Classic Brugge–De Panne
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| Race details | |
|---|---|
| Date | Late March |
| Region | West Flanders, Belgium |
| English name | Classic Bruges – De Panne |
| Local name | Classic Brugge–De Panne (in Dutch) |
| Discipline | Road race |
| Competition | UCI World Tour (men) UCI Women's World Tour (women) |
| Type | Three day stage-race (until 2017) Single-day race (for men & women, since 2018) |
| Organiser | KVC Panne Sportief |
| Race director | Jan Nys |
| Men's race history | |
| First edition | 1977 |
| Editions | 49 (as of 2025) |
| First winner | File:Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Roger Rosiers (BEL) |
| Most wins | File:Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Eric Vanderaerden (BEL) (5 wins) |
| Most recent | File:Flag of Colombia.svg Juan Sebastián Molano (COL) |
| Women's race history | |
| First edition | 2018 |
| Editions | 8 (as of 2025) |
| First winner | File:Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Jolien D'Hoore (BEL) |
| Most wins |  Lorena Wiebes (NED) (2 wins) |
| Most recent | Lorena Wiebes (NED) |
The Classic Brugge–De Panne is a road cycling race in Belgium in late March. Since 2018 it is raced over two days with a men's race on Wednesday and a women's race on Thursday.[1] Both races start in Bruges and finish in the seaside resort of De Panne.[2] The race is considered a "sprinters classic", with many editions finishing in a sprint finish.[3]
The women's event is included in the UCI Women's World Tour; the men's race was part of the UCI Europe Tour as a 1.HC event, but was promoted to the UCI World Tour as a 1.WT event in 2019.[4]
History
[edit | edit source]Three Days of De Panne
[edit | edit source]The Three Days of De Panne was created in 1977 as a three-day cycling event in the week leading up to the Tour of Flanders, in late March or early April. The first day was usually a hilly stage starting in De Panne and finishing in the Flemish Ardennes. The second day held a long flat stage back to the Flemish coast, with a finish in Koksijde. The third day consisted of two stages that both started and finished in De Panne, of which the final stage was an individual time trial. Raced from Tuesday to Thursday, it was the last Flemish race ahead of the Tour of Flanders and was considered a desirable preparation for the main event on Sunday. Eric Vanderaerden, a strong sprinter and time triallist, won the race five times in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The race director had been Bernard Van de Kerckhove; after his death in 2015, the "Bernard Van de Kerckhove trophy" was created, given to the best young rider (U23) in the race.[5]
Three Days of Bruges–De Panne
[edit | edit source]Since 2018, the Three Days of De Panne is raced under a new format following a calendar switch with Dwars door Vlaanderen.[1][N 1] The race comes one week earlier, in the week following Milan–San Remo, and the men's event has morphed into a one-day race on Wednesday.[6] The Flemish Ardennes roads and the concluding time trial were abandoned in favour of a route entirely in the province of West Flanders. The iconic Kemmelberg and several cobbled sectors have a more prominent part in the new course.[7]
In order to continue the multi-day format, a women's event was inaugurated on the day after the men's race.[N 2] Both races start in Bruges and have two finishing circuits in and around De Panne. The women's race is part of the UCI Women's World Tour, cycling's top tier professional competition.[8][9] Jolien D'Hoore won the first running of the women's Three Days in a sprint.[10] Six of the eight editions of the women's race have finished in a sprint finish, with the race considered a "sprinters classic".
Winners
[edit | edit source]Men's race
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Multiple winners
[edit | edit source]| Wins | Rider | Editions |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | File:Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Eric Vanderaerden (BEL) | 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1993 |
| 2 | File:Flag of Italy.svg Michele Bartoli (ITA) | 1995, 1998 |
| Error creating thumbnail: Viatcheslav Ekimov (RUS) | 1996, 2000 | |
| File:Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Jasper Philipsen (BEL) | 2023, 2024 | |
| File:Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Peter Van Petegem (BEL) | 1999, 2002 | |
| File:Flag of France.svg Sylvain Chavanel (FRA) | 2012, 2013 |
Wins per country
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Women's race
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Multiple winners
[edit | edit source]| Wins | Rider | Editions |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | File:Flag of Italy.svg Elisa Balsamo (ITA) | 2022, 2024 |
| 2 | Lorena Wiebes (NED) |
2020, 2025 |
Wins per country
[edit | edit source]| Wins | Country |
|---|---|
| 3 | Netherlands
|
| 2 | File:Flag of Italy.svg Italy |
| 1 | File:Flag of Australia (converted).svg Australia File:Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Belgium File:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Great Britain |
Notes
[edit | edit source]- ^ Flanders Classics, organizer of Dwars door Vlaanderen, lobbied with UCI and was granted the date formerly held by the Three Days of De Panne. The organizers of the Three Days were granted the slot held by Dwars door Vlaanderen, but chose to shorten their race, as the next Flemish classic, E3 Harelbeke, is raced on a Friday.
- ^ Initially the Three Days organizers had another three-day concept in mind, with a two-day contest for men and one day for women. The event would kick off with a sprinters challenge on Tuesday, but this idea was abandoned due to a lack of teams' interest. However, organizers intend to return to a three-day format in the future.[1]
References
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