Tour of Bruges

A flat Flemish WorldTour sprint test for the women's peloton
Location🇧🇪 Belgium
WhenFourth Thursday in March
CourseOne Day
Since2026
Also known asRonde van Brugge Women
CategoryWorldTour
Why watch?

Tour of Bruges gives the women's peloton a flat, wind-sensitive Belgian WorldTour sprint where road positioning matters as much as outright speed.

Overview

Tour of Bruges

Tour of Bruges is a women's one-day WorldTour race held in Belgium each March. The 2026 relaunch replaces Classic Brugge-De Panne as the main public-facing name, but the race still carries the same Flemish sprint lineage that shaped the previous women's editions.

Also known as: Ronde van Brugge Women | The Great Sprint Classic Women | Classic Brugge-De Panne Women

Tour of Bruges continues the women's Classic Brugge-De Panne lineage under a new Bruges-led identity rather than starting from scratch.

Race Notes
UpdatedMarch 23, 2026
MarketUnited States
Road calendarWhere to Watch

Race hubs are the canonical route for evergreen context, route notes, and current watch destinations. Broadcast rights can move by market, and edition-level details stay current when race week approaches.

Why this race matters

The route is built for fast finishers, but it is not a simple drag strip. Flemish roads, crosswinds, and constant accelerations make the race stressful long before the final sprint, so the riders who read the finale best can beat faster names who spend too much too early.

Route DNA

The race stays centered on flat Flemish roads, which keeps sprint teams interested, but the challenge lies in how often the road narrows, bends, and forces riders to fight for position. Wind remains the biggest destabilizer, and the decisive move can come either from a reduced sprint or from a split that leaves a few favorites isolated.

Flemish sprint pressure

The race stays flat enough for the top sprinters, but the speed never removes the tactical stress.

Wind as the selector

Crosswinds on open roads can break the field before the pure sprint trains take control.

Bruges relaunch

Tour of Bruges gives the women's race the same Bruges-led identity shift as the men's event.

Position before power

The final kilometers reward riders who arrive in the right place more than riders who simply wait for the last 150 meters.

Iconic Moments

Most recent winner: Lorena Wiebes (2025)

Memorable Editions

2025

Wiebes wins the eighth edition

Lorena Wiebes confirmed the race's sprint reputation by winning the 2025 edition on the old Brugge-De Panne route.

2024

Balsamo edges the sprint

Elisa Balsamo won the 2024 edition, reinforcing the race's place as a benchmark for the top women sprinters.

2023

Georgi breaks the script

Pfeiffer Georgi won after an attacking race, proving the event can reward initiative when the bunch sprint does not fully settle.

Iconic Victories

Lorena Wiebes

Wiebes is the modern sprint reference for this race after winning again in 2025.

Elisa Balsamo

Multiple wins make Balsamo one of the clearest benchmarks for the race's sprint hierarchy.

Pfeiffer Georgi

Georgi's 2023 win showed the race can also reward late aggression, not just pure bunch speed.

Signature Landmarks

Tour of Bruges keeps the women's race on flat Flemish roads where wind and positioning shape the day as much as any formal route obstacle.

Race identity

Bruges

The city now gives the event its name and anchors the relaunch around a clearer Bruges identity.

Route character

West Flanders roads

Flat roads and constant direction changes make the race more technical than the profile suggests.

Decisive terrain

Open wind corridors

The exposed stretches where the peloton can split are still the race's most dangerous sections.

Race heritage

Brugge-De Panne lineage

The women's event keeps the Brugge-De Panne sprint lineage even under the Tour of Bruges name.