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Patrick Fletcher

Savage, sodden and severe - Inside the 2023 Gent-Wevelgem

Wout van Aert at Gent-Wevelgem 2023

On Sunday, it was estimated that for each square metre of West Flanders, there fell up to 20 litres of rain. 176 riders set off from Ypres just before 11am and 98 of them arrived in Wevelgem six hours later, sodden, shivering, and searching for team buses and the hot showers within. 

The rain didn't hammer down at any point during Gent-Wevelgem - this wasn't a lashing or a bucketing - but it was relentless. From start to finish, it came and it came and it came. Gore-Tex was ground down and forced to give way, and so was nearly half the field.

Those who did make it to Wevelgem betrayed every inch of their ordeal. Vacant gazes seeped from mud-caked faces, arms shivered, and teeth chattered. The team buses lay the other side of an obligatory media zone, with most riding straight through and ignoring our calls for interviews - no hard feelings there. 

When the top three eventually came through after the podium ceremony, they were wrapped up in hats and jackets - Sep Vanmarcke even had a heat pack stuffed down his back - but they were still cold to the core. 

The winner Christophe Laporte could barely get his words out, while his teammate Wout van Aert was handed a rattle and got it going without even trying. 

On the road, it had been a day of suffering, pain, disappointment, and - for that Jumbo-Visma duo - jubilation. The emotions were all captured by the experienced pro cycling photographer Chris Auld, whose shots you can enjoy in all their full-width glory below. 

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(Image credit: Chris Auld)

Jerseys line the streets of Ypres to set the scene for Gent-Wevelgem

(Image credit: Chris Auld)

The races sets off from the striking Menin Gate

(Image credit: Chris Auld)

The constant rain made for slippery roads

(Image credit: Chris Auld)

The peloton pass by a member of the fan club for AG2R's Stan Dewulf

(Image credit: Chris Auld)

The riders were soaked through and caked in mud

(Image credit: Chris Auld)

More mud and more misery

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(Image credit: Chris Auld)

The breakaway hits the Kemmelberg - the race's iconic climb

(Image credit: Chris Auld)

Dangerous moves fly on the gravel Plugstreets

(Image credit: Chris Auld)

Fabio Jakobsen attacks on the gravel but is caught in no man's land

(Image credit: Chris Auld)

The defining moment - Van Aert and Laporte attack on the second ascent of the Kemmelberg

(Image credit: Chris Auld)

The pair combine for 50km and are never seen again

(Image credit: Chris Auld)

Mikkel Bjerg fights with the Kemmelberg

(Image credit: Chris Auld)

Stefan Kung was in just as much pain

(Image credit: Chris Auld)

And so was Caleb Ewan

(Image credit: Chris Auld)

Van Aert and Laporte come round for the third and final Kemmelberg ascent

(Image credit: Chris Auld)

Van Aert was so strong he started to drop his teammate

(Image credit: Chris Auld)

Laporte clings on for dear life

(Image credit: Chris Auld)

Too little too late in the chase

(Image credit: Chris Auld)

Van Aert and Laporte pass back through the Menin Gate, the portal to the run-in

(Image credit: Chris Auld)

A picture-perfect 1-2, with Laporte allowed nudge his wheel to the line first

(Image credit: Chris Auld)

Sep Vanmarcke wins the sprint for third place

(Image credit: Chris Auld)

Ben Turner's face says it all

(Image credit: Chris Auld)

Van Aert's gift to Laporte has divided opinion but team spirit is sky high

(Image credit: Chris Auld)

The dust settles on a memorable edition of Gent-Wevelgem

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