The GP Monseré is the next Belgian 1.1 race on the calendar. On Sunday, March 5, the peloton will ride in the second round of the Lotto Cycling Cup on Flemish roads to Roeselare, where a sprinter will probably win. The big eye-catcher on the entry list is Caleb Ewan, who is looking for his second win of the season. Who will succeed Arnaud De Lie? Cycling Flash looks ahead!
History
The Grand Prix Monseré does not have a great history. The first edition was organized in 2012, which means that we can speak of a young course. The name of the race refers to former cyclist Jean-Pierre Monseré. He was a top talent and at the age of 21, in 1969, was crowned winner of the Tour of Lombardy.
The year after his victory in Lombardy, Monseré became world champion in Leicester. A wonderful achievement, he was immediately seen as one of the riders of his generation. Many great victories were attributed to him in the future, but in 1971 disaster struck. During a fair race in Retie, Monseré crashed head-on into a stationary car. Monseré died immediately, at a much too young age.
Jakobsen won in 2020 – photo: Cor Vos
The GP Monseré is therefore without doubt a tribute to the rider and human being Jean-Pierre Monseré. In the beginning, the race was ‘only’ a fair race, but from 2017 the race obtained the 1.1 status. Many WorldTour teams were not at the start, but that mainly had to do with the date. After no longer driving in July, but in March in 2019, the course got a facelift. That also had to do with the fact that they joined the Cycling Cup of Nick Nuyens. The 2019 edition itself was not a success, because that edition did not materialize. Gusts of wind threw a spanner in the works.
There is no real record winner in the GP Monseré. In the ten editions, someone else won each time. The most striking name on the honors list: Laurens Sweeck. The Belgian cyclo-cross rider won the one-day race in 2017 ahead of Roy Jans and Jérôme Baugnies after a short solo. In recent years, a sprinter has always won the GP Monseré.
Last winners GP Monseré
2022: 
Arnaud DeLie
2021: Tim Merlier
2020: 
Fabio Jakobsen
2019: Not run due to gusts of wind
2018: André Looij
2017: Lauren Sweeck
2016: Lars Boom (Fair Course)
2015: Jürgen Roelandts (fairground race)
2014: Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (fairground race)
2013: Tom Van Asbroeck (fair course)
Latest edition
The race was colored last year by six riders in the opening phase. Thomas Joseph (Minerva), Robbe Ghys (Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise), Robin Orins (Elevate p/b Home Solution Soenens), Jon Knolle (Saris Rouvy Sauerland), Robert Scott (WiV SunGod) and Jonas Hvideberg (Team DSM) drove a good five minutes away from the peloton. After they had to stop for a closed level crossing, that lead diminished. The peloton then let them ride again for a while.
Furthermore, not too much happened in the GP Monseré. On the last time Gitsberg, Ludovic Robeet placed an attack, which drove eight seconds away from the rest. However, he was caught again at one and a half kilometers from the finish. So we sprinted for the win. Arnaud De Lie was clearly the strongest in that sprint and beat Dries De Bondt and Hugo Hofstetter. For De Lie it was his second professional victory of the season and his first on Belgian soil.
The stage – photo: Cor Vos
Results GP Monseré 2022
1. Arnaud De Lie (Lotto Soudal)
2. Dries De Bondt (Alpecin-Fenix)
3. 
Hugo Hofstetter (Arkéa Samsic)
4. Gerben Thijssen (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert)
5. 
Ethan Vernon (Quick-Step-Alpha Vinyl)
Match report
Journey
Last year, the organization wanted to make the GP Monseré a little heavier. She wanted to ensure that the race had a tougher final, so that a sprint was not an obvious scenario. Still, there was a sprint in Roeselare, something that also seems likely this weekend.
The start will be given in Ichtegem. After 198.6 kilometers – five kilometers less than last year – the riders arrive in Roeselare. After the start in Ichtegem, the peloton rides 25.2 kilometers to the finish in Roeselare. There the riders kick off the first local lap. They complete that round of 57.8 kilometers three times.
The route includes Hooglede, Handzame, Edewalle, Torhout, Gits and Beveren. The obstacles on that route are the Hoogledeberg, a slope that was also included in the route in previous editions. The climb is six hundred meters at 3.2 percent. A good ten kilometers later it is the turn of the Ruidenberg Street (1 km at 2.1%, max. 5.7%), which is new since last year.
Soon after the Ruidenbergstraat, the Lookhuisstraat (1.2 km at 1.5%, max. 4.6%) on. This obstacle is paved with cobblestones. Finally, there is also the Gitsberg, a cobblestone slope that has been etched in our memories since the 2011 Belgian championship. Philippe Gilbert blasted Tom Boonen off the wheel on the 400 meter cobblestones (average 3.2%, max. 5.8%) and flew towards the tricolor.
A novelty this year: the finish is not in the Beversesteenweg, but in the Kaaistraat. The last real bend is one kilometer from the finish line. The last hundreds of meters are in a slight bend, so good positioning is very important.
Sunday 5 March: Ichtegem – Roeselare (198.6km)
Start: 10.20 am
Finish: between 2.35 pm and 3.10 pm
Favorites
The biggest name on the start list is without a doubt Caleb Ewan. The Australian rider of Lotto Dstny is looking for his first victory on European soil in Belgium. At the beginning of this season he won the Schwalbe Classic in his own country by beating Jordi Meeus and Kaden Groves. A good start, but things didn’t go so well for Ewan later on. In the Tour Down Under and the UAE Tour he could not win. In that last round he was very narrowly beaten by Tim Merlier. When there is a sprint in Roeselare this Sunday, Ewan is the man to beat.
The strongest block at the start is Arkéa Samsic. They come to West Flanders with several strong riders. First, we look at Frenchman Hugo Hofstetter, which is always good in this kind of competition. Last year he finished third in the GP Monseré. In addition, there is also fast man Luca Mozzato with the French team, but also Belgian Jenthe Biermans and the revelation of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Mathis Le Berre we have to keep an eye on.
The exciting sprint of Ewan (right) and Merlier in the UAE Tour – photo: Cor Vos
Intermarché-Circus-Wanty also has several contenders on Sunday. The captain appears Gerben Thijssen to be. The Belgian sprinter already finished seventh in the UAE Tour this season. Limburger Thijssen must be able to win this race, especially if the race is made hard. He can use his teammates for that. Laurenz Rex and Madis Mikhels for example. Is Thijssen having a bad day? Then the Belgian team still has Niccolò Bonifazio up its sleeve.
At Alpecin-Deceuninck they have a similar selection. Of Jakub Mareczko they have a sprinter, with Jensen Plowright and Marceli Boguslawski second fast men behind them, and with Dries De Bondt is there anyone who can make the course hard. Mareczko will ride his first race of the season on Sunday, ex-Belgian champion De Bondt already has quite a few race days on his counter. De Bondt finished second in Monseré last year. With several fast men at the start, he will have to break open the course.
Thijssen wants to cheer for the first time this season – photo: Cor Vos
We already said it: fast men enough at the start. This is how Team DSM brings Sam Welsford a very strong contender for Flanders. The Australian won twice in the Vuelta a San Juan and beat a number of big names there. In the UAE Tour he piled up the rankings in the top 10, but was unable to win. Welsford can survive a tough race and is quick to finish. An ideal profile.
The same goes for the young Ethan Vernon, the sprinter on duty for Soudal Quick-Step. The Briton won a stage in Challenge Mallorca and was part of the Tour du Rwanda twice. Jordi Warlop is the backup for the Belgian team. The 26-year-old rider has also started the season well.
We are still looking at Piet Allegaert. The Cofidis driver does not rely on his fast legs, but is a dangerous rider. Allegaert races intelligently and also has some experience in these kinds of races. He can do it at a higher level, by the way. He proved that last weekend by finishing twelfth in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and thirteenth in Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne.
Finally, we mention a number of outsiders. They are Timothy Dupont (Tarteletto-Isorex), Sasha Weemaes (Human Powered Health), Arvid de Klein (Tudor), Thimo Willems (VolkerWessels), Timo Roosen (Jumbo-Visma) and Matteo Malucelli (Bingoal WB).
Favorites according to WielerFlits
**** Caleb Ewan
*** Hugo Hofstetter, Sam Welsford
** Gerben Thijssen, Ethan Vernon, Dries De Bondt
* Jenthe Biermans, Jakub Mareczko, Arvid de Kleijn, Piet Allegaert
Website organization
Participant list (ProCyclingStats)
Weather and TV
Sunday will be a very cold day. The mercury will not rise above 5 degrees Celsius and the wind will also be present. There will be a north wind with a force of 2 to 3 Beaufort. Rain is not expected in West Flanders.
The GP Monseré can be watched live on television in Belgium. Sporza op A comes with a broadcast at 1:40 p.m. At that time, too Eurosport 1 broadcast the Flemish one-day race. Are you unable to watch on television? Eurosport.nl, Discovery+ in GCN+ also come with a live stream. For more information you can always consult the article Cycling on TV.
