Brugge-De Panne 2021 [FULL RACE] (ladies)

March 25, 2021

Brugge-De Panne 2021 – Brugge – De Panne : 158,8 km

The Women’s WorldTour will roll into Belgium for the mid-week Brugge-De Panne on March 25. The women’s field will race 158.8 kilometres along a flat route where there is expected to be a sprint finish on the local circuits in De Panne. The event is embarking on its fourth edition where top names in the sport – Jolien D’hoore (SD Worx), Kirsten Wild (Ceratizit-WNT Pro Cycling) and Lorena Wiebes (Team DSM) – have won the previous three editions. The trio is expected to return to the starting line in Brugge to try and win the race for a second time.

Grace Brown (Team BikeExchange) has won the women’s Classic Brugge-De Panne. The Australian attacked out of a 12-rider lead group that formed in a crosswind section and held off the chase of favourite sprinters on the last ten kilometres to the finish.

A few seconds later, Emma Norsgaard (Movistar Team) won the sprint for second place against Jolien D’hoore (Team SD Worx) in third.

“I’m in shock a little bit because on paper this isn’t really a race that suits me; very flat and often for the sprinters,” Brown said. “I new my only chance was to do an attack and I can’t believe that I pulled it off. It’s incredible … my first WorldTour win, as well.

“It was part of our team plan to be there in the echelons. I knew that there would be action there and I was in the move when it split. As soon as we had a group of 13 after the crosswinds, I was outnumbered by other teams, and there were a lot of sprinters in the group, so I knew that I would have to attack at some point. I knew that there was a little technical section, that would be a good point for me to try a bit earlier than the last kilometres. I went there, and it worked.”

How it unfolded

Starting in Brugge, the peloton faced a long 158.8 kilometres – however, the race was entirely flat. The speed wasn’t high on the headwind running west towards De Panne, none of the early escapees ever held a big advantage, and all of them were caught before the finishing circuit.

The peloton crossed the finish line together to embark on two laps with a total of 90.2 km remaining.

The first part of the circuit was almost due south, giving strong crosswinds from the west in the exposed area De Moeren. Entering this stretch with 80km to go, the race broke up somewhat, but the first group was still large, and most dropped riders were able to get back.

On the final lap, a crash on a narrow road just before De Moeren split the peloton, and a front group of 13 riders emerged at the end of the crosswind section with 32 km to go.

The lead split included many of the main contenders; D’hoore and Amy Pieters (both Team SD Worx), Lauretta Hanson and Chloe Hosking (both Trek-Segafredo), Norsgaard and Aude Biannic (both Movistar Team), Brown, Alice Barnes (Canyon-SRAM), Kirsten Wild, Julie Leth, and Lisa Brennauer (all Ceratizit-WNT), and Elisa Balsamo (Valcar-Travel & Service). Finally, Lotte Kopecky (Liv Racing) had missed the echelon but put in a big effort and bridged to the front.

Team DSM and Ale BTC Ljubljana worked hard to try and manage the gap as both teams’ sprinters – Lorena Wiebes (DSM) and Marta Bastianelli (Ale) – missed the split.

Help came from teams Parkhotel Valkenburg and Drops-Le Col s/b TEMPUR that were chasing in the group behind, but despite their work, the gap increased to 45 seconds as the race passed through Veurne with 20km to go.

The front group then lost Brennauer when she suffered a puncture two kilometres later, and the gap gradually shrunk to just under 30 seconds.

Brown surprised the rest of the group by attacking at the 10-kilometre mark and quickly opened a sizable gap, extending her advantage to 25 seconds in the dunes between Oostduinkerke and Koksijde as the group behind her did not cooperate well.

Brown lost some ground on the run-in to De Panne as Hanson, Pieters, Biannic, and Leth committed to the chase in service of the sprinter teammates, but the Australian held on to a seven-second gap at the finish to win.

Although she didn’t take part in the race, Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo) continues to lead the Women’s WorldTour ranking. Runner-up Emma Norsgaard takes the lead in the Women’s WorldTour youth ranking.

Results :
1 Grace Brown (Aus) Team BikeExchange 4:03:17
2 Emma Norsgaard (Den) Movistar Team Women 0:00:07
3 Jolien D’Hoore (Bel) Team SD Worx
4 Lotte Kopecky (Bel) Liv Racing
5 Elisa Balsamo (Ita) Valcar-Travel & Service
6 Kirsten Wild (Ned) Ceratizit-WNT Pro Cycling Team
7 Chloe Hosking (Aus) Trek-Segafredo
8 Alice Barnes (GBr) Canyon-SRAM Racing
9 Amy Pieters (Ned) Team SD Worx
10 Julie Leth (Den) Ceratizit-WNT Pro Cycling Team
11 Aude Biannic (Fra) Movistar Team Women
12 Lauretta Hanson (Aus) Trek-Segafredo 0:00:25
13 Lorena Wiebes (Ned) Team DSM 0:00:40
14 Emilie Moberg (Nor) Drops-le Col Supported by Tempur
15 Christine Majerus (Lux) Team SD Worx
16 Stine Borgli (Nor) FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope
17 Arlenis Sierra Canadilla (Cub) A.R. Monex Women’s Pro Cycling Team
18 Katia Ragusa (Ita) A.R. Monex Women’s Pro Cycling Team
19 Mylene de Zoete (Ned) NXTG Racing
20 Femke Markus (Ned) Parkhotel Valkenburg
21 Pfeiffer Georgi (GBr) Team DSM
22 Tatiana Guderzo (Ita) Ale’ BTC Ljubljana
23 Sara Penton (Swe) Drops-le Col Supported by Tempur 0:00:45
24 Susanne Andersen (Nor) Team DSM 0:00:48
25 Lizbeth Yareli Salazar Vazquez (Mex) A.R. Monex Women’s Pro Cycling Team 0:01:00
26 Marlen Reusser (Swi) Ale’ BTC Ljubljana 0:01:11
27 Kelly Van Den Steen (Bel) Bingoal Casino-Chevalmeire
28 Natalie van Gogh (Ned) Bingoal Casino-Chevalmeire 0:02:23
29 Maria Giulia Confalonieri (Ita) Ceratizit-WNT Pro Cycling Team 0:02:27
30 Jeanne Korevaar (Ned) Liv Racing 0:02:54
31 Franziska Koch (Ger) Team DSM
32 Amber van der Hulst (Ned) Parkhotel Valkenburg 0:03:34
33 Mischa Bredewold (Ned) Parkhotel Valkenburg
34 Martina Alzini (Ita) Valcar-Travel & Service 0:03:45
35 Maria Martins (Por) Drops-le Col Supported by Tempur
36 Alexis Ryan (USA) Canyon-SRAM Racing
37 Jesse Vandenbulcke (Bel) Lotto Soudal Ladies
38 Mariia Novolodskaia (Rus) A.R. Monex Women’s Pro Cycling Team
39 Céline van Houtum (Ned) Multum Accountants Ladies Cycling Team
40 Kathrin Schweinberger (Aut) Doltcini-Van Eyck-Proximus Continental Team
41 Marta Lach (Pol) Ceratizit-WNT Pro Cycling Team
42 Arianna Fidanza (Ita) Team BikeExchange
43 Clara Copponi (Fra) FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope
44 Michela Balducci (Ita) Top Girls Fassa Bortolo
45 Fien Delbaere (Bel) Multum Accountants Ladies Cycling Team
46 Lone Meertens (Bel) Lotto Soudal Ladies
47 Teniel Campbell (TTo) Team BikeExchange
48 Lisa Brennauer (Ger) Ceratizit-WNT Pro Cycling Team
49 Gaia Masetti (Ita) Top Girls Fassa Bortolo
50 Debora Silvestri (Ita) Top Girls Fassa Bortolo
51 Eugénie Duval (Fra) FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope
52 Shirin van Anrooij (Ned) Trek-Segafredo
53 Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Ned) Ciclismo Mundial
54 Amalie Lutro (Nor) Hitec Products
55 Claudia Jongerius (Ned) Bingoal Casino-Chevalmeire 0:03:50
56 Maëlle Grossetete (Fra) FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope
57 Evy Kuijpers (Ned) Liv Racing
58 Chiara Consonni (Ita) Valcar-Travel & Service
59 Valerie Demey (Bel) Liv Racing
60 Laura Süßemilch (Ger) Ciclismo Mundial
61 Alicia Gonzalez Blanco (Spa) Movistar Team Women
62 Ilaria Sanguineti (Ita) Valcar-Travel & Service
63 Roxane Fournier (Fra) Team SD Worx
64 Barbara Guarischi (Ita) Movistar Team Women
65 Jade Wiel (Fra) FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope
66 Marta Bastianelli (Ita) Ale’ BTC Ljubljana
67 Elena Cecchini (Ita) Team SD Worx
68 Leah Kirchmann (Can) Team DSM
69 Hannah Barnes (GBr) Canyon-SRAM Racing
70 Maaike Boogaard (Ned) Ale’ BTC Ljubljana
71 Silvia Persico (Ita) Valcar-Travel & Service 0:03:55
72 Alba Teruel Ribes (Spa) Movistar Team Women
73 Yara Kastelijn (Ned) Ciclismo Mundial
74 Sanne Cant (Bel) Ciclismo Mundial
75 Ruth Winder (USA) Trek-Segafredo
76 Marta Jaskulska (Pol) Liv Racing 0:06:19
77 Maike Van der Duin (Ned) Drops-le Col Supported by Tempur
78 Kylie Waterreus (Ned) Multum Accountants Ladies Cycling Team
79 Mariia Miliaeva (Rus) A.R. Monex Women’s Pro Cycling Team
80 Femke Gerritse (Ned) Parkhotel Valkenburg
81 Ilse Pluimers (Ned) NXTG Racing
82 Aline Seitz (Swi) Team Rupelcleaning-Champion Lubricants
83 Marijke De Smedt (Bel) Multum Accountants Ladies Cycling Team
84 Alice Sharpe (Irl) Team Rupelcleaning-Champion Lubricants
85 Sara Van De Vel (Bel) Team Rupelcleaning-Champion Lubricants
86 Sabrina Stultiens (Ned) Liv Racing
87 Anna Trevisi (Ita) Ale’ BTC Ljubljana
88 Nathalie Bex (Bel) Bingoal Casino-Chevalmeire
89 Danique Braam (Ned) Lotto Soudal Ladies
90 Mia Griffin (Irl) Team Rupelcleaning-Champion Lubricants
91 Hannah Ludwig (Ger) Canyon-SRAM Racing
92 Amalie Dideriksen (Den) Trek-Segafredo
93 Julia Soek (Ned) Team DSM
94 Lauren Kitchen (Aus) FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope
95 Giorgia Vettorello (Ita) Top Girls Fassa Bortolo
96 Giorgia Bariani (Ita) Top Girls Fassa Bortolo
97 Greta Marturano (Ita) Top Girls Fassa Bortolo
98 Christina Schweinberger (Aut) Doltcini-Van Eyck-Proximus Continental Team
99 Maria Van ‘T Geloof (Ned) Drops-le Col Supported by Tempur
100 Maria Vittoria Sperotto (Ita) A.R. Monex Women’s Pro Cycling Team
101 Antonia Gröndahl (Fin) Team Rupelcleaning-Champion Lubricants
102 Manon Bakker (Ned) Ciclismo Mundial
103 Lea Lin Teutenberg (Ger) Ceratizit-WNT Pro Cycling Team 0:06:25
104 Lisa Klein (Ger) Canyon-SRAM Racing
105 Trixi Worrack (Ger) Trek-Segafredo
106 Sheyla Gutierrez Ruiz (Spa) Movistar Team Women
DNS Tamara Dronova (Rus) Cogeas Mettler Look Pro Cycling Team
DNS Iuliia Galimullina (Rus) Cogeas Mettler Look Pro Cycling Team
DNS Aigul Gareeva (Rus) Cogeas Mettler Look Pro Cycling Team
DNS Gulnaz Khatuntseva (Rus) Cogeas Mettler Look Pro Cycling Team
DNS Diana Klimova (Rus) Cogeas Mettler Look Pro Cycling Team
DNS Marina Uvarova (Rus) Cogeas Mettler Look Pro Cycling Team
DNF Lonneke Uneken (Ned) Team SD Worx
DNF Jessica Allen (Aus) Team BikeExchange
DNF Jessica Roberts (GBr) Team BikeExchange
DNF Sarah Roy (Aus) Team BikeExchange
DNF Elise Chabbey (Swi) Canyon-SRAM Racing
DNF Laura Tomasi (Ita) Ale’ BTC Ljubljana
DNF Alana Castrique (Bel) Lotto Soudal Ladies
DNF Elise Vander Sande (Bel) Lotto Soudal Ladies
DNF Lieke Nooijen (Ned) Parkhotel Valkenburg
DNF Kirstie van Haaften (Ned) Parkhotel Valkenburg
DNF Vittoria Guazzini (Ita) Valcar-Travel & Service
DNF Kelly Druyts (Bel) Bingoal Casino-Chevalmeire
DNF Caren Commissaris (Bel) Bingoal Casino-Chevalmeire
DNF Julie De Wilde (Bel) Ciclismo Mundial
DNF Minke Bakker (Ned) Doltcini-Van Eyck-Proximus Continental Team
DNF Victoire Berteau (Fra) Doltcini-Van Eyck-Proximus Continental Team
DNF Dina Scavone (Bel) Doltcini-Van Eyck-Proximus Continental Team
DNF Marieke van Witzenburg (Ned) Doltcini-Van Eyck-Proximus Continental Team
DNF Ann-Sophie Duyck (Bel) Multum Accountants Ladies Cycling Team
DNF Rosalie van der Wolf (Ned) Multum Accountants Ladies Cycling Team
DNF Elizabeth Bennett (GBr) Drops-le Col Supported by Tempur
DNF Caroline Andersson (Swe) Hitec Products
DNF Martine Gjøs (Nor) Hitec Products
DNF Ann Helen Olsen (Nor) Hitec Products
DNF Shari Bossuyt (Bel) NXTG Racing
DNF Britt Knaven (Bel) NXTG Racing
DNF Charlotte Kool (Ned) NXTG Racing
DNF Emily Wadsworth (GBr) NXTG Racing
DNF Svenja Betz (Ger) Team Rupelcleaning-Champion Lubricants