Two sprints at De Panne
The old Driedaagse Brugge-De Panne changed 4 years ago from being a three-day men's event to a new format of two separate one-day races, one for men and one for women, both in WorldTour category.
Both the route of the men's race on Wednesday and that of the women's race on Thursday are absolutely flat, starting in Bruges and finishing in the city of De Panne, located on the Belgian shore of the North Sea. When they arrive at De Panne, the men will have to do 3 laps of the final 44-kilometre circuit, for the 2 included in the women's race.
The wind is the only element that could prevent two sprint finishes, as both races pass through the De Moeren region, famous for the force of the wind and the exposed areas that allow the formation of echelons. On this occasion, however, the weather forecast says that it will not blow strongly.
Men's Race Favorites
Arnaud Demare (1200), Mark Cavendish (800), Sam Bennet (1000), Mads Pedersen (1000), Pascal Ackermann (1000), Tim Merlier (800), Giacomo Nizzolo (800), Fernando Gaviria (800), Maximilian Walscheid (600), Nacer Bouhanni (400), Kristoffer Halvorsen (400), Simone Consonni (400), Cees Bol (600), Jordi Meeus (400) and Stanislav Aniolkowski (400) are some of the best sprinters on the starting list.
Women’s Race Favorites
Lorena Wiebes (1200) has been the best sprinter of the women peloton for a while, and will be the top favorite. Emma Norsgaard (1000), Lotte Kopecky (1000), Elisa Balsamo (1000), Marta Bastianelli (800), Alice Barnes (600), Chloe Hosking (600) or Chiara Consonni (600) are other fast women with chances of victory.