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2026-03-29T15:07:53.315Z
Yet another crash and more misfortune for Coles-Lyster, she’s up but it’s bad timing as we approach the Baneberg.
Also affected was Visma-Lease a Bike’s Nienke Veenhoven, but also Franziska Koch, the German champion FDJ United-Suez’s favourite.
2026-03-29T15:05:30.426Z
Baker has been busy today, here she is off the front earlier in the day, racing across the Plugstreets.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
2026-03-29T15:03:40.519Z
The Scherpenberg failed to illicit any action, though we’ve had a crash with one of the favourites, Canadian, Maggie Coles-Lyster (Human Powered Health) among those going down. Everyone is quickly up and riding.
The race is in a period of nervous stasis ahead of the final climbs, Baker and Molenaar still ahead, though by only 19 seconds.
2026-03-29T14:58:19.720Z
Now Georgia Baker has attacked and is bridging across the 12 second gap to Molenaar. The peloton seem happy though, while Baker may well be looking for some sliding room ahead of the climbs, she’s a very capable sprinter with a great engine too.
2026-03-29T14:54:48.985Z
As the Scherpenberg approaches, one of the VolkerWessels riders, Laura Molenaar has drifted off the front, though her move is gaining very little traction, her lead only 12 seconds with 50km left to race.
2026-03-29T14:51:59.933Z
With 52km to go a large peloton has come together and the pace is off. Once again teams are refuelling and discussing tactics and their next move.
UAE Team ADQ are at the of the race, with most of the SD Worx squad in clse attendance.
2026-03-29T14:46:09.472Z
One kilometre later and Eraso is caught and a large bunch is re-forming.
This is a race of attrition, with fewer and fewer riders surviving each of the climbs, the pressure on all the time.
2026-03-29T14:43:43.421Z
The Kemmelberg has done its thing, a group of around only 10 women are on the tarmac descent chasing Eraso.
Expect this to come back together though, there’s a little while unit the Scherpenberg. There’ll be some rearranging among the peloton before they get there.
56km to go.
2026-03-29T14:41:10.999Z
Van Dam is caught by Géry as the cobbles start.
The Belvedere side of the Kemmelberg might be the easiest but it’s hard, steep and cobbled and it’s a challenge, dragging on far too long!
Géry is caught on the climb, her team mate Koch riding hard.
Eraso will be the last of the breakaway to be caught.
2026-03-29T14:38:48.356Z
Half way up the climb and the break is falling apart, only Eraso and Teutenberg are together at the front while attacks are coming from the bunch.
Célia Gery (FDJ United-Suez) has attacked the bunch andhas a gap, though she’s yet to catch the break who are appraoching the Kemmelberg.
2026-03-29T14:35:29.971Z
This is a valiant effort by the break. While Teutenberg and Eraso ride for ProTeams, Van Dam and Antikainen are third division riders. They’ve put in a great day’s work to be out front for so long.
They’re on the Monteberg now, can they survive?
2026-03-29T14:32:48.616Z
It’s all calm in the peloton now. They’re riding relatively wide roads, though disaster is never too far away in the classics, Nina Berton (EF Education-Oatly) suffers her second crash of the day.
The Luxembourger is up and riding though.
With 61km to go Eraso, Teutenberg, Van Dam and Antikainen lead by 1.38.
2026-03-29T14:25:44.315Z
British champion, Millie Couzens (Fenix-PremierTech) in the peloton as they ride onto the Plugstreets.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
2026-03-29T14:21:45.011Z
Off The Catacombs with 69km to go and the race is now much more controlled. This is, in essence, the calm before the storm which will come on the climbs.
This easing has caused the breakaway’s lead to go out slightly, it’s threatening the two minute mark again, but don’t expect them to stay away, there’s a lot of racing to come now.
2026-03-29T14:16:55.547Z
The end of the third Plugstreet, The Catacombs, comes only 13km before the day’s first climb, the Monteberg. Despite the easing in the pace among the peloton the advantage for Eraso, Teutenberg, Van Dam and Antikainen is at 1.51.
The race is very definitely on.
2026-03-29T14:13:14.614Z
At the end of the Christmas Truce Plugstreet the four leaders have 1.50 and there’s a little regrouping in the the peloton. It seems everyone is taking a breath and a drink ahead of the next bit of action.
2026-03-29T14:10:08.503Z
Wow, the race is really breaking up now, the peloton is really stretched out, the riders who crashed are way off the back, while Lorena Wiebes, Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) and Franziska Koch (FDJ United-SUEZ) have dragged the peloton across to the chasing group.
With 74km to go the four leaders have only 2 minutes advantage.
2026-03-29T14:07:00.993Z
The chasing group consists of Lara Gillespie and Febe Jooris (both UAE Team ADQ), Marta Lach (SD Worx), Josie Nelson (Picnic-PostNL), Lauretta Hanson (Lidl-Trek), Georgia Baker and Noa Jansen (both Liv-AlUla-Jayco), Sterre Vervloet (Lotto-Intermarché).
They trail the four original leaders by only 2.35 with the peloton a further 20 seconds back.
The leaders are on the Hill 63 Plugstreet.
2026-03-29T14:01:27.256Z
In the blink of an eye the leaders’ gap has been slashed down to only 3.25. Only 3km from the Hill 63 Plugstreet.
2026-03-29T13:59:05.403Z
The peloton aren’t happy though, they don’t want such a large group to form, soo they’ve set off in pursuit. However, a big crash has taken a number of riders out of the bunch.
The Plugstreets are imminent now.
2026-03-29T13:57:17.000Z
52km down and while the leaders are persevering and working well, a group of 7 has chipped off the front of the peloton. They’re about to be joined by Marta Lach of SD Worx, so this will change the complexion of the race entirely.
2026-03-29T13:53:22.563Z
The breakaway escaped the peloton early in the day. (Image credit: Getty Images)
2026-03-29T13:51:45.411Z
With 85km to go Eraso, Teutenberg, Van Dam and Antikainen lead by five minutes.
At Omloop Niewsblad in 2025 the big teams looked to each other to bring the breakaway back aand it didn’t happen, is the same happening again?
2026-03-29T13:48:08.711Z
The complexion of the race is beginning to change, Picnic-PostNL have come to the front and are putting the pressure on. The team could do with a win as they’ve not had one yet this year.
They have a astinrg group today, with Pfeiffer Georgi likely to lead, though Rachele Barbieri their sprinter.
2026-03-29T13:41:02.997Z
In the race Eraso, Teutenberg, Van Dam and Antikainen have once again stretched their advantage out to 4.58 with 46km of the race ridden.
2026-03-29T13:38:15.278Z
While the route doesn’t go to Ploegsteert itself, Hill 63 was so-named as it is 63m above sea level and is part of the Messines ridge which was fiercely fought over.
2026-03-29T13:35:24.491Z
We’re within 20km of the first of the Plugstreets, Hill 63. The Plugstreets are named after a mispronunciation of Ploegsteert, a village in the area which featured in the repeated battles of Ypres during World War One.
2026-03-29T13:30:55.824Z
Only Chantal Van den Broek-Blaak and Marlen Reusser (Movistar) have won solo, while Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime), who’s looking for a third consecutive victory today, is the only rider with multiple wins.
2026-03-29T13:25:57.097Z
35km done and the leaders’ advantage is slightly reduced, it’s down below 4.10 now having been out at 4.50. We’ll soon turn right and into a head wind again, so maybe there’s not major echelon action after all.
2026-03-29T13:19:29.639Z
Part of the beauty of these spring classics is the chaos and unpredictability. Since Lauren Hall won the first edition in a two-up sprint in 2014, the race final has been contested by a group of more than 20 women more often than not.
2026-03-29T13:14:07.581Z
They’re certainly honouring organisers’ faith in them as the’ve extended their lead to four minutes with 28km of the day done.
That could change soon though, we’re about to turn left into a cross tail wind of 25k/mh, enough for echelons.
2026-03-29T13:10:54.481Z
All four of our breakaway riders are from lower level teams .
Eraso and Teutenberg are from second tier ProTeams with Van Dam and Antikainen both from third division Continental teams.
Organisers tend to look to these teams to make the race and create breakaways.
2026-03-29T13:03:29.908Z
Scrap that! Our leading quartet now have more than three minutes’ lead! They really have been allowed their heads, especially when considering how short the race is.
20km done, so we’re about to head into a stretch of cross head wind, hard for the leaders and tempting chaos in the bunch.
2026-03-29T12:56:43.822Z
After 20km we reach the northernmost point in the course at Westrozebeke, turning west into a headwind then south. The wind is blowing at about 28k/mh from the west so there may be some crosswind action here.
Positioning ahead of this may be why the breakaway aren’t being allowed too much of a lead.
2026-03-29T12:53:47.624Z
The first of the Plugstreets comes after 58km and they follow in very quick succession, all within less than six kilometres of each other. They could see some decisive selections among the race favourites, especially as they precede the climbs by only 13km. Expect action!
2026-03-29T12:50:29.882Z
Eraso, Teutenberg, Van Dam and Antikainen have extended their lead to 1.40 as they head north and west on a first opening loop. We’ve covered 15km.
2026-03-29T12:45:07.035Z
Idoia Eraso (Laboral Kutxa-Fundacion Euskadi), Lea Lin Teutenberg (Lotto-Intermarché), Yona van Dam (Citymesh Customm) and Heidi Antikainen (Minimax) have been allowed to get away and have quickly built a lead of more than a minute.
2026-03-29T12:40:27.768Z
Including the words ‘In Flanders Fields’ in the race name is homage to the fallen of the Great War. In addition organisers introduced gravel sectors into the race route a few years ago, and this year the women’s race will tackle three of them, Hill 63, Christmas Truce and The Catacombs.
2026-03-29T12:36:57.932Z
Another small group is now fighting to get away, though it sounds like there’ll be a big fight for the day’s breakaway.
2026-03-29T12:34:31.231Z
Three riders got a small gap but they’re back in the bunch again. It’s seething at the front!
2026-03-29T12:32:32.069Z
And no sooner has the flag dropped than we have attacks at the front of the race!
2026-03-29T12:30:54.927Z
The official start is given, we’ve got 135.2km of cobbled Classics action ahead of us. Buckle in!
Noemi Abgral (Ma Petite Enterprise), Flortje Makaij (Movistar), Eglantine Rayer (FDJ United-SUEZ) did not take the start.
2026-03-29T12:27:35.761Z
It’s this long, drawn out final which often makes this race one for the sprinters, with large groups often contesting the final. Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) has won the last two editions, each time from a large group.
Remind yourself how she did it in our race report from the day.
2026-03-29T12:23:35.391Z
Though there are only five climbs this year, the fewest since 2017, they all come within 25km of each other and organisers have saved the hardest climb for last, the top of the Kemmel coming before the tense 35km fight to the finish.
2026-03-29T12:18:40.308Z
Another of the race’s traditional decisive points are the climbs and the double ascent of the cobbled Kemmelberg. First, the bunch will climb the Monteberg before riding the ‘easier’ Belvedere side of the Kemmel, then it’s Scherpenberg, Baneberg before return to the brutal Ossuaire ascent of the Kemmelberg.
2026-03-29T12:15:09.042Z
Lorena Wiebes and her SD Worx-Protime squad at the sign on.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
2026-03-29T12:14:08.406Z
The different start means a change to the route, with the flat, exposed and notoriously windy De Moeren removed, though the new route is still exposed and the wind may well play a part in today’s action.
2026-03-29T12:10:15.963Z
And we’re rolling for 10.1km of neutral before the official start is given in Moorsele.
2026-03-29T12:05:44.175Z
Could Lloyd spring another surprise today? Well there are plenty of favourites and dark horses, not only from women’s race, but the men’s too. Read what we think in our race preview.
2026-03-29T11:54:15.787Z
We’re in one of the busiest times of the year, with 12 one-day WorldTour races in nine weeks. The most recent of those was Thursday’s Ronde van Brugge, which was won by Movistar’s 19 year-old Carys Lloyd. You can read how she took her first professional race here.
2026-03-29T11:41:34.160Z
We’ve got 135.2km on the cards for today’s race, which serves as the ninth race on the UCI Women’s WorldTour and we roll out for 10.1km of neutral at 14:10CET.
As for the weather, it’s forecast to be about 10ºC, with little chance of rain but the chance of wind affecting the race increasing as the day goes on.
2026-03-29T11:36:40.925Z
It’s sign on time at the moment, with the Visma-Lease a Bike squad fielding plenty of options for today’s race.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
2026-03-29T11:30:16.385Z
Lorena Wiebes has won the last two editions, indeed she’s the only woman to win the race twice and though her SD Worx-Protime squad is full of talent, they’ve put all their eggs in the Dutch champion’s basket for today.
Check out the start list courtesy of FirstCycling.
2026-03-29T11:15:17.089Z
If you don’t recognise the name of the race that’s because this is the race formerly known as Gent-Wevelgem. And it’s not just the name that’s changed, the route has too, but we’ll cover that a bit later!
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the 13th edition of In Flanders Fields – In Wevelgem.
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