.-

The eighteen riders ride to a 25-second lead, but what remains of the peloton rejoins them with 84 kilometres to go. Then Samuel Watson sets off on the Onderbossenaarstraat, while Wout van Aert rides across to him with Mads Pedersen, Matej Mohoric, Kasper Asgreen, Christophe Laporte, Magnus Sheffield, Florian Vermeersch, Gianni Vermeersch, Jonas Abrahamsen, Per Strand Hagenes, Tim van Dijke, Axel Huens and Aimé De Gendt on his wheel.

On the approach to Berg Ten Houte, the first half of the peloton comes back together, but that doesn’t mean calm returns. On the contrary. Attacks keep coming thick and fast for dozens of kilometres, yet no one really gets away. Meanwhile, Jonathan Milan and Tobias Lund Andresen are already in a hopeless position at the back of the field.

Towards the end of the hilly section, Romain Grégoire and Niklas Larsen jump clear, with Thomas Gachignard bridging across. They open up a 40-second lead.

On the Eikenberg, the gap drops to 25 seconds as Wout van Aert launches the chase. He flies past the dropped Gachignard and, with 39 kilometres to go, bridges across to Grégoire and Larsen. Once on the flat section leading to Waregem, Magnus Sheffield and Tim van Dijke go after the trio, while Florian Vermeersch rejoins them inside the final 25 kilometres. The gap to the leaders is then 22 seconds.

On the first ascent of the Nokereberg, Wout van Aert ramps up the pace, causing Romain Grégoire to get dropped. Behind them, the peloton regroups with 16 kilometres left to race.

On the final ascent of the Nokereberg, Wout van Aert drops Niklas Larsen. The peloton is then 12 seconds behind.

Ganna and Vermeersch are the first chasers in the final 3 kilometres, 9 seconds behind the brave solo rider. The Italian goes on alone and enters the finishing straight about twenty metres behind Van Aert. The Belgian makes a perfect target, and Ganna exploits that advantage to perfection. He blasts past him in the final 50 metres to win Dwars door Vlaanderen.

Other interesting reads: route and start list 2026 Dwars door Vlaanderen.