VIDEO | Brugge-De Panne finale "ridiculous" - Tosh van der Sande

Yesterday's Minerva Classic Brugge-De Panne was won by Alpecin-Fenix's Tim Merlier, but it wasn't without it's challenges as the final kilometers proved very dangerous in the peloton, with open criticism in the peloton regarding the race's course finale.

"This is WorldTour level. If you see the last few kilometres, for me it's ridiculous. There are roadworks, there are traffic islands, there's sand next to the road. At one point I was in there, because next to the train roads was this sand track," Jumbo-Visma's Tosh van der Sande said. The Belgian was near the front of the peloton in the final kilometers fighting for position as he helped youngster Olav Kooij into fifth place on the day.

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All riders would have known the finish of the race as it has been the traditional finale of the race for a few years. There were also three laps of the final circuit, but with no wind the race proved to be a pure sprinter battle towards the end, with plenty of World Tour teams firing all cylinders with strong leadouts.

There was a massive leadout battle to the 2.2-kilometer to go mark as the road narrowed and has several high-speed corners. With dozens of fresh sprinters and their leadouts, there was no space for everyone. The presence of road furniture and berms made it even tougher, with Pascal Ackermann a victim of a crash near the head of the peloton inside the final two kilometers.

Race winner Tim Merlier also shared the view on it: "We knew the dangerous parts, but a fresh peloton is dangerous at every finish... It is also always difficult with the bike path, because sometimes you can't help but ride on it. That is even more dangerous, because you also want to get rid of it as quickly as possible." With the calls for safety likely to come up for the next edition of the race, it is to be seen if a change will be done in case the race remains one targeted towards the sprinters.

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