On the heels of Flanders Classics’ choice to equalize prize cash between its males’s and girls’s occasions at Tour of Flanders, organisers of Traditional Brugge-De Panne have finished the identical. The Belgian race is providing the ladies’s discipline a whole prize purse of €40,000 – a step ahead for the March 24 occasion that marks the fourth spherical of the 2022 Girls’s WorldTour.
It displays a rise of €32,300 from what the UCI mandates, with the required prize cash for one-day occasions which are a part of the top-tier sequence set at €7,700. Title sponsor Exterioo Tuinmeubelen, the Metropolis of Brugge, the municipality of De Panne and co-organisers Golazo and KVC Panne Sportief contributed the extra funding to boost the prize cash for the ladies’s race.
Belgian Champion Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx), who will line up as one of many contenders for victory, welcomed the choice.
“That’s incredible information. On behalf of all the ladies within the girls’s peloton, a giant thanks to the organisers and companions for making this occur.”
The occasion marks the fourth spherical of the top-tier sequence held on Thursday between Brugge and De Panne in Belgium. It’s also historically one of many longest races, with this yr’s route reaching 162km and whereas it could be a race of attrition, it is going to even be one for the sprinters.
This yr’s occasion will welcome spectators again to the beginning space in Brugge, alongside the street sides and on the end line in De Panne, bringing followers and the ambiance they bring about with them again after two years the place well being restrictions because of COVID-19 prevented crowds gathering.
Be part of Cyclingnews for dwell protection of the 2022 Spring Classics, with the following cease at Brugge-De Panne, and verify in after the occasion for our full report, outcomes, gallery, and information.
Flat, quick, uncovered
Brugge-De Panne begins on the Markt in Brugges and travels westward alongside the North Sea towards De Panne.
The route passes via Zedelgem, Aartrijke, Eernegem, Koekelare, Moere, Zevekote-Gistel, St-Pieters-Kapelle, Mannenekensvere, Ramskapelle, Veurne, Oostduinkerke, and Koksijde earlier than reaching De Panne, the place riders will proceed on to finish two laps of the ending circuit. The primary 100km of the race might be utterly uncovered to crosswinds and potential rain, bringing with it the specter of echelons and splits within the peloton alongside the coast of the North Sea.
The peloton will sort out two 45.1km circuits in De Panne, providing just a few flash-points for attackers but in addition the proper backdrop for a bunch dash.
Conflict of the sprinters
Brugge-De Panne is ready to embark on it’s fifth version and whereas Grace Brown thwarted a bunch dash final yr with a late-race assault, each different version has led to a mad sprint to the road. The race was gained by Jolien D’hoore in 2018, Kirsten Wild in 2019 and Lorena Wiebes in 2020.
For that purpose, the sprinters take centre stage as the highest favourites for the one-day race, and it is going to be Belgium’s personal Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx) who’s the star of the present. Not a pure sprinter, Kopecky has proven her punchy racing strengths on many events, together with when she beat Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) to win the opening spherical of the Girls’s WorldTour at Strade Bianche. Nonetheless, she used her velocity to complete third at Ronde van Drenthe and second at Nokere Koerse just lately, and might be seeking to capitalise on her early-season type all through to Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix in April. With a robust SD Worx group at her disposal, a quick dash, and ample motivation, it might be Kopecky’s race to lose.
There might be a number of different stand-out sprinters aiming to problem Kopecky in De Panne. Workforce DSM deliver current Ronde van Drenthe winner and former De Panne champion Lorena Wiebes, who they’ll depend on for the bunch dash. Nonetheless, in addition they ship a roster that’s ready to deal with the unpredictable nature of potential crosswinds and opposed climate situations off the North Sea.
“With its flat parcours, the way in which the race will unfold actually depends upon the climate and if the wind is powerful sufficient to separate the peloton,” mentioned Workforce DSM head coach Albert Timmer. “If that’s the case, then we might see a smaller group come to the road collectively, but when not then it is going to be a big bunch dash.”
“For each outcomes, we deliver a succesful squad to the beginning and with Lorena we now have a card to play when it comes right down to a bunch end. If there are echelons, then we’ll depend on our sturdy group with a number of choices. We’re assured after our current performances and are all motivated to proceed that at De Panne.”
Trek-Segafredo will deliver two potential winners in World Champion Elisa Balsamo and Chloe Hosking. Balsamo is recent off of an exhilarating victory at Trofeo Alfredo Binda on Sunday. The Italian traces up because the chief of the Girls’s WorldTour sequence, and it’s no shock that Kopecky sits in second place whereas Wiebes is third on the rankings – all three might be vying for the glory in De Panne.
Emma Norsgaard (Movistar), who has mentioned she’s going to goal this a part of the Classics season, stands probability for fulfillment after inserting sixth at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, second at Omloop van Het Hageland and successful Le Samyn des Dames earlier than taking a brief break to organize for the cobbled Classics.
UAE Workforce ADQ’s former world champion Marta Bastianelli has surprisingly by no means positioned on the rostrum in De Panne however she has already secured three wins this season and is in prime type for an additional this week.
Canadian Champion Alison Jackson (Liv Racing Xstra), Maria Giulia Confalonieri (Ceratizit-WNT Professional Biking), Chiara Consonni (Valcar-Journey & Service), and Clara Copponi (FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope) are additionally riders to observe throughout a bunch dash in De Panne.
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