Image 1 of 86 Van Avermaet took second behind Bozic (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 2 of 86 Peter Sagan (Cannondale) pops a wheelie upon winning Gent-Wevelgem (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 3 of 86 Despite the icy weather, there were plenty of fans on the course (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 4 of 86 Fabian Cancellara heads back to the RadioShack team car (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 5 of 86 Juan Antonio Flecha drives the breakaway (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 6 of 86 SHOW NUMBERS - riders refused. (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 7 of 86 The echelons started early and stayed late. (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 8 of 86 Cross winds begin to shatter the peloton (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 9 of 86 The 10 man group eventually caught 3 leaders (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 10 of 86 The group of the favourites (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 11 of 86 The echelons in full swing in Gent-Wevelgem (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 12 of 86 Fans got into the holiday cheer... (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 13 of 86 The team buses head from Deinze to Gistel (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 14 of 86 Bjorn Leukemans (Vacansoleil) (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 15 of 86 The lead group battles the crosswinds (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 16 of 86 The Sky train heads to the start (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 17 of 86 Yaroslav Popovych has a discussion with his directeur (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 18 of 86 The Euskaltel-Euskadi riders found themselves on the wrong side of the echelons (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 19 of 86 (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 20 of 86 Filippo Pozzato didn't seem to enjoy the cold weather (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 21 of 86 Sep Vanmarcke (Blanco) (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 22 of 86 Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) leads Juan Antonio Flecha (Vacansoleil) in Gent-Wevelgem (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 23 of 86 Peter Sagan (Cannondale) had enough energy left for a one-handed wheelie (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 24 of 86 Peter Sagan (Cannondale) cruises in for the win in Wevelgem (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 25 of 86 Peter Sagan (Cannondale) displays his skills (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 26 of 86 Peter Sagan (Cannondale) (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 27 of 86 The rest of the breakaway comes in for second (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 28 of 86 Peter Sagan (Cannondale) wins the 2013 Gent-Wevelgem (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 29 of 86 Peter Sagan (Cannondale) wins Gent Wevelgem (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 30 of 86 Peter Sagan (Cannondale) (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 31 of 86 Peter Sagan (Cannondale) had plenty of time to consider his victory salute (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 32 of 86 Peter Sagan (Cannondale) put on a display (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 33 of 86 Greg Van Avermaet comes across in third (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 34 of 86 The Cannondale team rallied behind Sagan (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 35 of 86 Peter Sagan (Cannondale) wheelies across the line (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 36 of 86 Ride 'em cowboy: Peter Sagan (Cannondale) wins Gent-Wevelgem (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 37 of 86 Peter Sagan (Cannondale) celebrates as only he can do (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 38 of 86 Peter Sagan (Cannondale) rides the wild pony to the line (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 39 of 86 Peter Sagan (Cannondale) launches his race-winning move with 4km to go (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 40 of 86 Peter Sagan (Cannondale) rides it in (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 41 of 86 The 2013 Gent-Wevelgem podium: Borut Bozic, Peter Sagan, Greg Van Avermaet (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 42 of 86 Kristijan Koren (Cannondale) on the cobbles (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 43 of 86 Peter Sagan celebrates his Gent-Wevelgem victory (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 44 of 86 Peter Sagan (Cannondale) had to try a couple times to get that wheelie just right (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 45 of 86 John Degenkolb (Argos-Shimano) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 46 of 86 Sagan hoists the Gent-Wevelgem trophy high (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 47 of 86 Sagan thanks his teammates after winning Gent-Wevelgem (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 48 of 86 Borut Bozic (Astana) on the podium at Gent-Wevelgem (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 49 of 86 Juan Antonio Flecha (Vacansoleil) on the attack in Gent-Wevelgem (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 50 of 86 Peter Sagan (Cannondale) (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 51 of 86 The peloton heads through Ypres (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 52 of 86 Philippe Gilbert (BMC) left his fuzzy ear warmers behind at the start (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 53 of 86 Cavendish working hard to bring back the escape (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 54 of 86 Jurgen Roelandts (Lotto Belisol) in the chase (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 55 of 86 Peter Sagan pulls through in the leading group (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 56 of 86 Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma Quickstep) (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 57 of 86 Saxo-Tinkoff's Daniele Bennati (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 58 of 86 Philippe Gilbert (BMC) at the start (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 59 of 86 Jens Debusschere (Lotto-Belisol) (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 60 of 86 Jurgen Roelandts (Lotto Belisol) bundled up at the start (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 61 of 86 Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-Quickstep) didn't get a chance to sprint for the win today (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 62 of 86 The Cofidis care shows the reason why the race was shortened - snow! (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 63 of 86 Lars Boom (Blanco) (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 64 of 86 Jens Debusschere (Lotto Belisol) made the breakaway but flatted out of it (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 65 of 86 Juan Antonio Flecha (Vacansoleil) leads Ladagnous and Bazayev in the break (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 66 of 86 Sky leads the aggression (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 67 of 86 The start of Gent-Wevelgem was moved to Gistel (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 68 of 86 Omega Pharma Quickstep tries to pull back the breakaway (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 69 of 86 Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 70 of 86 The riders line up for the start in Gistel (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 71 of 86 The leading group in Gent-Wevelgem (Image credit: AFP Photo) Image 72 of 86 Borut Bozic, Peter Sagan and Greg Van Avermaet on the podium in Gent-Wevelgem (Image credit: AFP Photo) Image 73 of 86 The podium champagne went a bit flat for Peter Sagan (Image credit: AFP Photo) Image 74 of 86 Peter Sagan (Cannondale) exhausted after his solo effort (Image credit: AFP Photo) Image 75 of 86 Peter Sagan (Cannondale) celebrates his Gent-Wevelgem win (Image credit: AFP Photo) Image 76 of 86 The peloton gets underway (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 77 of 86 Luca Paolini (Katusha) is hardly recognizable under all the winter gear (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 78 of 86 The start of Gent-Wevelgem (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 79 of 86 Lotto-Belisol sets the pace (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 80 of 86 Race director Frank Hoste had a sleepless night but seemed happy to get the race underway (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 81 of 86 The lead group of three was caught by 10 chasers (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 82 of 86 The main peloton quickly lost ground (Image credit: Photopress.be) Image 83 of 86 Peter Sagan (Cannondale) continued his tradition of unconventional victory salutes in Gent-Wevelgem (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 84 of 86 Peter Sagan (Cannondale) made the selection on the Kemmelberg (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 85 of 86 Peter Sagan (Cannondale) soloed in the last 4km to win Gent-Wevelgem (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 86 of 86 Peter Sagan (Cannondale) looks happy to have made the lead group (Image credit: Bettini Photo)

Peter Sagan (Cannondale) soloed to the win in the 2013 Gent-Wevelgem, launching a winning attack from a breakaway inside the final four kilometres. The runner-up in Milan-San Remo and E3 Harelbeke finished clear of Borut Bozic (Astana) and Greg Van Avermaet (BMC), with the sprinters left competing for the minor places in a race shortened by the snowy conditions.

Sagan, recently criticised for his race winning celebrations by Fabian Cancellara - who pulled out at the feedzone - had plenty of time to celebrate at the line, treating the crowd to a series of wheelies.

"The classics are my first goal of the season," Sagan said in his winner's press conference.

"I wanted to win in Milan-San Remo but now I’ve found this victory and it gives me and my team real satisfaction. Now I’ve broken the ice for the next win."

"This might not be a win as big as San Remo or Paris-Roubaix but it’s an important race and I’m really happy but hope to continue now," he added.

Heinrich Haussler (IAM Cycling), who initiated the winning move on the second ascent of the Baneberg, had to settle for fourth.

At the team presentation in Deinze, Haussler had been vocal about his thoughts on the race, stating that the cold conditions could be a step too far and that the riders' safety could be compromised if the weather worsened. However with 6,000 VIPs at the race, the organisers were always going to play every last card in an attempt to see the event start. The first 50 kilometres were cut, the first of the ascent of the Casselberg annulled and the race was on.

Haussler’s attack on the road as opposed to on the start line was one of the defining moments of the race as he sped towards a three-man move of Assan Bazayev (Astana), Juan Antonio Flecha (Vacansoleil) and Matthieu Ladagnous (FDJ).

"I just had to use a lot of energy because I was sitting in the third group straight after the start and I only just got back on before the Kemmelberg so it was a hard race," Haussler said regarding his race.

Before he could make contact he was joined by Sagan, former winner Bernhard Eisel (Sky), Greg Van Avermaet (BMC), Andrey Amador (Movistar), Borut Bozic (Astana), Maciej Bodnar (Cannondale), Yaroslov Popovich (Radioshack), Stijn Vandenbergh (Omega Pharma-QuickStep), and Jens Debusschere (Lotto-Belisol). Before long the break had an advantage of 1’30.

It sparked Cavendish’s Omega Pharma-QuickStep team into life but having lost Tom Boonen to a crash and with Vandenbergh up the road, reinforcements were sorely needed. Sky and BMC who had Eisel and Van Avermaet in the lead group were hesitant to chase but Blanco and Lotto obliged to cooperate inside the final 30 kilometres for Mark Renshaw and Andre Greipel respectively.

However the gap still held with Flecha and Bodnar providing steely back up for Bozic and Sagan.

Into the final 10km, the lead finally began to topple and with 7km to go the gap was a mere 48 seconds. The sprinters looked to have the race in their hands, especially with a stern wind aiding their chase.

Up ahead, Flecha surged to the front to try and inject some impetus but all that appeared to come with him were tired legs, frozen fingers and demoralised hearts.

Inside the 5 kilometre marker it was Haussler’s turn to give it one last assault but with the lead at 38 seconds the race was still heading towards a bunch sprint.

Vandenbergh launched an attack with 4 kilometres to go, in his first effort since joining the escape but he was quickly closed down.

Cue Sagan, who followed Flecha onto Vandenbergh’s back wheel before dipping his shoulders and accelerating away for his win.

A cold day and a shortened race

The cold weather in Belgium caused a lot of stir about whether or not the 75th edition of Gent-Wevelgem should go through or not. The evening before the race the organizers decided to get the race underway in Gistel instead of Deinze, covering the first 50 of the 238 kilometres long race by bus.

The cold northeast wind quickly resulted in the formation of several echelons. In front many favourites were present in a first group of 25 riders, including defending winner Tom Boonen, Mark Cavendish, André Greipel and Peter Sagan. As Fabian Cancellara wasn’t present in this group his team did most of the work in the second echelon when battling the strong winds in the flatlands of De Moeren.

After entering France for about fifty kilometres of racing the first groups were heading for a junction. When taking on the Mont des Cats (or Casselberg) a second time the group with Cancellara finally reached the front of the race. On the following wide open roads the group split again though most of the favourites remained in front this time. The pace in front dropped slightly and that was the sign for Juan Antonio Flecha to attack.

The Spaniard was joined by Matthieu Ladagnous and Assan Bazayev. The trio quickly collected a maximal gap of two minutes on the peloton. That was until that peloton hit the Baneberg where Philippe Gilbert tested his legs. Shortly after that the race passed through the feed zone at 70km from the finish, and Tour of Flanders favourite Fabian Cancellara and many other riders abandoned the race there. A few moments later Tom Boonen hit the deck in the peloton when he hit a curb at high speed in the drop towards the town of Kemmel.

The Belgian champion needed a lot of time to get back on his bike. On the Kemmelberg Edvald Boasson Hagen increased the pace, swiftly marked by Peter Sagan and about thirty others. In the background Boonen quit the race after riding up the cobbled climb. Meanwhile the first chase group was trailing the three leaders by only forty seconds.

When turning back on wider roads to tackle the Baneberg, Kemmelberg and Monteberg for the last time, Heinrich Haussler set up a new move. The German Australian was joined by Sagan, former winner Bernhard Eisel (Sky), Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) and others. When powering up the Baneberg the peloton was back on their heels but after the climb the break was gone, together with Andrey Amador (Movistar), Borut Bozic (Astana), Maciej Bodnar (Cannondale), Jaroslov Popovich (Radioshack) and Jens Debusschere (Lotto-Belisol).

The ten quickly caught up with the three earlier leaders, creating a leader’s group of thirteen riders. On the Kemmelberg Bazayev couldn’t keep up and dropped back into the peloton which trailed by 1:20. Mark Cavendish instructed Zdenek Stybar to keep the pace high. But Omega Pharma-QuickStep lacked the numbers to reduce the gap and received little support from other teams.

That was until Debusschere punctured out of the lead group and Lotto-Belisol moved to the front of the peloton. When riding through Ieper and the Menin Gate – an impressive passage with 30km to go - the eleven remaining leaders had just under 1:30 on the peloton. The efforts in the peloton were not enough to bring down the gap to the lead group because ten kilometres later it was still the same.

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