As in previous editions, the 87th Gent-Wevelgem was shaken up in De Moeren. Favorable winds caused the peloton to split into echelons. Kooij and Tiesj Benoot made it into the first group, closely followed by the second peloton, which included Matteo Jorgenson, Dan McLay, and Tosh Van der Sande. Victor Campenaerts was briefly caught off guard but managed to regain contact as the groups merged.  

With less than 100 kilometers to go, Campenaerts anticipated from the peloton. The 33-year-old Belgian successfully bridged to the early breakaway just before the first of three ascents of the Kemmelberg. On the steep cobbled climb, Mads Pedersen launched the first acceleration in the peloton. Shortly after, the Dane attacked again on a plugstreet—an unpaved sector. A strong Kooij was the last rider able to follow Pedersen’s pace, but the Dutchman suffered an unfortunate crash and had to abandon the race.  

Meanwhile, an unleashed Pedersen powered forward. In no time, he closed the gap to the breakaway. Campenaerts held on for a long time, but on the second ascent of the Kemmelberg, Pedersen dropped everyone. The chasing group with Campenaerts was eventually caught by the peloton - featuring Jorgenson and Benoot - with 25 kilometers to go. They did not contest the sprint for second place.  

“The plan was to anticipate before the climbs of the Kemmelberg,” Campenaerts reflected after the race. “That worked out, but shortly after, I heard the news that Olav had crashed. That hit hard, but we had to refocus. In the end, we have to admit that there was no stopping Pedersen today. I tried to follow him, but I just couldn’t match his pace.”  

Sports director Arthur van Dongen also looked back: “We had several riders in the front echelons, and Victor was well positioned in the race, so everything was going according to plan. On the plugstreet, Olav followed Pedersen’s attack, but shortly after, he misjudged a corner. The race could have played out differently - with Victor up front and Olav on Pedersen’s wheel, we would have had a perfect situation. But that’s cycling, unfortunately.”