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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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