The story of this day in Belgian territory can only bring a smile to your face because Filippo Ganna was a true target of misfortune, but also the protagonist of a stunning victory. This is the third success of the season for the Italian athlete, his first on the road in this 2026 and certainly one of the most particular of his career.

The Dwars door Vlaanderen has always been an exciting race and in the afternoon the spectacle was truly of the highest level. Ganna really wanted this race and despite a puncture and a handlebar problem, as in a long time trial he managed to catch up with Wout van Aert, the great favorite of the day, and cross the finish line first. The last two corners were decisive and on the final straight, the Piedmontese rider overtook the Belgian to win his first Flemish Classic. "It wasn't easy in the final and I had to make an impressive effort to catch up with Wout. It was a bit unlucky day in the first part, after the first crash I broke my front wheel and continued, but then I had to change the bike and the handlebar. Fortunately things went better afterwards and luck smiled on me again".

Filippo Ganna in Flanders achieved his thirty-ninth career victory, the third of this season after the two time trials at Tirreno-Adriatico and the Volta ao Algarve. The one at Waregem is an important victory, because the boy from Verbania has shown that he can also win in the Belgian Classics.

"I felt good at Ghent and tried to help my teammates today. The team did extraordinary work for me. They gave me enormous support and in the end I tried to give it all back. An incredible victory... I definitely put in an impressive performance".

The victory was not a foregone conclusion because Wout Van Aert was leading, and he wanted to win this race more than anyone else. The Belgian fought with all his strength, but in the last kilometers Ganna's comeback was crazy and meter after meter, the Italian reached and overtook the Flemish rider, who had to settle for second place once again.

"It wasn't easy to catch him, but in the end I had the team that supported me until the end and yes, this victory is truly incredible. At the beginning I didn't think I could do it and maybe only in the last corner did I think that perhaps I could make it. I knew the group was chasing behind and I was afraid they would catch me because they were going really fast, so only at the end did I realize I could do it".

We won't see Filippo Ganna at the Tour of Flanders, but he will return to race at Paris-Roubaix, a race he knows very well because in 2016, he won the Under 23 edition of this Monument Classic. "This is my third victory of the season and it's definitely the most important one, especially with the upcoming races in mind. I can say I'm truly happy".