With Jasper Philipsen and Lorena Wiebes, the Tour of Bruges will welcome two of the world’s most acclaimed sprinters to the start line this week. On Wednesday, Philipsen will face stiff competition from Dylan Groenewegen, who is currently in top form. Shari Bossuyt is one of the riders who will be looking to put the pressure on Wiebes on Thursday. Both the men’s and women’s races form part of the UCI WorldTour.
Philipsen secured his first victory of the season a week ago at Nokere Koerse. The two-time winner of the Classic Brugge-De Panne (the predecessor to the Tour of Bruges) and ten-time stage winner in the Tour de France is therefore starting to hit his stride. This is certainly true of Dylan Groenewegen. The Dutchman won both the Bredene Koksijde Classic and the GP Monseré last weekend and can therefore, just like Philipsen, claim the role of top favourite.
There are a host of other names with fast legs, slightly in the shadows for now but who could well shine on Wednesday: the Colombian Sebastian Molano (last year’s winner of the Classic Brugge-De Panne), German Phil Bauhaus, Australian Sam Welsford, the Czech Pavel Bittner, the American Luke Lamperti, Norwegians Søren Wærenskjold and Erlend Blikra, Dutchmen Fabio Jakobsen and Arvid de Kleijn, … and Belgian sprinters such as Milan Fretin, Steffen Deschuyteneer and Tom Crabbe.
In the women’s race, the absolute favourite hails from the Netherlands. Lorena Wiebes already has five victories to her name this season and won last year’s Classic Brugge-De Panne, later followed by two stage wins and the points classification in the Giro and Tour. From a Belgian perspective, all eyes will be on the fast Shari Bossuyt, though Marthe Truyen and Fleur Moors will also be in the mix. International challengers for Wiebes include the Italians Elisa Balsamo and Chiara Consonni, Ireland’s Lara Gillespie, Norway’s Susanne Andersen, Australia’s Georgia Baker, but certainly also and above all Wiebes’ compatriot Charlotte Kool.
Course flat like a billiard table, with a few bumps
Unlike most spring classics, the Tour of Bruges deliberately opts for a billiard-flat circuit. The route features two large loops: a southern loop towards Torhout, Wingene and Beernem, and a northern loop past the picturesque Damme, Koolkerke and Dudzele in the Bruges Ommeland. A section through Oostkamp connects the two loops.
The northern loop includes a section of the time trial course from the 2021 Road World Championships, which finished in Bruges, and boasts a few fast-flowing kilometres along the Damse Vaart. Brieversweg, the only cobbled section on the course, is also located on the northern loop. The men will complete this loop two and a half times, while riding the southern loop once, for a total distance of 202.9 km. The women will ride the southern loop once and the northern loop one and a half times, resulting in a total race distance of 143.7 km.
With a team presentation and unofficial start on the Markt, the historic city centre of Bruges is the beating heart of the race. The finish line is on the outskirts of the city, on Gulden-Vlieslaan, a stone’s throw from ’t Zand, where the podium ceremony will take place afterwards. Thanks to the looped route, spectators will be able to see the riders flash past several times, both during the race and at the finish. The men will cross the finish line on Gulden-Vlieslaan twice before finishing, the women once.
Safety is the top priority
Gulden-Vlieslaan as the finish location has been carefully selected by organisers Golazo and vzw Koninklijke Veloclub Panne Sportief (KVCPS), in close consultation with the city of Bruges. Safety is the top priority. The sprint preparation, essentially the final 10 km of the race, will take place on obstacle-free roads, and Gulden-Vlieslaan itself is a wide avenue, featuring inflatable Safe Cycling finish barriers in the final 200 metres. All other familiar Safe Cycling safety tools – such as LED totems and crash cushions – will also be deployed at the finish and along the route, as will an extensive team of mobile marshals. The organisers will also carry out a safety analysis of the course, which will be shared with all participating teams two weeks before the race.
Special Olympics
In addition to the very best in men’s and women’s professional cycling, Special Olympics riders are also coming to Bruges to compete. They will contest an exciting race in the finish area on Gulden-Vlieslaan on Wednesday 25 March, shortly after the start of the men’s elite race. The Tour of Bruges will be the opener of the Special Olympics cycling year, for which Golazo is once again a partner.
Live on TV
The Tour of Bruges can be followed live on Sporza and RTL Club from 3.05 p.m. on Wednesday. On Thursday, Sporza and RTL Play will start broadcasting at 3.15 p.m.
PRACTICAL INFO TOUR OF BRUGES
Wednesday 25 March 2026: Elite Men (UCI World Tour):
• 10:45 a.m.: Team buses (‘t Zand)
• 11:15 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.: Teams presentation (Markt)
• 12:45 p.m.: Start Tour of Bruges (Markt)
• 2:45 p.m.: 1st loop (Gulden-Vlieslaan)
• 3 – 3:06 p.m.: Special Olympics (heats 1 through 4)
• 3:05 p.m.: Start TV broadcast on Sporza and RTL Club
• 4 p.m.: 2nd loop (Gulden-Vlieslaan)
• 4:15 – 4:21 p.m.: Special Olympics (heats 5 through 8)
• 5:15 p.m.: Finish (Gulden-Vlieslaan)
• 5:30 p.m.: Podium ceremony (‘t Zand)
Thursday 26 March 2026: Elite Women (UCI Women’s World Tour):
• 11:30 a.m.: Team buses (‘t Zand)
• 12:22 – 1:20 p.m.: Team presentation (Markt)
• 1:30 p.m.: Start Tour of Bruges (Markt)
• 3:15 p.m.: Start TV broadcast on Sporza and RTL Play
• 3:45 p.m.: 1st loop (Gulden Vlieslaan)
• 5:10 p.m.: Finish (Gulden Vlieslaan)
• 5:30 p.m.: Podium ceremony (‘t Zand)
