Dylan Groenewegen gives Unibet Rose Rockets victory with strong sprint in the Bredene-Koksijde Classic

The entire week is pretty much dominated by Milan-Sanremo, but there’s also some intense racing going on in Belgium. The Bredene-Koksijde Classic is often seen as a sprinter’s race, but make no mistake: it’s the first time this year that the riders have to tackle the grueling Kemmelberg. Last year, Edward Theuns narrowly avoided a bunch sprint.

The defending champion was back this year, but with riders like Groenewegen (Unibet Rose Rockets), Alberto Dainese (Soudal Quick-Step), and Fabio Jakobsen (Picnic PostNL), there were plenty of fast riders who stood a chance. First, it was time for a breakaway: Victor Vercouille (Flanders - Baloise), Gianni Marchand (Tarteletto - Isorex), and Max Kroonen (BEAT CC p/b Saxo) set off on their own.

Two Belgians and a Dutchman in the lead. They never really got much of a gap from the peloton. After 80 kilometers, the first climb of the day, the Baneberg, appeared. It marked the start of the hilly section of the race, with five climbs in total. After the first ascent of the Baneberg, the Montelberg and Kemmelberg were also conquered.

A loop was then formed to ride over the Baneberg and Kemmelberg again. There were some fierce attacks, and it was ultimately Vito Braet (Lotto-Intermarché) who managed to break away. Not for long: the breakaways kept coming, but the peloton was still large. It quickly closed in on the leaders, making it difficult for later attackers.

The early breakaway was caught, but it ultimately gave a new group a chance. Six riders gained a minute on the flat finish: Gil Gelders (Soudal Quick-Step), Cedric Beullens (Lotto-Intermarché), Henrik Pedersen (Uno-X Mobility), Rayan Boulahoite (TotalEnergies), Jelle Vermoote (Tarteletto-Isorex), and Michiel Koppens (BEAT) tried to make things difficult for the sprinters.

The six riders extended their lead to a minute; the sprinter teams wouldn’t allow them any more. Not everyone in the peloton had resigned themselves to a bunch sprint yet. Lidl-Trek, for example, tried to create echelons in the infamous Moeren. Although the peloton split into three pieces, everything quickly came back together.

The final three local laps, each over ten kilometers long, offered little opportunity to create gaps. As a result, the sprinter teams took control again. Unibet Rose Rockets, UAE Team Emirates-XRG, and Picnic PostNL were particularly active in the chase. Consequently, the breakaway riders saw their lead shrink to 45 seconds.

Meanwhile, Uno-X Mobility sprinter Erlend Blikra suffered a setback. The Norwegian went down with a few other riders. Although he was able to continue, he had to expend significant energy just to get back into the peloton. Blikra was considered an outsider, having already made an impression in the Middle East earlier this year with a stage win in the Tour of Oman and two second-place finishes in the UAE Tour.

As they entered the final lap, the six leaders had only twenty seconds left over on the peloton. And shortly thereafter, the time gap even dropped below ten seconds. The attackers, however, fought for all they were worth. On a somewhat more winding section of the lap, they even pulled ahead again to fifteen seconds.

Still, the breakaway group eventually had to concede defeat; with a mile and a half to go, the peloton surged past them. Lidl-Trek then brought Edward Theuns to the front in the final kilometer. The Belgian made his move early. However, he was quickly overtaken by Groenewegen, Bittner, and Ackermann. In the end, it was the Dutchman who convincingly outpaced the other two.