Tour of Bruges
Belgian road cycling race
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Tour of Bruges (previous Classic Brugge–De Panne, Three Days of Bruges–De Panne and Three Days of De Panne) is a road cycling race in Belgium in late March. Since 2018 it is raced over two days with a men's race on Wednesday and a women's race on Thursday.[1] Historically, races started in Bruges and finished in the seaside resort of De Panne.[2] Since 2026 this race has a new name, as the race starts and finishes in Bruges. The race is considered a "sprinters classic", with many editions finishing in a sprint finish.[3][4]
| |
| Race details | |
|---|---|
| Date | Late March |
| Region | West Flanders, Belgium |
| English name | Classic Bruges – De Panne |
| Local name | Classic Brugge–De Panne (in Dutch) |
| Discipline | Road race |
| Competition | UCI World Tour (men) UCI Women's World Tour (women) |
| Type | Three day stage-race (until 2017) Single-day race (for men & women, since 2018) |
| Organiser | KVC Panne Sportief |
| Race director | Jan Nys |
| Web site | rondevanbrugge |
| Men's race history | |
| First edition | 1977 |
| Editions | 50 (as of 2026) |
| First winner |  Roger Rosiers (BEL) |
| Most wins | Eric Vanderaerden (BEL) (5 wins) |
| Most recent |  Dylan Groenewegen (NED) |
| Women's race history | |
| First edition | 2018 |
| Editions | 9 (as of 2026) |
| First winner | Jolien D'Hoore (BEL) |
| Most wins |  Elisa Balsamo (ITA) Lorena Wiebes (NED) (2 wins) |
| Most recent |  Carys Lloyd (GBR) |
The women's event is included in the UCI Women's World Tour; the men's race was part of the UCI Europe Tour as a 1.HC event, but was promoted to the UCI World Tour as a 1.WT event in 2019.[5]
History
Three Days of De Panne
The Three Days of De Panne was created in 1977 as a three-day cycling event in the week leading up to the Tour of Flanders, in late March or early April. The first day was usually a hilly stage starting in De Panne and finishing in the Flemish Ardennes. The second day held a long flat stage back to the Flemish coast, with a finish in Koksijde. The third day consisted of two stages that both started and finished in De Panne, of which the final stage was an individual time trial. Raced from Tuesday to Thursday, it was the last Flemish race ahead of the Tour of Flanders and was considered a desirable preparation for the main event on Sunday. Eric Vanderaerden, a strong sprinter and time triallist, won the race five times in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The race director had been Bernard Van de Kerckhove; after his death in 2015, the "Bernard Van de Kerckhove trophy" was created, given to the best young rider (U23) in the race.[6]
Three Days of Bruges–De Panne
Since 2018, the Three Days of De Panne is raced under a new format following a calendar switch with Dwars door Vlaanderen.[1][N 1] The race comes one week earlier, in the week following Milan–San Remo, and the men's event has morphed into a one-day race on Wednesday.[7] The Flemish Ardennes roads and the concluding time trial were abandoned in favour of a route entirely in the province of West Flanders. The iconic Kemmelberg and several cobbled sectors have a more prominent part in the new course.[8]
In order to continue the multi-day format, a women's event was inaugurated on the day after the men's race.[N 2] Both races started in Bruges and had two finishing circuits in and around De Panne. The women's race is part of the UCI Women's World Tour, cycling's top tier professional competition.[9][10] Jolien D'Hoore won the first running of the women's Three Days in a sprint.[11] Six of the eight editions of the women's race have finished in a sprint finish, with the race considered a "sprinters classic".[4]
The finish in De Panne was criticised due to the amount of street furniture and tight corners prior to the finish.[12]
Tour of Bruges
From 2026, the race will start and finish in Bruges, with a new name of Tour of Bruges.[13] Organisers stated that it was no longer possible for the race to safely finish in De Panne, due to the "tram tracks, train tracks, traffic islands, bus stops, and road narrowings".[13]
Winners
Men's race
Multiple winners
| Wins | Rider | Editions |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Eric Vanderaerden (BEL) | 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1993 |
| 2 | Michele Bartoli (ITA) | 1995, 1998 |
 Viatcheslav Ekimov (RUS) | 1996, 2000 | |
| Jasper Philipsen (BEL) | 2023, 2024 | |
| Peter Van Petegem (BEL) | 1999, 2002 | |
 Sylvain Chavanel (FRA) | 2012, 2013 | |
| Dylan Groenewegen (NED) | 2019, 2026 | |
Wins per country
| Wins | Country |
|---|---|
| 24 | Belgium |
| 10 | Netherlands |
| 5 | Italy |
| 2 | France Ireland Russia |
| 1 |  Colombia Great Britain Latvia Norway United States |
Women's race
| Year | Country | Rider | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| ↓ "Three Days of Bruges–De Panne Women" ↓ | |||
| 2018 | Belgium |
Jolien D'Hoore | Mitchelton–Scott |
| 2019 | Netherlands |
Kirsten Wild | WNT–Rotor Pro Cycling |
| 2020 | Netherlands |
Lorena Wiebes | Team Sunweb |
| ↓ "Classic Brugge–De Panne Women" ↓ | |||
| 2021 |  Australia |
Grace Brown | Team BikeExchange |
| 2022 | Italy |
Elisa Balsamo | Trek–Segafredo |
| 2023 | Great Britain |
Pfeiffer Georgi | Team DSM |
| 2024 | Italy |
Elisa Balsamo | Lidl–Trek |
| 2025 | Netherlands |
Lorena Wiebes | Team SD Worx–Protime |
| ↓ "Tour of Bruges Women" ↓ | |||
| 2026 | Great Britain |
Carys Lloyd | Movistar Team |
Multiple winners
| Wins | Rider | Editions |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Elisa Balsamo (ITA) | 2022, 2024 |
| 2 | Lorena Wiebes (NED) | 2020, 2025 |
Wins per country
| Wins | Country |
|---|---|
| 3 | Netherlands |
| 2 | Great Britain Italy |
| 1 | Australia Belgium |
Notes
- Flanders Classics, organizer of Dwars door Vlaanderen, lobbied with UCI and was granted the date formerly held by the Three Days of De Panne. The organizers of the Three Days were granted the slot held by Dwars door Vlaanderen, but chose to shorten their race, as the next Flemish classic, E3 Harelbeke, is raced on a Friday.
- Initially the Three Days organizers had another three-day concept in mind, with a two-day contest for men and one day for women. The event would kick off with a sprinters challenge on Tuesday, but this idea was abandoned due to a lack of teams' interest. However, organizers intend to return to a three-day format in the future.[1]