Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) emerged from the cold, rain and wind to win Classic Brugge-De Panne from a break of four riders.
The Belgian sprinter beat Olav Kooij (Jumbo-Visma) and Yves Lampaert (Soudal-QuickStep), with Frederik Frison (Lotto-Dstny) fourth after they escaped from a select front group of survivors with 15km to go during a race of attrition.
Lampaert refused to work in the attack because Fabio Jakobsen was behind in the chase group but Soudal-QuickStep's poor tactics were cruelly exposed, with the Belgian team also forced to lead the chase while having a rider up front.
Davide Ballerini, Bert Van Lerberghe and even Jakobsen lead the chase. However, the catch never came and Jakobsen could only win the sprint for fifth and no doubt ask why Lampaert went with the attack. Of course, Lampaert could argue that Jakobsen should have been with Philipsen when he dragged the attack away.
In the sprint finish, Lampaert tried to anticipate Philipsen and Kooij in the sprint but only served to lead them out, and the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider was faster and stronger.
It was Philipsen's third win of 2023 after he took two wins at Tirreno-Adriatico.
"We had a strong team, played attention and were always in the front. I'm really proud of this win. We rode a great race," Philipsen explained, his face covered in sweat, rain, mud and fatigue.
"I knew this morning that the race wouldn't end in a normal sprint. In the end, we had a good group with all the sprinters and then I saw the chance to go away just before the De Moeren marshlands and the four of us got away.
"I felt really good and wanted to race, so I went for it. The conditions were really difficult, it made it a really hard race for everybody. It was good to be up front, race full gas and get warm."
How it unfolded
Spring officially began on Tuesday in Europe but the weather was still winter-like as the riders signed on in Bruges for 211km of racing on the flat exposed roads of Western Flanders.
Riders were wrapped up in capes and warm clothes but there were plenty of smiles too, as Classic Brugge-De Panne kicked off the spring Classics in Belgium.
Missing from the peloton were Tim Declercq (Soudal-QuickStep) and Sep Vanmarcke (Israel-Premier Tech) due to illness but the start list was packed with sprinters and classics specialists.
The attacks came as soon as the flag dropped despite the pouring rain. The second move was allowed to get away, with seven riders given a moment of freedom. For a while, the peloton held them at 40 seconds but the elastic snapped after 20km and the gap extended to 2:00.
The early adventurers were Mathis Le Berre (Arkéa-Samsic), Louis Bendixen (Uno-X), Jens Reynders (Israel-Premier Tech), Milan Fretin (Flanders-Baloise), Jonas Rutsch (EF Education-EasyPost), Johan Meens and Louis Blouwe (Bingoal WB).
The break led the race across Western Flanders towards the De Panne coastline and onto the three 48km finishing circuits. Reynders, Meens and Blouwe were soon dropped but the other four pushed on as the roads became more exposed to the coastal winds and extreme weather.
Mathias Norsgaard (Movistar) and Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan) were caught up in a crash, while Olav Kooij (Jumbo-Visma) needed a bike change. Punctures also slowed other riders and sparked an elimination race out of the back of the peloton.
The most exposed roads came near the French border in the De Moeren marshy flatlands, as 40 km/h crosswinds caused splits and echelons.
The remains of the break were swept up with two laps to race and then the first of several major splits shook up the racing.
Fabio Jakobsen and Yves Lampaert were amongst five Soudal-QuickStep riders in the split, along with Caleb Ewan and three other Lotto-Dstny riders. Edward Theuns (Trek-Segafredo), Tim van Dijke (Jumbo-Visma), Luca Mozzato (Arkéa-Samsic), Casper van Uden (Team DSM), Danny van Poppel (Bora-Hansgrohe), Simone Consonni and Max Walscheid (Cofidis) were also up there.
UAE Team Emirates and Jayco-AlUla rode to close the gap and the junction came with 68 km to go. However, just six kilometres later, there was another split of 15 or so riders.
Jakobsen had Lampaert, Ballerini and Van Lerberghe for company, while Jasper Philipsen had Alpecin-Deceuninck teammate Jonas Rickaert with him. Also there were Molano, Ackermann, Groenewegen, Démare, Mozzato, Theuns, Kooij, Consonni. The race was still a sprinters' race but also a day for the toughest riders in the peloton.
Philipsen, Molano and Marijn van den Berg (EF Education-Easypost) all needed bike changes due to punctures but fought their way back, everyone else was cast into the wind.
The riders in the move were confirmed as Fabio Jakobsen, Davide Ballerini, Yves Lampaert, Bert Van Lerberghe (Soudal-QuickStep), Jasper Philipsen, Jonas Rickaert (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Juan Molano, Pascal Ackermann (UAE Team Emirates), Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco-AlUla), Arnaud Démare (Groupama-FDJ), Edward Theuns (Trek-Segafredo), Olav Kooij (Jumbo-Visma), Simone Consonni (Cofidis), Jonas Koch (Bora-Hansgrohe), Marijn van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost), Stian Fredheim (Uno-X), Cedric Beullens and Frederik Frison (Lotto-Dstny).
They stayed away as the bell rang to signal the final lap of the De Panne circuit. Most other riders were happy to climb off and avoid the final 50km circuit.
With 20km Lampaert suffered a mechanical problem and quickly swapped bikes. No sooner had he rejoined the group and moved to the front, he joined an attack from Philipsen and Kooij. He was perhaps marking the move but also did several turns, helping them distance the chasers. Only Frison had the courage and legs to go across to the trio.
The quarter then drove the move away, leaving Soudal-Quickstep stuck in a tactical dilemma. Ballerini, Van Lerberghe and even Jakobsen had to lead the chase, while Lampaert sat on and tried to think how he could beat Philipsen and Kooij.
With seven kilometres to race, the wind blew across the road again and added yet another twist to the race. First Démare was distanced and then so too was Groenewegen after a brave but futile fight.
In the final Lampaert did not try a solo attack as was perhaps expected. The only surge came from Frison inside the final kilometre but Philipsen and Kooij could smell victory.
Lampaert tried to go early but had no chance and Philipsen surged past him, with Kooij unable to find the speed to challenge him.
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