Classic Brugge-De Panne 2024

Crosswinds likely in this important pre-Gent-Wevelgem test

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Classic Brugge-De Panne

Dates 21 Mar
Race Length 155 kms
Start Brugge
Finish De Panne
Race Category Elite Women

Classic Brugge-De Panne Women 2024 overview

The Classic Brugge-De Panne will take place on Thursday, 21 March in the coastal region of West Flanders, Belgium. With its location in far West Flanders, the Classic Brugge-De Panne is one of the flattest raves on the entire Women’s WorldTour calendar. Nevertheless, even if the parcours are pan-flat, the race often finds a way to be exciting when the weather is suitably “Belgian”, with echelons and selections likely as the wind rips from the North Sea.

Last year was one of those editions as Pfeiffer Georgi (dsm-firmenich PostNL) took the win solo ahead of a shattered bunch behind. In the end, only eight riders finished within four minutes of Georhie as she took the solo victory. Time gaps like that for a 156km race with under 200 metres of climbing wouldn’t happen anywhere else in the world beyond Flanders, where even the flattest roads are buffetted by the wind and constantly changing direction, disrupting any racing rhythm.

Nevertheless, should it come down to a sprint, the field of sprinters is deep this year with Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime), Charlotte Kool (dsm-firmenich PostNL) and Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) all set to start the race.

Classic Brugge-De Panne Women 2024 key information

When is the Classic Brugge-De Panne 2024? The Classic Brugge-De Panne will take place on Wednesday, 20 March.

Where does the Classic Brugge-De Panne 2024 take place? The race takes place in West Flanders with the finish near the North Sea in De Panne.

Who won the Classic Brugge-De Panne in 2023? Pfeiffer Georgi won the 2023 Brugge-De Panne from a solo breakaway. Elisa Balsamo beat Lorena Wiebes in the sprint for second.

When did Classic Brugge-De Panne start? The first Classic Brugge-De Panne WE was in 2018.

Who won the first Classic Brugge-De Panne? Jolien d'Hoore won the first edition of the race in 2018 ahead of Chloe Hosking and Christine Majerus.

Who has the most wins at the Classic Brugge-De Panne? No rider has more than one win at the race.

Classic Brugge-De Panne Women 2024 route: a pan flat classic for the sprinters

The Classic Brugge-De Panne, as the name suggests, runs from the city of Brugge to the seaside town of De Panne for a series of large finishing laps where the majority of the racing takes place. Beyond the 156km of length, the course lacks any other concrete set pieces as the race has virtually no climbing throughout the entire parcour with less than 200 metres of climbing the full way around.

Where the race is tricky is in the constant change of direction on the 43.9km lap. The women’s race takes on two full laps with countless twists and turns throughout the farms and towns of the De Panne, Koksijde and Verune while the wind from the frigid North Sea can cause further havoc. If it does come down to a sprint, the tricky urban road furniture and narrow streets make for a chaotic finish when there are more than a few riders left to sort out the finish.

Which teams are racing the 2024 Classic Brugge-De Panne Women?

The Classic Brugge-De Panne is a Women’s WorldTour race, which means all of the 15 WorldTour teams are required to show up to the start. Six Continental Teams will fill out the rest of the 21-team peloton.

WorldTour

AG Insurance- Soudal
Canyon-SRAM
Ceratizit-WNT
FDJ-SUEZ
Fenix-Deceuninck
Human Powered Health
Lidl-Trek
Liv AlUla Jayco
Movistar
Roland
ssm-firmenich PostNL
SD Worx-Protime
UAE Team ADQ
Uno-X Mobility
Visma-Lease a Bike

Continental teams

Chevalmeire
Doltcini O'Shea
Proximus-Cyclis CT
EF Education-Cannondale
Lotto-Dstny
VolkerWessels Women's Pro Cycling

Classic Brugge-De Panne Women 2024 contenders

The women’s Classic Brugge-De Panne will see a new cast of characters compared to 2024. Pfeiffer Georgi (dsm-firmenich PostNL) will not be returning to defend her title and the SD Worx-Protime team will also be on the sidelines including Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) who crashed last week at Nokere Koerse.

Nevertheless, with a WorldTour one-day win up for grabs, the start list is still competitive with a couple of intriguing names in the provisional line-up. Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) looks to be the favourite, with a win at the Trofeo Alfredo Binda showing that she is in top form. The Italian was second last year, beating Wiebes in the sprint behind Georgi, and will be chopping at the bit to build her result sheet with another WorldTour win in De Panne.

Charlotte Kool (dsm-firmenich PostNL) should be another fast rider who will thrive in the possible windy conditions, as will her teammate Megan Jastrab, who was fourth last year. Chiara Consonni (UAE Team ADQ) is another fast woman who will be hoping the race will come down to a sprint, while Noemi Rüegg (EF Education-Cannondale) has also shown a strong sprint this year.

Beyond the sprint field, eyes will be on Chloé Dygert (Canyon-SRAM) who will be making her season debut before she takes a stab at a full Spring Classics campaign for the first time. The time trial world champion will be a dangerous woman should the race turn attritional and has shown good speed in a reduced sprint as well. The same could be said of Alison Jackson (EF Education-Cannondale) who will be playing an attacking role with Rüegg set to handle the sprint duties and Christina Schweinberger (Fenix-Deceuninck) who was eighth at the race last year.

What happened at the Classic Brugge-De Panne Women in 2023?

Pfeiffer Georgi (dsm-firmenich PostNL) won the race with a 7km solo breakaway from a select group of favourites. Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) and Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) rounded out the podium. Only eight riders finished within four minutes of Georgi.