Filippo Ganna beats Van Aert and bad luck: first win in a Northern Classic

Filippo Ganna conquers his first Northern Classics: the Piedmontese cyclist won the Dwars door Vlaanderen 2026, beating none other than Wout Van Aert to the finish line of the race in Flanders. The Ineos Grenadiers rider caught up with the Belgian champion in the final straight and overtook him in the last 100 meters, scoring a prestigious victory. He is the second Italian to win in the history of the race after Oscar Gatto’s success in 2013.

Also on the podium was Søren Waerenskjold of Uno-X Mobility, who won the bunch sprint. Ganna, in hot pursuit for much of the day, had to stop in the course of the race due to a puncture and later a broken handlebar, then signed the feat.

“It was an impressive effort in the finale. I was a bit unlucky all day. After the first pass on the Eikenberg I punctured the front wheel, chose to continue as long as I could before changing the bike a first time. Then I broke the handlebars,” these were Ganna’s words after the finish.

“I hope all my bad luck was focused on today. At the end, when we had Sheffield in front, we were covered well. The team was around me, helping me all day long. In the final I tried to repay them the best I could for all the support they gave me and I did it.”

ORDER OF ARRIVAL (top ten)
1 Ganna Filippo INEOS Grenadiers 03:48:27
2 van Aert Wout Team Visma | Lease a Bike + 00
3 Wærenskjold Søren Uno-X Mobility + 01
4 Girmay Biniam NSN Cycling Team + 01
5 Pithie Laurence Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe + 01
6 Aular Orluis Movistar Team + 01
7 Laporte Christophe Team Visma | Lease a Bike + 01
8 Philipsen Jasper Alpecin-Premier Tech + 01
9 Braet Vito Lotto-Intermarché + 01
10 Pedersen Mads Lidl-Trek + 01