{"id":204985,"date":"2026-04-02T11:40:02","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T11:40:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=204985"},"modified":"2026-04-02T11:40:02","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T11:40:02","slug":"ganna-chases-down-van-aert-to-win-thrilling-dwars-door-vlaanderen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2026\/04\/02\/ganna-chases-down-van-aert-to-win-thrilling-dwars-door-vlaanderen\/","title":{"rendered":"Ganna Chases Down van Aert to Win Thrilling Dwars door Vlaanderen"},"content":{"rendered":"

Filippo Ganna (INEOS Grenadiers) overcame two bike changes and broke the hearts of Wout van Aert (Visma\u2013Lease a Bike) and all Belgian racing fans by winning Wednesday\u2019s Dwars door Vlaanderen. Van Aert had been at the front of the race for nearly 40km, and had been riding solo for 9 km, but Ganna caught and passed him with only 150 meters left to ride to take the first one-day victory of his career.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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How it happened<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Belgian attacked near the top of the Eikenberg climb (1,200m @ 5.2%, max. 10%), with 40km left to ride on the 184.2km course from Roeselare to Waregem. He joined the two-rider breakaway of Romain Gr\u00e9goire (Groupama\u2013FDJ United) and Niklas Larsen (Unibet\u2013Rose Rockets) and worked with them until Gr\u00e9goire was dropped about 20km from the line. Larsen gave way some 10km later.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt the tempo drop and knew I had to go alone,\u201d Van Aert said about his decision to attack. \u201cAfter the Eikenberg I got to the front of the race with good companions, but I realized I had to make the difference myself. When I dropped Niklas with about 10 kilometers to go, there was no way back. I tried to focus on my effort and not look behind, but in the end the race was 150 meters too long.\u201d<\/p>\n

Van Aert gave it his all as Ganna initiated several attacks out of the peloton, only to be caught. With 5km left to ride, he still had a lead of 13 seconds over a chase group led by the Italian. At 3km, his lead over Ganna and Florian Vermeersch (UAE Team Emirates\u2013XRG) was still 8 seconds. But Ganna put on the afterburners just before the final kilometer and caught the unlucky Belgian in the shadow of the finish line.<\/p>\n

An \u201camazing victory\u201d for Ganna<\/strong><\/h2>\n

“All day we were a bit unlucky,\u201d Ganna said afterwards. \u201cIn the first part, after the first hill, I broke my front wheel and had to change my bike for the first time. And then I broke my handlebar,\u201d which necessitated another bike change. “Wout made an impressive effort; to catch him was not easy,”.<\/p>\n

“I was feeling good in Gent [In Flanders Fields] and I tried to help my teammates,\u201d he added. \u201cAnd today they did an amazing job for me and gave me massive support. In the end I tried to give back all their support with an amazing victory. I think it’s one of the most important [victories]. . . . It’s really nice for me.”<\/p>\n

The race was brutally fast from the start. The winner\u2019s average speed for the day was 48.483km\/h, the fastest Dwars door Vlaanderen ever by more than 2km\/h. That was little consolation for van Aert, who said after the race, \u201cI tried everything and was really dying. It would have been nice if the finish was 150 meters earlier, but this is racing.\u201d<\/p>\n

This was not the first time the Dwars door Vlaanderen has been a deep disappointment for van Aert. Last year, he was outsprinted by Neilsen Powless (EF Education\u2013EasyPost) after starting his sprint too early and the year before that he was seriously injured in a crash in the race, an incident that began a series of crashes and illnesses that seriously disrupted his career.<\/p>\n

But, to look at the silver lining, his performance on Wednesday and in the previous weekend\u2019s In Flanders Fields suggest that he is finally coming back to his best form again. In Saturday\u2019s race, he and Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin\u2013Premier Tech) raced in front of the peloton for about 32km before being caught by the bunch, as the race was won by van der Poel\u2019s teammate Jasper Philipsen in a bunch sprint.<\/p>\n

Reusser wins women\u2019s race by a hair<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Zobrazit p\u0159\u00edsp\u011bvek na Instagramu<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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P\u0159\u00edsp\u011bvek sd\u00edlen\u00fd Dwars door Vlaanderen (@dwarsdoorvlaanderenofficial)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n