Classic Bruges-De Panne: Route, elevation profile, favourites, start list & TV coverage
Thomas Goldmann
· 21.03.2023
The Classic Bruges-De Panne is after Milan-San Remo the next one-day race on the World Tour calendar. On Wednesday, 22 March, some of the top stars of the professional cycling scene will meet in Belgium. There has also been a women's race since 2018, which is part of the UCI Women's World Tour, but is only held on Thursday.
Classic Bruges-De Panne Successor to the Three Days of De Panne
The Classic Bruges-De Panne race is the successor to the Three Days of De Panne ("Driedaagse van De Panne" in Flemish). As the name suggests, the Three Days of De Panne used to be organised as a multi-stage race around the small town of De Panne in West Flanders. The short tour usually consisted of two road stages as well as a half-stage on the morning of the third day and an individual time trial on the afternoon of the third day. Since 2018, the event has been a one-day race.
Belgian Eric Vanderaerden is the record winner with five victories. In its new format as a one-day race, the Classic Bruges-De Panne suits the sprinters very well. With Tim Merlier (2022) and Sam Bennett (2021), two world-class sprinters have prevailed in the last two years.
Classic Bruges-De Panne: The route
The men's race covers 211 kilometres from Bruges westwards to De Panne. After around 60 kilometres, the finish line is reached, where three more laps are completed. As there is a lack of topographical obstacles, the wind could once again become the main selection factor. Wind speeds of up to 55 kilometres per hour are forecast for Wednesday.
This should be less critical on the way to the finish area, as the wind should mostly come from the front. However, on the sometimes very exposed circuit around De Panne, the crosswind in combination with the possible onset of rain could tear the peloton apart. In 2020, similar wind conditions prevailed during Yves Lampaert's victory, which made for a chaotic race.
- Official start of the men's race: 12:00
- Arrival at the finish: ~16:41 - 17:24
Classic Bruges-De Panne: The favourites
The who's who of sprinters meet in West Flanders: Fabio Jakobsen (Soudal - Quick Step), Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Olav Kooij (Jumbo-Visma), Dylan Groenewegen (Team Jayco-AlUla), Caleb Ewan (Lotto-Dstny), Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe), Fernando Gaviria (Movistar), Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan Team), Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain-Victorious), Gerben Thijssen (Intermarche-Circus-Wanty), Alberto Dainese, Sam Welsford (both Team DSM) and Pascal Ackermann and Juan Sebastian Molano (both UAE Team Emirates) to name but a few. Experience has shown that the Belgian and Dutch teams are particularly strong in these races and also - if the wind plays a significant role, as suspected in the track preview.
Classic Bruges-De Panne: TV broadcast & live stream
The men's and women's races of the Classic Bruges-De Panne 2023 can be seen live on Eurosport 2. Broadcast starts at 14:45 in each case. Those looking for a live stream will find it on Discovery+ and GCN+ (both via paid subscription).
The transmission times
- Men | Wednesday, 22.03. | 14:45 - 17:00 Eurosport 2
- Women | Thursday, 23.03. | 14:45 - 16:45 Eurosport 2
Participants Classic Bruges-De Panne - the start list
- 1 Fabio Jakobsen
- 2 Tim Declercq
- 3 Davide Ballerini
- 4 Yves Lampaert
- 5 Jannik Steimle
- 6 Bert van Lerberghe
- 7 Ethan Vernon
- 11 Dylan Groenewegen
- 12 Luke Durbridge
- 13 Luka Mezgec
- 14 Kelland O'Brien
- 15 Campbell Stewart
- 16 Elmar Reinders
- 21 Fernando Gaviria
- 22 Ivan Romeo
- 23 Johan Jacobs
- 24 Mathias Norsgaard
- 25 Albert Torres
- 26 Oier Lazkano
- 27 Lluis Mas
- 31 Jasper Philipsen
- 32 Alexander Krieger
- 33 Maurice Ballerstedt
- 34 Edward Planckaert
- 35 Ramon Sinkeldam
- 36 Lionel Taminiaux
- 37 Jonas Rickaert
- 41 Sam Bennett
- 42 Shane Archbold
- 43 Danny van Poppel
- 44 Jonas Koch
- 45 Maximilian Schachmann
- 46 Jordi Meeus
- 47 Ryan Mullen
- 51 Tom Scully
- 52 Julius van den Berg
- 53 Owain Doull
- 54 Jens Keukeleire
- 55 Jonas Rutsch
- 56 Marijn van den Berg
- 57 Lukasz Wisniowski
- 61 Pascal Ackermann
- 62 Ryan Gibbons
- 63 Mikkel Bjerg
- 64 Felix Groß
- 65 Vegard Stake lengths
- 66 Juan Sebastian Molano
- 67 Michael Vink
- 71 Arnaud Demare
- 72 Ignatas Konovalovas
- 73 Fabian Lienhard
- 74 Laurence Pithie
- 75 Paul Penhoet
- 76 Samuel Watson
- 77 Bram Welten
- 81 Edward Theuns
- 82 Emils Liepins
- 83 Thibau Nys
- 84 Alex Kirsch
- 85 Markus Hoelgaard
- 86 Otto Vergaerde
- 87 Toms Skujins
- 91 Mark Cavendish
- 92 Dmitriy Gruzdev
- 93 Davide Martinelli
- 94 Cees Bol
- 95 Yevgeniy Gidich
- 96 Yevgeniy Fedorov
- 97 Leonardo Basso
- 101 Tosh van der Sande
- 102 Olav Kooij
- 103 Timo Roosen
- 104 Lennard Hofstede
- 105 Mick van Dijke
- 106 Tim van Dijke
- 107 Jos van Emden
- 111 Alberto Dainese
- 112 Patrick Bevin
- 113 Alexander Edmondson
- 114 Casper van Uden
- 115 Marius Mayrhofer
- 116 Tim Naberman
- 117 Sam Welsford
- 121 Phil Bauhaus
- 122 Matevz Govekar
- 123 Kamil Gradek
- 124 Filip Maciejuk
- 125 Jonathan Milan
- 126 Dusan Rajovic
- 127 Cameron Scott
- 131 Maximilian Walscheid
- 132 Davide Cimolai
- 133 Simone Consonni
- 134 Wesley Kreder
- 135 Christophe Noppe
- 136 Piet Alegaert
- 137 Jelle Wallays
- 141 Niccolo Bonifazio
- 142 Julius Johansen
- 143 Adrien Petit
- 144 Baptiste Planckaert
- 145 Laurenz Rex
- 146 Gerben Thijssen
- 147 Boy van Poppel
- 151 David Dekker
- 152 Laurent Pichon
- 153 Daniel McLay
- 154 Mathis Le Berre
- 155 Luca Mozzato
- 156 Alan Riou
- 157 Clement Russo
Uno-X Pro Cycling Team
- 161 Lasse Norman Leth
- 162 Stian Fredheim
- 163 Tord Gudmestad
- 164 Louis Bendixen
- 165 William Levy Blume
- 166 Erik Nordsaeter Resell
- 167 Sören Waerenskjold
Israel-Premier Tech
- 171 Sep Vanmarcke
- 172 Itamar Unicorn
- 173 Jens Reynders
- 174 Guy Sagiv
- 175 Tom van Asbroeck
- 177 Rick Zabel
Lotto-Dstny
- 181 Caleb Ewan
- 182 Jasper De Buyst
- 183 Frederik Frison
- 184 Sebastien Grignard
- 185 Michael Schwarzmann
- 186 Cedric Beullens
- 187 Jarrad Drizners
Team Flanders-Baloise
- 191 Ruben Apers
- 192 Sander De Pestel
- 193 Tuur Dens
- 194 Milan Fretin
- 195 Vince Gerits
- 196 Jules Hester
- 197 Noah Vandenbranden
TotalEnergies
- 201 Thomas Bonnet
- 202 Emilien Jeanniere
- 203 Lorenzo Manzin
- 204 Geoffrey Soupe
- 205 Jason Tesson
- 207 Matteo Vercher
Bingoal WB
- 211 Guillaume van Keirsbulck
- 212 Ceriel Desal
- 213 Johan Meens
- 214 Matteo Malucelli
- 215 Ludovic Robeet
- 216 Dorian De Maeght
- 217 Louis Blouwe
Classic Bruges-De Panne: Women's race
The women's competition has existed since 2018 and has been part of the UCI Women's World Tour since it was first organised. The women ride one day after the men over 163.1 kilometres from Bruges to De Panne and complete two finishing laps there instead of three as with the men.
- Official start: 12:55
- Arrival at the finish: ~16:32 - 17:05
Classic Bruges-De Panne: The most important information at a glance
Date: Wednesday 22 March (men), Thursday 23 March (women)
Distance: 211 kilometres (men), 163.1 kilometres (women)
Edition: 47th (men) 6th ladies (men)
Record winner: Eric Vanderaerden (Belgium), five victories
List of winners
- 2018 Jolien d'Hoore (Belgium)
- 2019 Kirsten Wild (Netherlands)
- 2020 Lorena Wiebes (Netherlands)
- 2021 Grace Brown (Australia)
- 2022 Elisa Balsamo (Italy)
List of winners
- 1977 Roger Rosiers (Belgium)
- 1978 Guido van Sweevelt (Belgium)
- 1979 Gustaaf van Roosbroeck (Belgium)
- 1980 Sean Kelly (Ireland)
- 1981 Jan Bogaert (Belgium)
- 1982 Gerrie Knetemann (Netherlands)
- 1983 Cees Priem (Netherlands)
- 1984 Bert Oosterbosch (Netherlands)
- 1985 Jean-Luc Vandenbroucke (Belgium)
- 1986 Eric Vanderaerden (Belgium)
- 1987 Eric Vanderaerden (Belgium)
- 1988 Eric Vanderaerden (Belgium)
- 1989 Eric Vanderaerden (Belgium)
- 1990 Erwin Nijboer (Netherlands)
- 1991 Jelle Nijdam (Netherlands)
- 1992 Frans Maassen (Netherlands)
- 1993 Eric Vanderaerden (Belgium)
- 1994 Fabio Roscioli (Italy)
- 1995 Michele Bartoli (Italy)
- 1996 Viatcheslav Ekimov (Russia)
- 1997 Johan Museeuw (Belgium)
- 1998 Michele Bartoli (Italy)
- 1999 Peter van Petegem (Belgium)
- 2000 Viatcheslav Ekimov (Russia)
- 2001 Nico Mattan (Belgium)
- 2002 Peter van Petegem (Belgium)
- 2003 Raivis Belohvosciks (Latvia)
- 2004 George Hincapie (USA)
- 2005 Stijn Devolder (Belgium)
- 2006 Leif Hoste (Belgium)
- 2007 Alessandro Ballan (Italy)
- 2008 Joost Posthuma (Netherlands)
- 2009 Frederik Willems (Belgium)
- 2010 David Millar (Great Britain)
- 2011 Sebastien Rosseler (Belgium)
- 2012 Sylvain Chavanel (France)
- 2013 Sylvain Chavanel (France)
- 2014 Guillaume van Keirsbulck (Belgium)
- 2015 Alexander Kristoff (Norway)
- 2016 Lieuwe Westra (Netherlands)
- 2017 Philippe Gilbert (Belgium)
- 2018 Elia Viviani (Italy)
- 2019 Dylan Groenewegen (Netherlands)
- 2020 Yves Lampaert (Belgium)
- 2021 Sam Bennett (Ireland)
- 2022 Tim Merlier (Belgium)
