Belgium was battered by strong winds back in March and Ghent-Wevelgem was one of the races affected. It’s a race known for its crosswinds and the potential for echelons to form, but this year’s race was at another level.
Only 39 riders finished the race of the 200 who had started. The race was won by Luca Paolini (Team Katusha), who attacked a small group in the final 6 kilometres and took a solo victory. Niki Terpstra (Etixx-Quick Step) sprinted to second place, ahead of Geraint Thomas (Team Sky).
Paolini had crashed twice during the race and it was a particularly impressive performance by Thomas as earlier in the race he had been blown off his bike landing on the grass verge.
VeloNews wrote that the riders had come close to calling for the neutralisation of the race because of the extreme weather conditions with winds reaching approximately 70 to 80 km/h.
However the website also quoted Brian Cookson, the president of the UCI, who described the conditions as “very difficult, but not impossible” and the race as “a real classic”.
The following clip is from halfway through the race and shows the difficulty that riders had in keeping upright as the race splits.
Is that us at the front there?