In Flanders Fields 2026: Route

Sunday 29 March – Gent-Wevelgem has been renamed In Flanders Fields and the start location has changed as well, but those are essentially the only differences. The riders are served the familiar recipe of nine climbs, three gravel sectors and a flat finale. The race covers 240.8 kilometres, the first part of which runs close to the coast, so echelons may play a role.

First published on 20 March 2026

After the unofficial start on the North Sea coast in Middelkerke, the riders stay close to the coast for roughly 70 kilometres. They then pass through the echelons paradise of De Moeren before heading inland towards the hilly zone.

With just over 100 kilometres, the Scherpenberg offers the first climb of the day. Before long, the riders also tackle the Baneberg, Monteberg and Kemmelberg, and 12 kilometres later it is already time for the plugstreets. The first two — Hill 63 and Christmas Truce — rise slightly, and by the time the riders exit the third sector, they have covered almost 170 kilometres. In other words, they still have nearly 70 to go.

Over the next 12 kilometres, the race heads towards the second and final section with hills, which opens with the back-to-back Monteberg and Kemmelberg. There is little time to recover after that, as the Scherpenberg soon reappears, and within a span of 10 kilometres, the Baneberg and Kemmelberg provide the final climbs of the day.

To bid farewell to the uphill gradients, the Kemmelberg is tackled from its toughest side – 700 metres at a leg-burning 10.4% average, maxing out at a savage 21.1%. From the summit, it’s a flat 35.5-kilometre run to the line.

At the summit of the Kemmelberg, the riders turn left and head towards Ypres. After passing through the town, more than 20 kilometres of straight roads lead to Wevelgem, making breakaway riders ideal to target for chasers.

Last year, however, that proved irrelevant — simply because the lone breakaway rider was already too far ahead. Mads Pedersen launched a solo move with 56 kilometres to go and held on to claim his third Gent-Wevelgem victory. One more win would make him the outright record holder; for now, he shares the record with Peter Sagan, Tom Boonen, Mario Cipollini, Eddy Merckx, Rik Van Looy and Robert Van Eenaeme.

Fancy riding the route yourself? Download GPX 2026 In Flanders Fields.

Gent-Wevelgem 2026 starts at 11:00 and is expected to finish around 16:35 = both local times (CEST). Check the slideshow below for scheduled times; details of the climbs and plugstreets are available in the corresponding file.