Without any wind, the pan-flat parcours at Classic Brugge – De Panne was always destined to be one for the fast-men of the peloton. The Team dsm-firmenich PostNL squad rode well as a unit and stayed safe throughout the day, protecting finisher Fabio Jakobsen and holding their position at the front of the bunch as the three rider breakaway was reeled in. Nerves were high in the peloton though and an intense fight ensued to be towards the fore in the final few kilometres, with the proverbial “washing machine effect” on display. Around the last corner a crash happened just in front of Jakobsen, which he had to swerve around, but it meant he couldn’t compete for a result on the day. Calling out his bad luck over the radio, last lead-out Bram Welten then gave it his best effort in the sprint to the line; eventually finishing just outside the top ten.
Speaking after the finish Jakobsen said: “We’ve had a good look back and analysed the finish with everyone and it was a few small mistakes next to each other which then saw us get the result we did. We were in a good position until the flamme rouge. There was a crash in front of me so I had to brake as I almost crashed as well. At that point my chain came off so I told Bram to go for it over the radio. We are going in the right direction as a group but we don’t ride for a podium finish or top ten, we came here to win. We just need the final things to click.”