Preview Classic Brugge-De Panne 2024 | Philipsen and Merlier bring credentials to sprinters' World Championship

Classic Brugge-De Panne is a WorldTour event that follows the stage race Three Days of De Panne-Koksijde, which was organized over several days until 2017. Among the last winners of that format are Alexander Kristoff, the late Lieuwe Westra and finally Philippe Gilbert, who managed to win the race in 2017.

In 2018, the race continued as a one-day event, when Elia Viviani managed to win. The following year, Dylan Groenewegen took the title, and then the 2020 echelon edition was added to Yves Lampaert's list of victories. Sam Bennett and Tim Merlier won the bunch sprints in 2021 and 2022, while Jasper Philipsen will start this year's edition as the defending champion. He won after an echelon battle in 2023, ahead of Olav Kooij.

2023 Jasper Philipsen
2022 Tim Merlier
2021 Sam Bennett
2020 Yves Lampaert
2019 Dylan Groenewegen
2018 Elia Viviani
2017 Philippe Gilbert
2016 Lieuwe Westra
2015 Alexander Kristoff
2014 Guillaume Van Keirsbulck

Brugge-De Panne, as the name suggests, starts in Brugge, the city in West Flanders. The peloton is set loose just after midday, starting from the Grote Markt, then heading in a straight line to the finish in De Panne, passing through Zedelgem, Nieuwpoort and Veurne, among others. After 67.5 kilometers, we arrive in De Panne for the first time.

At that point, there are still just over 130 kilometers left to race, divided over three local laps in and around De Panne. These laps are 44 kilometers long and take the peloton through De Moeren, the well-known area in West Flanders where the wind usually has free rein. Just last week in Bredene-Koksijde, we saw what that can mean for a race.

The final stretch towards the finish on Zeelaan is slightly uphill, so timing is also crucial for a potential bunch sprint on the Belgian coast.

Weather
As we're on the coast, the weather forecast for Brugge-De Panne naturally focuses on the wind, but that seems not to be significant on Wednesday. The wind is expected to blow at about eleven kilometers per hour from the south, with temperatures around 15 degrees Celsius.

Times
Start: 12:50 PM
Finish: approximately 5:20 PM

The Classic Brugge-De Panne 2024 is expected to be a sprinters' race, and the field of participants has been assembled accordingly. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck), right after winning Milan-San Remo, is the biggest name in the lineup. The Belgian proved last season that he is capable of more than just sprinting, by making the race in De Moeren and then finishing the job with flair in De Panne.

Another Belgian who has been impressive in sprints this season is Tim Merlier of Soudal Quick-Step, who has already claimed six wins this season and would be eager to add one more in Brugge-De Panne. His performances in Nokere Koerse and Tirreno-Adriatico have already shown that he can compete with Philipsen, so that promises a great battle in this race.

Then there are the Dutch riders who have been on the verge of victory: Fabio Jakobsen (DSM-Firmenich PostNL) and Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco AlUla) have been consistent all season, and as born winners, they will be looking for a big win. Both riders have a strong lead-out, so that should not be an issue.

Danny van Poppel, along with Sam Welsford as a sprinter, was successful in the Tour Down Under, but they did not shine in the UAE Tour. In Brugge-De Panne, the Aussie starts his short classics campaign. Other riders who have been successful in WorldTour sprints this season include Arvid De Kleijn (Tudor, stage win in Paris-Nice), Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious, win in Tirreno-Adriatico) and Laurence Pithie, who won the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race for Groupama-FDJ. Luca Mozzato is also participating on behalf of Arkéa - B&B Hotels as the winner of the Bredene Koksijde Classic, alongside Arnaud Démare.

Other fast guys at the starting line include Fernando Gaviria (Movistar), Juan Sebastian Molano (UAE-Team Emirates), Pascal Ackermann (Israel-Premier Tech), Jordi Meeus (BORA-hansgrohe), Stanislaw Aniolkowski, Milan Fretin (Cofidis), Edward Theuns, Simone Consonni (Lidl-Trek), Milan Menten (Lotto-Dstny) and Matteo Moschetti (Q36.5).

In a scenario where racing occurs in the wind zone, we expect riders like Jasper Stuyven (Lidl-Trek), Stefan Bissegger (EF Education-EasyPost), Nils Politt (UAE-Team Emirates) and Anthony Turgis from TotalEnergies to emerge.

Top favorites: Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step)
Outsiders: Gerben Thijssen (Intermarché-Wanty), Fabio Jakobsen (dsm-firmenich PostNL), Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco AlUla) and Sam Welsford (BORA-hansgrohe)
Long shots: Arvid De Kleijn (Tudor), Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious), Fernando Gaviria (Movistar), Juan Sebastian Molano (UAE-Team Emirates), Pascal Ackermann (Israel-Premier Tech), Laurence Pithie (Groupama-FDJ), Luca Mozzato and Arnaud Démare (Arkéa - B&B Hotels) 

Those who want to watch Brugge-De Panne live on Wednesday can head on over to VRT 1 and Eurosport. The Belgian channel will be broadcasting the race from around 3 PM with live images, while Eurosport will do so on its online platforms, starting from the same time. After the finish of the Tour of Catalonia, the main channel will also switch to Brugge-De Panne.