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Ronde Van Brugge Men LIVE: Echelons split the race on a windy day in Belgium.
The new-look mid-week Classic sees the sprinters out in force in Bruges
As well as Philipsen, Groenewegen and Molano, sprinters Mozzato and Lamperti are also in the front group.
The gap between the two groups is getting bigger. It’s approaching a minute – that might be too much for the race to come back together.
The small second group, that only contained four riders, have been caught by the large third group.
70KM TO GO
Molano, Philipsen and Rex all appear to be in the front group.
A second group has joined the first group, so there are now about 50 riders in the lead.
Dylan Groenewegen is in this front group with some teammates.
There are only about 12 riders in the front group, with multiple groups behind chasing.
Small gap are appearing all over this front group.
More splits, as they go through a crosswind section!
There are 25 seconds between the two groups.
UAE and Ineos are both contributing to the pace-setting in this front group.
Jasper Philipsen is in the front group.
80KM TO GO
The crach actually happened in the front group. Abram Stockman looked the worse off, but looks like he’ll continue.
And now there’s a crash in one of the trailing groups, with three riders down.
Echelons! The peloton has split once more.
The pace is really up now, and the peloton looks at breaking point.
Matthias Schwarzbacher crashed a little earlier, and has abandoned the race.
Fabio Jakobsen is one of a few riders who have been dropped as a result of this pace. The Dutch rider has continued to struggle for form this year.
Ineos are at the front of the peloton, and stretching it out.
The peloton finish the cobbles with no attack having gone clear.
90KM TO GO
Simon Dehairs of Jasper Philipsen’s Alpecin team has attacked on the cobbles, and got a small gap.
They’re back on the Brieversweg cobbles for the second time.
The race is continually fluctuating as the road constantly changes direction, with the riders aware of how wind could again disrupt the race around the corner.
Lidl-Trek are the team most prominent at the front of the peloton, despite the absence of their main men Jonathan Milan and Mads Pedersen.
The pace remains relatively slow and bunched up together.
100KM TO GO
This race is a rare thing in Belgium – one that hasn’t been won by Tom Boonen, even back when it was the Three Days of De Panne. The legendary Belgian will be back in action at the E3 classic on Friday, where he will be operating in the Soudal-QuickStep team car.
‘See if I still have any connection’ – Tom Boonen returns to Soudal-QuickStep fold with spot in team car for E3 Saxo Classic
There’s been a crash, with Daniel Cavia falling.
110KM TO GO
And the view from the back of the peloton while it was being split.
This was a sample of some of the echelon action a little earlier when UAE pressed on and managed to split the peloton temporarily.
120KM TO GO
Last year’s winner Juan Sebastian Molano at the start. His triumph here last year proved he can navigate the various difficulties this race throws at you, and is therefore one of the top contenders again this time even if his form has tailed off a little since a stage win at February’s Tour of Oman opening stage.
130KM TO GO
Again echelons form, but again the peloton comes back together after splitting briefly.
The riders rushing over the Brieversweg cobbles.
140KM TO GO
The wind is blowing, and it’s all kicking off, with some splits briefly opened up in the peloton.
Our run-down of the favourites for the win today, plus tomorrow’s women’s race.
New name, new route, new winners? – Analysing the contenders for the men’s and women’s Ronde Van Brugge
The two escapees, before they were brought back.
Serrano and Van Tricht have been brought back, meaning the race is all together again.
The riders are about to hit the day’s sole cobbled sector for the first time, the 1.3km Brieversweg. In truth it’s not especially tough, and will only be tackled three times. The wind is more of a problem at this race than the road surfaces.
150KM TO GO
Two riders have a gap of about ten seconds – Gonzalo Serrano of Movistar and Floris Van Tricht of NSN.
160KM TO GO
This is the day the cobbled classic seasons really intensifies, with the races coming thick and fast before the climactic week of the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. We had a think about what storylines will be the most intriguing to follow this spring.
The cobbled Classics storylines we’re looking forward to – From Van der Poel and Pogačar on the cusp of history to a different Demi Vollering and a resurgent Mads Pedersen
It’s been a bad start for Soudal-QuickStep with two of their men falling, but they remain strong candidates for the win with their sprinter Laurenz Rex. The Belgian has been in great form of late, with a runner-up finish at Le Samyn and 6th at Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne, and could today claim what would be the biggest win of his career.
170KM TO GO
We’re over 30km into the stage now and, despite multiple attempts, still nobody has managed to form a successful breakaway.
A glimpse of Jasper Philipsen at the start, the biggest name sprinter in the race and favourite for the victory.
Stage three of the Volta a Catalunya is also taking place today, and we have live coverage of that race too, that you can follow along with here.
Lidl-Trek’s Jakob Soderqvist had a flat tyre earlier, but is back in the peloton now.
180KM TO GO
Van Gestel back up and running after his fall.
The crash the Soudal riders were involved in.
It’s windy out there, but the riders have for now been spared the rain.
Alex Kirsch of Cofidis has also had a fall.
That has also already been a crash, with the Soudal-QuickStep riders Dries Van Gestel and Fabio Van den Bossche both involved.
190KM TO GO
Road furniture is another complicating factor of Brugge De Panne, with lots of small roundabouts like this one for the riders to contend with. Technique and bike handling skills are just as important here as speed and resilience.
The start was absent of one contender who was supposed to take part today – Milan Fretin, who pulled out due to illness.
OFFICIAL START
Excitingly for us spectators, albeit stressfully for the participants, it’s looking like wind could be a factor today. It’s blowing at about 15mph, which, given the twisty nature of the route and exposed roads, will likely see echelons form.
The calm before the storm – the riders moving through the neutralised section, before the flag drops and the battle to get into the breakaway commences.
Though it might be billed as a sprinters’ race, this being Belgium, things are never that straightforward. There are still cobbled sectors to contend with, exposed roads, and the weather – which today is forecasted to be cold and wet.
The riders at the start in Bruges.
The action will kick off in about ten minutes. Right now the rivers are making their way through the neutralised zone towards the official start.
Despite the changes, the race retains its identity as a sprinters’ classics and its pan flat parcours. Jasper Philipsen, Tim Merlier and Sam Bennett are among the past winners, and we can expect those of similar ilk to be in contention today.
Rider safety has been cited as one of the reasons for the change of finale. Last year’s finish in De Panne was a chaotic affair, with many of the top favourites going down in multiple late crashes that occurred on the technical roads – the organisers wanted to avoid a repeat of that this year.
This race will be more familiar to most as the Classic Brugge-De Panne, but has changed its name and has an altered route, that will both start and finish in Bruges and bypass its former finish on the coast of De Panne.
Hello and welcome to the 2026 Ronde Van Brugge!
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