Ronde van Brugge 2026: the most important facts in brief
- Date: 25 March 2026 (men), 26 March 2026 (women)
- Distance202.9 kilometres (men), 143.8 kilometres (women)
- StartBruges, GoalBruges
- UCI category: (Women's) WorldTour
- Premiere: 1977 (men), 2018 (women)
- Last year's winnerJuan Sebastián Molano, Lorena Wiebes
Many people don't even realise it: Bruges-De Panne was not a classic one-day race for a long time. This change only came about in 2018 - and under rather unusual circumstances. Until then, strictly speaking, there was no Bruges-De Panne for men, but rather the Three Days of De Panne, a compact tour that had secured itself a permanent and prominent place in the week before the Tour of Flanders over the years.
However, this came to an end in 2017. The very next year, Quer durch Flandern was moved to the Wednesday before the Monument. As there was no more room for a multi-day race in the already tightly scheduled Belgian spring calendar, the organising Royal Cycling Club Panne took the logical step: the mini-tour became a one-day race - twice, namely for men and women.
Ronde van Brugge 2026 - the route
The new name will be accompanied by a new route this year. Until 2025, the one-day race always headed from Bruges towards the coast and westwards to De Panne. This year, the peloton will see neither the coast nor De Panne. From Bruges, the route heads south to Torhout. The route continues through Wingene and Beernem until it finally reaches the circuit around Bruges. Here the women have to complete one lap and the men two. The cobblestone passage on the Brieversweg is also new for this edition. Just under 1.3 kilometres long, this section has to be completed twice by the women and three times by the men.
Ronde van Brugge 2026: TV broadcast and livestream
In Germany, neither the men's nor the women's race will be shown live on television. However, there will be a paid live stream of both races on Discovery Plus. The races will be broadcast there from 15:15.
The favourites
Even with the new route, the chances of a sprinter winning are very good. As in previous years, a decisive factor is the wind, which can lead to splits in the peloton. Positioning is therefore all the more important for contenders for victory - a small break at the back of the peloton can have fatal consequences.
In the men's race, last year's winner Juan Sebastián Molano is back at the start and will attempt to defend his title. Meanwhile, Jasper Philipsen could claim his third victory in the Belgian race. The 28-year-old's form seems to be on the rise again; he recently won the Danilith Nokere Koerse one-day race, beating Molano among others.
From a German perspective, it is pleasing that several riders could also be among the front runners. Tim Torn Teutenberg and Max Walscheid are in the line-up for the German team Lidl-Trek, but Simone Consonni could also be included as a sprinter. Phil Bauhaus and Max Kanter, on the other hand, are likely to start as the clearly defined sprinters for their teams. Kanter comes to Belgium with a stage win at Paris-Nice and therefore a lot of tailwind. Dylan Groenewegen, Fabio Jakobsen, Pavel Bittner, Sam Welsford, Cees Bol and Luke Lamperti also have a small chance of victory - should it come down to a sprint. There is no guarantee of this, as the wind can always throw a spanner in the works for individual riders.
The favourites
Surprisingly, last year's women's winner is still at the start of the race. Lorena Wiebes was initially not in her team's line-up, but announced her appearance at short notice. Two-time winner Elisa Balsamo is also in her team's line-up. However, the presence of Wiebes means that the Italian Balsamo, together with Charlotte Kool, Chiara Consonni and Ally Wollaston, can only be named in the second tier of favourites. Wiebes is the clear top favourite.
There are also a number of riders in the women's race who still have a chance of winning if the race goes well. Georgia Baker, Kathrin Schweinberger, Maggie Coles-Lyster and Marta Lach are just a few of the lurking candidates. The following also applies here: the strongest sprinters usually decide the top podium place among themselves, but if there are wind edges, the race can quickly take a different course. Riders who are betting on the run to the front do not have to bury their chances before the race, but can hope for favourable conditions.
Leon Weidner
Working student
