PREVIEW | Classic Brugge-De Panne 2023 - THE best sprinter field of the year and strong winds to make for brilliant spectacle
Cycling
Preview. On the 22nd of March the peloton tackles one of it's most prestigious spring classics. The Classic Brugge-De Panne is one for the sprinters and quite frequently lures in some of the best sprinter fields of the entire season.
The 212.5-kilometer race takes a traditional route into the Atlantic sea. It's now a fully sprinter-guided classic and the profile shows it. There are only around 250 meters of climbing throughout the whole day, not a single climb, no cobblestones, nothing but pan-flat roads that will set up for a bunch sprint in De Panne.
Start Time: 12:00CET.
Finish Time: 17:00CET.
Brugge - De Panne, 212.5 kilometers
It is a day with very little to detail. After the start in Brugge the riders head towards the southwest until reaching De Panne. Then, the riders take on three laps of a long circuit in the town around the towns of Koksijde and Veurne.
Pan-flat and wide roads. Perfect leadout territory, all sprinter teams will need to study the final kilometers in full detail. The riders will also have the chance to practice throughout the day. The finale is not technical but not easy, they will leave the main road with just 800 meters to go and go into an urban fast road. It will be a relatively narrow finale with a slight right-hander with 300 meters to go.
Classic Brugge-De Panne Finale
The Weather
Map Classic Brugge-De Panne 2023
Classic De Panne weather. There may be some rain on the day, but it's the wind that will mark the race. Echelons are imminent, and almost certain. There will be strong southwestern wind, and the whole route will be exposed, mostly on pan-flat and open rural fields. It will likely come down to a sprint, a late attack could succeed as cross and tailwinds will be present in the end, and the final sprint will also have a tailwind.
The Favourites
Fabio Jakobsen - A stage win at Tirreno-Adriatico gave back some confidence. It hasn't been an easy year for Jakobsen, who absolutely needs to keep proving his worth if he wants to lead Quick-Step at the Tour de France. He's not the most complete sprinter, but the Belgian team are experts at riding the crosswinds.
Dylan Groenewegen - Groenewegen has also shown speed at Tirreno-Adriatico. A pure sprinter, he'd benefit from a calm day before the finish. I think the crosswinds won't be good for him and the Australian team, but simultaneously sometimes it comes down to luck, and if he's in the right split he could take his second World Tour win of the year.
Jasper Philipsen - Milano-Sanremo was a strong performance, but it's in the sprints that Philipsen has proven himself. He's won two stages at Tirreno-Adriatico and is brilliant at positioning. Alpecin on the downside have a very modest team in relation to rivals here, so he will likely need to do a lot of work on his own.
Fernando Gaviria - Gaviria has looked sharp this year. Motivated and with an aero bike now at long last, the Colombian has been showing a lot of speed since January where he won at the Vuelta a San Juan. He was very close to winning Milano-Torino, the most recent sprinter's race, and will be a big candidate here.
Sam Bennett & Jordi Meeus - BORA have a difficult situation. A brilliant leadout, on a normal day they'd have the chance of having Danny van Poppel leadout Bennett, whilst Meeus would have freedom. The winds may decide for them what to do, however in my eye all three will have freedom. However when crosswinds are likely the German team may have issues deciding on what to do.
Olav Kooij - Kooij has taken a win at Paris-Nice, and he has proven to be great at positioning. Echelons may be a different challenge however for such a young rider, however despite a modest team, Jumbo-Visma is full of experienced riders and could help him succeed.
Juan Sebastián Molano - Molano has shown great speed with a win at the UAE Tour, but recently has also performed immensely well at the GP de Denain where he won a cobbled race. At Bredene he led out Pascal Ackermann, but most certainly that won't be happening here after the team missed the win. Molano can be a true surprise.
Phil Bauhaus - The German has won a stage at the Tour Down Under, but has also performed well in recent races. A mixed team of youth and raw power, I wouldn't say he's the most likely sprinter to survive crosswinds, but he's an outsider.
Caleb Ewan - Ewan will likely struggle in the wind. He has in the past performed well, but a skinny rider in the middle of a peloton of powerhouse heavyweights will be complicated. Positioning is frequently a problem for the Pocket Rocket as well, both echelons and a sprint could be tricky for Lotto Dstny.
Sam Welsford & Alberto Dainese - Welsford has been showing incredible speed this season. He could be a prime favourite to win here, but I fear Team DSM may have too much work for such a young and inexperienced team. Alberto Dainese and Marius Mayrhofer will likely try to survive too which gives less supporting riders, but on the upside it gives them more sprinters who could infiltrate a front group.
Gerben Thijssen - Winner of the GP Jean-Pierre Monseré and the Bredene Koksijde Classic, Thijssen is in great form in the Belgian sprints. He's got the speed and Intermarché have their leadout very well dialed. In crosswinds however that isn't proven.
Arnaud Démare - Démare has been far from his best this year. Aiming for 10 wins but the first is yet to come, and in fact he's not yet cracked a Top10 at all in 2023. Here he could, his past leadout men now serve rival sprinters but he will have his new 2023 leadout all assembled here, it could be a turning point.
Mark Cavendish - In reality wouldn't be a contender to me, but at the UAE Tour he did survive the echelons very well on the opening day. That gives him some possibilities. Unlikely, Astana probably eyes Cees Bol for the day, but Cavendish has done very well in the past on such races and could try to surprise.
If all of the names above weren't enough, the field is even bigger. Virtually no fast men have travelled to the Volta a Catalunya and the Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali, and in the very center of the spring all of them should be in good form - or at least try. Crosswinds could also throw some of these riders into the fight for the victory itself. Some of them, such as Matteo Malucelli, Marijn van den Berg and Simone Consonni have already won this year, it wouldn't be a debut.
Edward Theuns will lead Trek - Segafredo, Dan McLay will lead Arkéa Samsic. Alongside Consonni Cofidis will also have German powerhouse Max Walscheid as an option. Uno-X will have Soren Waerenskjold whilst Israel - Premier Tech will support Itamar Einhorn.
Prediction Classic Brugge-De Panne:
*** Jasper Philipsen, Fabio Jakobsen, Olav Kooij
** Dylan Groenewegen, Fernando Gaviria, Sam Bennett, Sam Welsford, Juan Sebastián Molano
* Jordi Meeus, Gerben Thijssen, Phil Bauhaus, Caleb Ewan, Arnaud Démare, Marijn van den Berg, Edward Theuns, Max Walscheid
** Dylan Groenewegen, Fernando Gaviria, Sam Bennett, Sam Welsford, Juan Sebastián Molano
* Jordi Meeus, Gerben Thijssen, Phil Bauhaus, Caleb Ewan, Arnaud Démare, Marijn van den Berg, Edward Theuns, Max Walscheid
Pick: Jasper Philipsen
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
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.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- for what?frieders311-11-2026
- Blah blah blah!frieders311-11-2026
- Where Merckx just rode every single race he could and won all the time, Hinault won less often (percentage wise) because he was more judicious in what he raced. His palmares are nuts. He had amazing rivals, one to start his career and another to end it in the grand tours. His classics were solid. What sets him apart from Merckx and Pogačar are that he basically dabbled in the classics while the other two love(d) them. I used to compare Pogačar to Hinault for his grand tour record and occasional classics win, until I realized that the comparison was wrong. Pogačar loves the classics - ah, the memory of his reaction to finishing fourth in a 2 person sprint in Flanders in ‘22: utter domination in any one day race since then, even when he doesn’t win. Hinault lived for the grand tours and I don’t think anyone else will ever reach his record. 10 wins in 13 attempts? Good lord. An amazing rider. Wish there was more footage to watch.RidesHills11-11-2026
- I had no idea about that either.
santiagobenites10-11-2026 - great analysis thanks! appreciate you posting this. I didn't realize CX had a different standard for deviation. this is even more egregious it seems.mij10-11-2026
- As he isn't currently with Red Bull, I guess if he want to race for one more year he needs to find a team. He's 37 so this will be his last year I would guess, unless he wants to race for almost nothing like Froome did.awp10-11-2026
- I think some are making much ado about nothing. Even though Jonas is getting older, before his crash in the Tour, he looked like a solid 2nd all the way home. No one can really climb with Tadej until this year, Eric Mas showed himself which I think was a one off year for him and Paul Seixas has been able to be pretty close to him. Whatever stage race Jonas enters as long as Tadej is not there he is a favorite to win.awp10-11-2026
- Giro or not Giro, he won't win the Tour!MajorPayne10-11-2026
- Very true.awp10-11-2026
- Ciccone had a very strong end of season. Consistently attacking and livening up races. Hope he makes that last leap in progress and starts notching some significant wins. Great rider to watch.Occam10-11-2026
Loading
📺 Recap of the Minerva Classic Brugge-De Panne. #MinervaClassic
Write a comment