In Flanders Fields 2026: Favourites
fotobureau Cor VosWith its flat finale, Gent–Wevelgem is a race that suits sprinters perfectly. But it is also a classic in which the weather often plays a major role. The forecast suggests a north-westerly wind, meaning the riders will have a cross-tailwind on large parts of the course.
Weather forecast:
Start: 7°C, sunny, north-westerly wind (force 3)
Finish: 10°C, sunny, north-westerly wind (force 4)
A wind force of 3 to 4 is, according to the echelons handbook, ideal — especially if it is blowing from a tail-cross direction. That means the finale could well turn into a top-class echelon spectacle. Furthermore, there are plenty of other opportunities earlier in the race to shake things up. So yes, In Flanders Fields could easily explode into echelon action of the highest order.
Apart from the weather, all teams can opt to make the race harder by taking the initiative. A team like Visma | Lease a Bike, for example, will want to push the pace in the hills and on the gravel to make life difficult for the pure sprinters. With Van Aert, Brennan and Laporte they surely have some fast men in their ranks, but they will have a hard time beating pure sprinters like Philipsen and Milan.
On the other hand, Philipsen is no stranger to a crosswind battle himself, so that should make for an intriguing contest. It also remains to be seen how Van der Poel has recovered from his monster solo at E3.
Pedersen is the big absentee. In the past two editions, the Dane was by far the strongest. Last year he won with a long solo, and two years ago he and Mathieu van der Poel were so active on the plugstreets and in the hilly zone that they eventually emerged together. The two former world champions rode together to Wevelgem, where Pedersen sprinted to victory.
Among the still active riders, John Degenkolb (2014), Mads Pedersen (2020, 2024, 2025), Wout van Aert (2021), Biniam Girmay (2022) and Christophe Laporte (2023) know what it takes to win Gent–Wevelgem. All of them are competing, except for Pedersen.
In this season’s Flemish Classics, victories have gone to Van der Poel (Omloop, E3), Brennan (Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne), Philipsen (Nokere Koerse) and Groenewegen (Tour of Bruges). Looking at the pure sprinters, Milan has been the most successful this season. The Italian has won stages in the UAE Tour and Tirreno–Adriatico. Lund Andresen also took a stage in Tirreno and earlier this year won the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race as well as a stage of the Tour Down Under.
In Flanders Fields 2026: Favourites
**** Jasper Philipsen, Tobias Lund Andresen, Wout van Aert
*** Matthew Brennan, Filippo Ganna, Mathieu van der Poel, Paul Magnier
** Florian Vermeersch, Jasper Stuyven, Jonathan Milan, Tim van Dijke
* Christophe Laporte, Arnaud De Lie, Biniam Girmay, Cees Bol, Jordi Meeus
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