Lampaert wins Driedaagse Brugge-De Panne

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Yves Lampaert won Driedaagse Brugge-De Panne, the final one-day race of the rescheduled 2020 season, after strong winds split the peloton into multiple echelons and caused Mathieu van der Poel to crash into the ditch.

Lampaert was one of four Deceuninck-QuickStep riders in the seven-rider group that emerged on the final windswept circuit and then attacked alone into a headwind with seven kilometres to go. 

The former Belgian time trial champion screamed at himself to dig deep and at the race motorbikes for time checks before holding on to win alone.

Tim Declercq attacked in the final kilometre to give Deceuninck-QuickStep first and second, with Tim Merlier (Alpecin-Fenix) winning the sprint for third. John Degenkolb (Lotto Soudal) was fourth. 

Van der Poel’s race and 2020 road season ended with 16km to go as he was trying to move up on the sheltered side of the group. He was caught by a gust of wind and went down into the deep ditch. He appeared dizzy but eventually got up and was taken to the finish in a team car.

Lampaert gave Deceuninck-QuickStep their 38th victory of this reduced season, ending his own season on a high. 

“With the echelons it was incredibly hard but a race I really liked,” he said. 

“You had to stay focused all the time, any second something could happen. Look what happened to Mathieu, he crashed in the ditch. I hope he’s fine. 

“We had four riders in the eight and so we had the race fully under control and it’s great that Tim got second, too, he deserves that after the work he does for the team. We didn’t speak much but I said I was going to do something. I tried once and then finally went again on the big road and I got away. 

“With the wind, I couldn't hear the radio, so I told the TV guys to give a time gap. The legs were screaming but I went flat out to the finish."

Even before the podium ceremony, Lampaert was already thinking about how he will enjoy his off-season. 

“It’s great to finish off the season with a race like today. I’ll celebrate the end of the season with a huge portion of fries. For sure I’ll enjoy it,” he said. 

How it unfolded

Driedaagse Brugge-De Panne traditionally precedes the Tour of Flanders but this year the now-one-day race came as a final curtain call for the sprinters and Classics rider, despite the high number of COVID-19 cases in Belgium limiting the number of spectators.

The wind is traditionally a factor in the spring and was even stronger in late October, with organisers deciding to reduce the final 46km circuit to avoid crashes and complications. 

It was a day for the strong men, with three groups forming after just 12km and an early crash taking out Michal Kwiatkowski (Ineos Grenadiers), Sep Vanmarcke (EF Pro Cycling), while Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) was also distanced.

The first hour was raced at 51.7kph and the second at 47.65kph, with a group of 14 riders forming up front. 

The presence of van der Poel and three Alpecin-Fenix teammates and Kasper Asgreen, Lampaert, Van Bert Lerberghe and Tim Declercq there for Deceuninck-QuickStep meant there was no way back for the rest of the peloton. Jumbo-Visma closed the gap to 20 seconds at one point but when the crosswinds blew, the front group spat out riders almost one by one by one and was never seen again.  

De Buyst, Van Keirsbulck, Lawless, and Sénéchal were soon scattered into oblivion, as every acceleration and squeeze on the echelon revealed the weakest in the front group. 

Piotr Havik (Riwal Securitas) crashed after an apparent touch of wheels and then Hugo Hofstetter (Israel Start-Up Nation) was cruelly spat out alone after struggling to hold a wheel. Some riders managed to fight back after being caught on the wrong side of a split but paid a huge price for their efforts the next time the wind blew.

Van der Poel was strong as he seemed to work for his teammates as pay back for his Tour of Flanders victory. However, even a rider of the calibre of van der Poel makes mistakes and he paid dearly for trying to move up along the gutter with a high-speed tumble into the ditch. He didn’t move for a while and was dizzy once he stood up but was no doubt just happy not to be seriously injured.

As van der Poel realised his road season was over, Deceuninck-QuickStep prepared for one final show of strength on home roads. Declercq attacked first and then Lampaert made his move, powering away into the headwind to end the 2020 Classic season on a high.