GENT, Belgium—Peter Sagan came out on top of a bunched sprint to win the Gent-Wevelgem classic for the third time last Sunday.
The Slovakian rider attacked on the left of the group and had enough of a margin to hold off Elia Viviani. The Italian rider caught Frenchman Arnaud Demare near the line, pushing Demare down to third.
When Viviani’s attempt to catch Sagan came up short, he banged his handlebars in frustration.
Sagan, a five-time winner of the Tour de France’s green jersey for best sprinter, also won the race in 2013 and 2016.
“I’m very happy and glad to win this race, the team did a great job,” Sagan said. “A sprint’s always a bit like a lottery. I started a little bit early but in the end it was good.”
Sagan, a multiple stage winner on the Tour, felt this year’s Gent-Wevelgem was not as hard as in previous years.
“This was the easiest one, [in terms of] the weather conditions,” he said. “It was not crazy like last year, or two years ago.”
Viviani, riding for the Belgian Quick-Step team, sat on the ground and buried his head in his hands as he sobbed.
“When it’s such a big opportunity of course it’s disappointing,” Viviani said. “I hope I get another chance.”
Demare narrowly missed out again after finishing third at the Milan-San Remo classic last weekend.
In Barcelona, Alejandro Valverde of Spain won the Tour of Catalonia for the second consecutive year after his closest competitor fell near the end of Sunday’s final stage in Barcelona.
Valverde cruised to victory after Egan Bernal of Colombia crashed with less than 10 kilometers to go in the 155-kilometer stage won by Simon Yates of Britain.
“We started the season the best possible way,” said Valverde, a three-time champion in the Tour of Catalonia.
Bernal, who entered the final stage 16 seconds behind Valverde, fell out of contention after he couldn’t avoid contact with another rider who fell just in front of him. The Colombian hit the ground hard and needed to be attended by doctors while still on the ground. He was later taken into an ambulance with an apparent shoulder injury. Further details of the injury were not immediately available.
Valverde ended ninth last Sunday, securing a 29-second overall advantage over Movistar teammate Nairo Quintana of Colombia. Pierre Latour of France finished third overall, 47 seconds behind Valverde.
Spaniard Marc Soler was second in Sunday’s seventh stage, with Latour third.
“It was very difficult from the beginning,” Yates said. “I decided to try and go early, and it paid off. I wanted to try to get on the podium but I fell a little bit short.”
The 37-year-old Valverde won two stages in this year’s Tour of Catalonia. His other title in the race came in 2009.
Image credits: AP