One of the few opportunities the sprinters have in the spring to shine in a World Tour one-day race, the Classic Brugge-De Panne (198.9 kilometers) takes place this Wednesday, kicking off a fantastic ten-day period of racing which will see the riders fight for victory in a series of five Belgian Classics and semi-classics, culminating with the Ronde van Vlaanderen on the last weekend of March.
Merlier runner-up in Brugge-De Panne
Tim Merlier racked up his third podium at the Classic Brugge-De Panne, the season’s tenth World Tour race, after a hectic finale Wednesday afternoon. Soudal Quick-Step’s rider, the most successful sprinter of the year, got his tenth top ten finish of 2024, helping our squad move onto the podium of the UCI team classification.
The day was a pretty uneventful one, the absence of the wind in De Moeren making it a pretty straightforward race and helping the sprinters’ teams control the breakaway with ease, before preparing for the bunch sprint. There, despite having the speed and the legs to get the win, Tim Merlier had to settle with a frustrating second place, behind Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck).
“I am disappointed with this result, because I feel that I could have won, but due to the circumstances we had in the sprint it didn’t happen. The guys did a very good race and I was confident in my chances, but it is as it is. I will focus now on my next goals with the team, because the hunger for victories remains big”, said Tim after the finish.
Photo credit: ©Luc Claessen / Getty Images
Race details
| 1 |
Jasper Philipsen Alpecin - Deceuninck |
4:22:22 |
| 2 |
Tim Merlier
Soudal Quick-Step |
0:00 |
| 3 |
Danny van Poppel BORA - hansgrohe |
0:00 |
| 4 |
Jason Tesson TotalEnergies |
0:00 |
| 5 |
Simone Consonni Lidl - Trek |
0:00 |
| 6 |
Stian Fredheim Uno-X Mobility |
0:00 |
| 7 |
Juan Sebastián Molano Benavides UAE Team Emirates |
0:00 |
| 8 |
Phil Bauhaus Bahrain - Victorious |
0:00 |
| 9 |
Emilien Jeannière TotalEnergies |
0:00 |
| 10 |
Luca Mozzato - |
0:00 |
| 17 |
Luke Lamperti
Soudal Quick-Step |
0:00 |
| 46 |
Bert Van Lerberghe
Soudal Quick-Step |
0:00 |
| 118 |
Jordi Warlop
Soudal Quick-Step |
0:00 |
| 119 |
Gil Gelders
Soudal Quick-Step |
0:00 |
| 138 |
Ayco Bastiaens
Soudal Quick-Step |
1:37 |
| 140 |
Warre Vangheluwe
Soudal Quick-Step |
1:37 |
