Seven riders quickly went on the attack. The breakaway built a gap of over four minutes, but due to wind and echelons forming in the peloton, their lead rapidly shrank to just two minutes with 100 kilometers to go. As the chase continued, Nienke Veenhoven was involved in a crash. The young sprinter was forced to retire from the race due to a collarbone fracture.

The race completely opened up in the hilly section. On the first climb of the Kemmelberg, the young Wolff positioned herself well at the front. On the second climb of the Belgian classic, the Brit was again in a good position, allowing her to stay in the thinned out peloton. In the final sprint, favorite Wiebes surged to victory.

“I felt quite good today”, Wolff said afterwards. “The climbs were tough, but I was able to position myself reasonably well at the front each time. After the last climb, I had to close a 20-second gap to the front group, which was a really hard effort. In the final, I tried to position Martina (Fidanza) at the front for the sprint.”

Unfortunately, Fidanza couldn't make a push for a top finish in the sprint, ultimately finishing 18th, with Wolff placing 20th. “Imogen positioned me really well in the last kilometer. The sprint was tough, but for my first Gent-Wevelgem, I think I did well. We can build on this”, the Italian reflected.

Alongside Fidanza, Wolff also made her debut at Gent-Wevelgem, and she looks back on it positively. “It was a really great experience. The wind made the hilly section incredibly tough, and the climbs felt hard because of that. Fortunately, I managed to hold my ground. It was definitely a learning day.”