Gent-Wevelgem: Marianne Vos opens her account for Jumbo-Visma

Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma) snatched the bunch sprint of Gent-Wevelgem to take her first win with Jumbo-Visma, adding yet another trophy to her glittering palmarès.

Valcar-Travel & Service lit up the final sprint in Wevelgem, but Vos kicked hard from the other side of the charging bunch. The Dutchwoman was marked by Lotte Kopecky, but the Liv rider was unable to come around Vos’ powerful kick.

Kopecky took second, while Lisa Brennauer (Ceratizit-WNT) finished third.

The closing kilometers of the race saw a tense finale after Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo) and Soraya Paladin (Liv Racing) had gone clear with 20km to go and desperately dangled in front of the charging peloton. The Italian duo held a slim advantage through the final minutes only to be caught inside the final kilometer.

Vos’ win made it two in a day for Jumbo-Visma after Wout van Aert claimed the men’s race just two hours earlier. The race also marked the first victory for the newly formed women’s team.

Kemmelberg climb wears down the bunch

After an early break of two went clear, the peloton remained together through the opening hours despite the strong winds that could have caused echelons.

The race briefly shattered over the first ascent of the Kemmelberg only to reform through the gravel roads shortly afterward. It took until the second climb of the extra-steep berg at 35km for the race to again split, with Longo Borghini driving the pace as the peloton exploded behind.

Several groups bridged across in the kilometers afterward to leave a group of around 30 speeding toward Wevelgem.

#GWEwomen Relive the attack by Longo Borghini and Niwieadoma on the Kemmelberg leaving D'hoore at the back of the group. Seems like she won't succeed herself this year. #GWE21 pic.twitter.com/mzdf7EgAAN

— GentWevelgem (@GentWevelgem) March 28, 2021

Moves in final run toward Wevelgem

After a brief attack from Anna Henderson (Jumbo-Visma), Trek-Segafredo lit up the race with Longo Borghini, Lizzie Deignan, Ruth Winder, and Ellen van Dijk, pulling a group of eight clear of the peloton at 20km to go. Having started the attack, Longo Borghini kept on motoring, with only Paladin able to hold the wheel, and the Italian duo went into the final 10km with a 30-second lead.

https://twitter.com/GentWevelgem/status/1376206530324877313

Paladin and Longo Borghini worked together well, however as the group behind grew to around 30 riders, their lead slowly reduced as SD Worx and BikeExchange powered the chase.

The race was on a knife-edge in the final 5km as the Italian pair dangled in front of the charging bunch, with their lead hovering at around 10 seconds. Longo Borghini powered away at the front as Paladin looked fatigued, however the relentless pace in the group behind saw the pair’s brave break caught with just 500m to go.