{"id":276190,"date":"2025-11-11T11:09:12","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T11:09:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/276190\/"},"modified":"2025-11-11T11:09:12","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T11:09:12","slug":"why-gent-wevelgem-is-getting-a-new-name-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/276190\/","title":{"rendered":"why Gent-Wevelgem is getting a new name in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Team names and race titles can be a headache for cycling fans, with sponsors calling the shots and long, unwieldy labels the result\u20142026 will be no different. You know <a href=\"https:\/\/www.idlprocycling.com\/cycling\/van-der-poel-and-pogacar-watch-out-mads-pedersen-pulls-off-incredible-solo-in-gent-wevelgem\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Gent-Wevelgem<\/a> and the Crit\u00e9rium du Dauphin\u00e9, right? Next season, both will appear on the calendar under new names.In the Dauphin\u00e9\u2019s case, it becomes the Tour Auvergne-Rh\u00f4ne-Alpes from 2026 after regional backing replaced the original newspaper sponsor. It\u2019ll take a little getting used to, but it tracks commercially. It\u2019s a bit different for <a rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_new\" href=\"https:\/\/www.idlprocycling.com\/gent-wevelgem?utm_source=chatgpt.com\">Gent-Wevelgem<\/a>, a race that historically ran from Ghent to Wevelgem.<\/p>\n<p>In recent years, though, the start has long since moved\u2014first Deinze, then Ypres (Ieper). The last time the race literally went from Ghent to Wevelgem? 2002. Yet only in 2026 will the event\u2019s name be updated.<\/p>\n<p>Continue reading below the photo<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"280\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1154072327.jpg@webp.webp\" class=\"w-auto h-auto\" alt=\"1154072327\"\/>Gent-Wevelgem becomes Middelkerke-WevelgemThe new identity follows the start and finish locations, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.idlprocycling.com\/flanders-classics\" title=\"Flanders Classics\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Flanders Classics<\/a> goes a step further. Officially, it\u2019s \u201cIn Flanders Fields \u2013 from Middelkerke to Wevelgem.\u201d It doesn\u2019t exactly roll off the tongue, so expect most to use Middelkerke-Wevelgem.The key: Middelkerke will host the start through 2035 under a 10-year agreement. Flanders Classics confirmed the deal in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flandersclassics.be\/nl\/nieuws\/middelkerke-nieuwe-startplaats-voor-gent-wevelgem-bij-de-mannen\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">a press release<\/a>, underlining Middelkerke\u2019s commitment\u2014fresh off hosting the European Cyclo-cross Championships\u2014and the organisers\u2019 satisfaction with the long-term partnership.For many fans, this will take some swallowing. Is nothing sacred? Milan\u2013Sanremo hasn\u2019t changed its name, even though Pavia has been the start for several years. Van Den Spiegel acknowledges the history: &#8220;People will still say &#8216;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.idlprocycling.com\/gent-wevelgem\" title=\"Gent-Wevelgem\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Gent-Wevelgem<\/a>,&#8217; of course. But this way, we highlight the unique DNA of this race even more.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Continue reading below the photo<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"280\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/mads-pedersen-691310abe2806.jpeg@webp.webp\" class=\"w-auto h-auto\" alt=\"mads pedersen\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Mads Pedersen won Gent-Wevelgem in 2025<\/p>\n<p>CEO Flanders Classics explains name change Gent-WevelgemFacing online criticism about complicated new names, the CEO even responded on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=100044376911383\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">social media<\/a>, pointing to the sport\u2019s dependence on city and regional marketing budgets\u2014vital if we want to keep free access for fans.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We\u2019ve started in Ghent for years, so at some point investor cities want to see their investment reflected. Now that we have a ten-year contract with Middelkerke, it was time to make the change. If money was the only driver, we\u2019d have changed the name long ago, like many others.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Team names and race titles can be a headache for cycling fans, with sponsors calling the shots and&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":276191,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[445],"tags":[49,48,635,82],"class_list":["post-276190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-cycling","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=276190"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276190\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/276191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=276190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=276190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=276190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}