Of the current contenders Peter Sagan (2013) and Tom Boonen (2004, 2011, 2012) know what it’s like to win Gent-Wevelgem.
Luca Paolini is title holder. His victory was somewhat atypical as the 2015 edition brought atrocious weather, albeit this is not a completely unknown phenomenon in Gent-Wevelgem. When Boasson Hagen took the flowers in 2009 spring wasn’t in her most seductive disguise either, but last year was really something else with riders literally being blown of their bikes.
But, as said, normally Gent-Wevelgem favours the sprinters. Obviously the kind of sprinters who are strong enough to brave those nasty Flemish hills, especially since Kemmelberg is to be climbed from the steep side in the 2016 edition.
Favourites Gent – Wevelgem 2016:
*** Peter Sagan, Tom Boonen, Fernado Gaviria
** Fabian Cancellara, André Greipel, Jens Debusschere, Arnaud Démare, Nacer Bouhanni
* Greg Van Avermaet, Danny van Poppel, Tiesj Benoot, Sep Vanmarcke
Gent-Wevelgem 2016: Route maps, height profile, and more
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Route and profile Kemmel-Kemmelberg
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Kemmelberg at strava.com
Streetview Kemmelberg
Route and profile Baneberg
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Baneberg at strava.com
Streetview Baneberg