Video - Watch how close Seth Dunwoody was to U23 Gent Wevelgem win

Seth Dunwoody, second from left, was beaten to victory, in a bike throw, at U23 Gent Wevelgem, though the 19-year-old is now really confirming his credentials for the major classics (Photo: CA Photographies)

Seth Dunwoody (Bahrain Victorious Development) went into In Flanders Fields-Kattekoers (1.2U) - the U23 version of Gent-Wevelgem - as one of the big favourites for victory today, Sunday, but was just scuppered by a late attack.

Australian Cameron Rogers (Ineos Grenadiers Racing Academy) shot off the front solo with 1km remaining. He made the most of his TT abilities to power his way over the final cobbles to the line for victory, holding off Irishman Dunwoody by the width of a tyre, as you can see in the video below.

Emer Heverin (CAMS Majaco) took to the start of the junior women's race today, just 24 hours after a stunning 5th place finish at junior Liège-Bastogne-Liège. She was 41st today, 2:46 down on winner Laly Pichon (France).

In the U23 men's race, Dunwoody led the charge behind, taking 2nd place from a stacked line-up in the 20-rider select group that formed over 4½ hours of racing. And though Dunwoody at the others got up to Rogers on the line, the Australian just hung on.

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Dunwoody adds his 2nd place today to a very close 2nd at U23 Paris-Roubaix, confirming his cobbled classics credentials, if confirmation was needed.

Eñaut Urkaregi (Lidl-Trek Future Racing), one of Spain's best juniors last year, was 3rd, with U23 Paris Roubaix winner Davide Donati (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe Rookies) in 4th.

Ashlin Barry (Visma | Lease a Bike Development), son of former pro rider Michael Barry, and silver medal winner in the junior TT at the Worlds last year, was 5th. Guus van den Eijnden (Alpecin-Premier Tech Development Team), from the Netherlands, placed 6th.

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Though Dunwoody is only in his second season as an U23 rider, he spent the early part of the 2026 campaign riding for the Bahrain Victorious World Tour team, starting his season in at the deep end at AlUla Tour (2.Pro).

And as he has dipped back into U23 races with the development team, he has been one of the very strongest in the world on his favoured terrain; cobbled races with sprinting outcomes.

Though he told stickybottle his legs were not good at the week-long Le Tour de Bretagne Cycliste (2.2) two weeks ago, he still managed to take a 6th place finish on stage 6. And with that race, and some rest since then, in his legs, he has come good again today.

His result into Ypres today, at the end of 186km of racing, will be tinged with disappointment, especially as he was beaten by Donati in a bike throw at Paris-Roubaix, he is very much proving the man for the big occasion.

Today's course was also far from flat, another significant takeaway for Dunwoody who will be moving up to the World Tour ranks very soon for these sort of races.

The riders face six short and shot categorised climbs today, including three ascents of the feared Kemmelberg. The riders went to that today from the 'Belvedere' side - some 500m of cobbles with gradients going as high as 20 per cent.

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