Classic Brugge-De Panne: Jasper Philipsen wins in chaotic sprint finish

Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) survived a chaotic bunch sprint to win Classic Brugge-De Panne ahead of Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) and Danny van Poppel (Bora-Hansgrohe) to defend his title in the race.

Philipsen narrowly managed to avoid a crash in the final 800m before latching onto Merlier's back wheel just before the sprint opened. At one point Merlier and Philipsen went shoulder-to-shoulder, almost causing another incident, as Van Poppel opened his sprint first.

By the time all three riders kicked for the line, Philipsen had the power to come through the middle and take the victory, just four days after winning Milan-San Remo.

“I hope to add more nice victories in the coming weeks. That would be nice because there are only important races to come. I think that the Classics season has already been a success for us, so everything extra is a cherry on top,” the winner said at the finish.

While Philipsen was congratulated by the live television broadcasters who interviewed him at the line, the same level of pleasantries were not extended by Merlier, with the Soudal rider remonstrating with Philipsen as soon as the pair crossed the line.

Merlier appeared frustrated with Philipsen’s tactics in the sprint. With around 200m to go, as van Poppel hit the front, Philipsen attempted to cut through against the barriers. Merlier, who was on van Poppel’s wheel at the time, tried to do the same, with the pair coming together and almost causing a crash. Merlier appeared to unclip as a result and lost his momentum as Philipsen charged through the vacant space to take the win.

In truth, Philipsen’s actions were unlikely to reach censor with the race officials, with both riders seemingly fighting for the same space, and Philipsen edging ahead in his one-on-one battle with Merlier in the early part of the season.

An early break in perfect conditions

Belgium in March is often typified by atrocious weather conditions and brutally tough racing but Wednesday saw bright skies and no threat of cross-winds as the peloton set out from the picture-postcard setting of Brugge for the 48th Classic Brugge-De Panne.

Thomas Gachignard (TotalEnergies), Luca De Meester (Bingoal-WB) and Victor Vercouillie (Flanders-Baloise) obliged by forming the morning break and duly collaborated to build up a healthy eight-minute lead as the peloton hit snooze and slumbered through the first two hours of racing.

With 75km to go the break’s advantage had been sliced in half, with the sprinters’ teams controlling affairs ahead of the much-anticipated bunch sprint. Lidl-Trek, Movistar, Astana Qazaqstan and Jayco-AlUla all patrolled the front of the main field and with 24km to go only Gachignard remained clear.

His 30-second lead was chipped away as the fight for position at the front of the peloton intensified, and with so much road furniture dotted around the small Belgian coastal roads, several crashes took place towards the rear of the field.

Van Poppel, at one point, was forced onto the grass, while Gachignard was swept up with 10km to go.

Astana Qazaqstan and Israel-Premier Tech set the pace through the final 5km but with so many fresh legs, and all the sprinters involved, the fight for position inside the final 1,000m became vital for victory. At one point Philisen found himself with ground to make up, having lost a handful of places on the final right-hand turn, but after narrowly avoiding a fall the Milan-San Remo winner jumped onto Merlier’s wheel before ploughing through the middle of the road to take his third victory of the season.