With today's Brugge - De Panne, the classics calendar promised one of the few opportunities for the sprint specialists. 198km from Bruges to De Panne in West Flanders, with unusually little wind and no rain provided perfect conditions for a showdown of the sprinters. In the very hectic finale, Danny van Poppel was perfectly positioned, opened his sprint and secured 3rd, while J. Philipsen took the win.
Result
01 J. Philipsen 4:22:42
02 T. Merlier +0:00
03 D. Van Poppel +0:00
From the Finish Line
“It was a day that was all in for the sprinters. We tried to take control but in the last kilometre, I heard on the radio that Sam wasn’t up there and that I should go for it. I was aiming for at least a top ten, but I saw a gap and went for it. Jasper and Tim were really quick so I’m happy to finish off the team’s hard work with a podium result. I have to say it was pretty hard for me to move up in the peloton in the final 10km, but I took on the challenge and used my bike handling skills plus a bit of adrenaline to get through it.” Danny van Poppel
"Everything went according to plan for us up to kilometre 180. After that it became extremely hectic and chaotic. Our captain Sam Welsford didn't have the best legs today, so we decided to go for Danny van Poppel in the finale. He really impressed me today: 10 km before the finish he just managed to avoid a crash, fought his way back to the front through the entire peloton and then sprinted to the podium - chapeau!“ Heinrich Haussler, Sports Director