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Laporte sweeps to victory in wet and wild Ghent-Wevelgem
French rider Christophe Laporte won the Ghent-Wevelgem classic ahead of his Belgian leader and Jumbo-Visma teammate Wout Van Aert on Sunday in a rain-lashed race which swept over cobbles and past World War 1 landscapes.
The two men finished hand-in-hand, almost two minutes ahead of third-placed Sep Vanmarcke of Belgium.
Laporte is the fourth Frenchman to win the Flemish classic after Jacques Anquetil, Bernard Hinault and Philippe Gaumont.
Second last year behind Biniam Girmay of Eritrea, Laporte, a winner of a stage during the 2022 Tour de France, recorded his biggest victory.
Already victorious at Wevelgem in 2021 and the winner of the E3 Classic on Friday at Harelbeke, where he dominated Dutch rival Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogacar, Van Aert confirmed his status as favourite for the Tour of Flanders next weekend.
Contested in appalling wet and windy weather conditions, Sunday's race pivoted on the ascent of Mont Kemmel in the Ypres region, 55km from the line.
That's where Van Aert pressed the pace which only Laporte was able to follow.
W. Winogradow--BTZ
