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Men’s Gent-Wevelgem Gallery: Van Avermaet backs up E3 with historic win

Belgian Greg van Avermaet rules the day in Belgium with a Gent-Wevelgem win just two days removed from taking E3 Harelbeke.

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Men's — The peloton rolled out after the start of the 79th Gent-Wevelgem in the Belgian village of Deinze on Sunday, March 26, 2017. Photo: Tim De Waele | TDWsport.com

Men's — The peloton made its way through the Deinze prior to a nine-man break launching shortly after the start. Photo: Tim De Waele | TDWsport.com

Men's — Norwegian Alexander Kristoff’s fans lined the route to cheer on the former Milan-Sanremo (2014) and Tour of Flanders (2015) winner. Photo: Tim De Waele | TDWsport.com

Men's — Last year’s Paris-Roubaix winner Mathew Hayman (Orica-Scott), 38, riding tempo early in the race. Photo: Tim De Waele | TDWsport.com

Men's — Reigning back-to-back world road race champion Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) settled in for the 249km one-day WorldTour race from Deinze to Wevelgem. Photo: Tim De Waele | TDWsport.com

Men's — It’s been a quiet start to the season for 26-year-old Australian Michael Matthews since joining Sunweb from Orica-Scott in 2017. Photo: Tim De Waele | TDWsport.com

Men's — Early crosswinds gapped the field not long after the race start. Photo: Tim De Waele | TDWsport.com

Men's — Heavy crosswinds created chaos and mass pileups throughout the race. Photo: Tim De Waele | TDWsport.com

Men's — Gaetan Bille (Verandas-Willem Crelan) found himself off the road and on the ground following a mid-race crash. Photo: Tim De Waele | TDWsport.com

Men's — Frenchman Julien Duval (AG2R La Mondiale) showed his suffering in the aftermath of a nasty spill. Photo: Tim De Waele | TDWsport.com

Men's — The peloton was met with cobbles in what is considered the most sprinter-friendly one-day race of the Flemish cycling week. Photo: Tim De Waele | TDWsport.com

Men's — Slovakian Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Italian Sonny Colbrelli navigated the cobbled sections and series of climbs mid-race. Photo: Tim De Waele | TDWsport.com

Men's — The peloton races ‘In Flanders Fields,’ which traverses some of the battlefields from the First World War. Photo: Tim De Waele | TDWsport.com

Men's — Olympic champion Greg van Avermaet makes his move on the final ascent of the Kemmelberg with Sagan and a pack of chasers in tow. Photo: Tim De Waele | TDWsport.com

Men's — BMC’s Greg van Avermaet and Orica-Scott’s Jens Keukeleire escaped the pack inside the final 15km. Photo: Tim De Waele | TDWsport.com

Men's — Belgian Greg van Avermaet becomes the first cyclist to win Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, E3 Harelbeke and Gent-Wevelgem in the same season with the sprint win over compatriot Jens Keukeleire. Photo: Tim De Waele | TDWsport.com

Men's — A visibly frustrated Peter Sagan crossed the line in third place after Niki Terpstra and other rivals refused to work toward the finish. Photo: Tim De Waele | TDWsport.com

Men's — Greg van Avermaet celebrated his third win of the season en route to the podium. Photo: Tim De Waele | TDWsport.com

Men's — Peter Sagan said he is now more motivated to win by his rivals ‘cheap tactics’ following his frustrating loss at Gent-Wevelgem. Photo: Tim De Waele | TDWsport.com

Men's — Greg van Avermaet stands atop the 2017 Gent-Wevelgem podium with Jens Keukeleire, left, in second and Peter Sagan in third. Photo: Tim De Waele | TDWsport.com

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