HEROIC or RECKLESS? The 2015 Gent-Wevelgem
Gent-Wevelgem 2015 is remembered as one of the most brutal editions in the race's history. Force 8 winds tear through the peloton before the riders even reach the first climb, blowing men clean off their bikes and into the ditches lining the course. Of the 200 starters, only 39 will make it to the finish. On the first ascent of the Kemmelberg, Belgian rider Jürgen Roelandts attacks alone. With over 70 kilometers still to race, he pushes into the wind and rain on his own, building a lead of nearly two minutes over the scattered group of favorites behind him — among them Sep Vanmarcke, Niki Terpstra, Geraint Thomas, and 38-year-old Luca Paolini. Roelandts holds his advantage through the first half of his escape, but after the second climb of the Kemmelberg — 50 kilometers into his solo effort — the gap finally closes. His fairytale ends within sight of the finish. I was running on empty, he would say afterward. Behind him, the chase regroups. Niki Terpstra attacks first, but only Paolini can follow. Five kilometers from the line, the Italian plays his final card — and no one can answer. Luca Paolini, a rider many had written off in the twilight of his career, crosses the line for what he would call the greatest victory of his life. This was real cycling, he said. The line between heroism and recklessness runs through every kilometer of this race — through the riders who kept going, the ones who didn't, and the one who finally won it.
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