Multiple crashes in 5 kilometers - Juan Sebastián Molano wins apocalyptic finale to Classic Brugge-De Panne
Cycling
This year's Classic Brugge-De Panne had what was perhaps the most chaotic finale possibly imaginable. Most of the main favourites crashed in the final 5 kilometers, as there were several falls that effectively cut the peloton to around 20 riders by the time of the final sprint. There, Juan Sebastián Molano took a strong win after a very early sprint.
The pan-flat race hosted many and most of the world's very best sprinters, and with the wind not blowing very hard today, a regular bunch sprint was expected and very hard to prevent. Five riders formed the day's breakaway featuring a surprising António Morgado, Hartthijs de Vries, Jorem Bloem, Michiel Lambrecht and Victor Vercouillie gave the day some much deserved action.
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The group collaborated well and held on despite the very high average speed on the day, and with 15 kilometers to go De Vries launched his own move to go solo off the front. The Unibet Tietema Rockets rider resisted the surging peloton very well, and inside the final 5 kilometers crashes began to happen in the peloton involving several riders.
The Dutchman was absorbed by the peloton with just over 2 kilometers to go, seconds later there was yet another mass crash taking out within others Milan Fretin and Arnaud De Lie, cutting the peloton into around a mere 40 riders. It became a pure game of survival as inside the final kilometers there was yet another mass crash in what remained of the peloton, where at least Tim Merlier went down.
Juan Sebastián Molano, within the absolute chaos, launched his sprint with 450 meters to go, quickly getting a gap as he did not have a response. The UAE Team Emirates - XRG rider's bold tactic worked to perfection as he took advantage of the hesitation from a few other sprinters, and after a brutally long sprint the Colombian took what might be the biggest victory of his career. Jonathan Milan was second on the day, the fastest in the sprint but not able to catch Molano.
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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- I see I missed a lot during my boycott.Jumpyjohn05-11-2026
- What kind of sauce is on that rice? Ketchup?Kbd05-11-2026
- 18 broken bones. 78 crashes, among 30 rider per year is a lot. so for a rider over 15 seasons, they will break their bones 7-8 times and crash 38 times.abstractengineer04-11-2026
- i dont think he is ready ot win against the top 2 or the 2nd rung of evenepoel, del toro , Almeida. In the third week in the TDF he was very very defensive, no attacks. i think he was exhausted. right now he needs time not the brutal Giro or the intense TDF.abstractengineer04-11-2026
- Rota is an excellent rider to get in a break with because he always does his turnchapmanesque04-11-2026
- That 3000 extra that the Tour de France is built up in the flat stages
Rafionain-Glas04-11-2026 - maybe this is something else they can protest in the streets of France.mij04-11-2026
- his Roubaix win was amazing. not to take anything away from him - arguably one of MVDP's wins was at the expense of a WVA flat - but so many things need to line up to get one of these. He had a perfect race with fewer bike issues on an attritional course. And crazy strong as usual. Glad he got this done.mij04-11-2026
- Orts was a super smart signing with the new rules regarding cross and UCI pointsmij04-11-2026
- Podcast sounds great. Two so called experts stating the f*cking obvious.wrsty04-11-2026
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