Triple world champion Oscar Freire won Gent-Wevelgem in a sprint finish, becoming the first Spaniard to win the Belgian one-day classic.

The 209km race is largely flat and a bunch finish was inevitable after the Kemmelberg climb failed to create a significant split in the main group.

Rabobank's Freire was the fastest man at the end of the 70th edition, beating out fellow speedsters Aurelien Clerc (Bouygues Télécom), Wouter Weylandt (Quick Step) and German veteran Erik Zabel.

22-year-old Briton Mark Cavendish did not feature in the final shake-up but compatriot Roger Hammond was a creditable tenth.