Balsamo, who hadn't expected to be vying for victory until teammate Chloe Hosking was held up by the crash in the final kilometres, found her own way to the front of the pack and launched the sprint with less than 200 metres to go.
The 24-year-old, fresh from a win at Trofeo Alfredo Binda, held off Lorena Wiebes (Team DSM) and Marta Bastianelli (UAE Team ADQ) to take victory in the 162.8 km race at the Veurnestraat in De Panne.
That meant the Italian also stretched out her lead on the the Women’s WorldTour ranking with her nearest rival, Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx), finishing ninth after closing down a late attack so her teammate Lonneke Uneken, who finished fourth, could contest the sprint.
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Results - Top 10
Pos.
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Elisa Balsamo (Ita) Trek-Segafredo Women
3:52:11
2
Lorena Wiebes (Ned) Team DSM Women
3
Marta Bastianelli (Ita) UAE Team ADQ
4
Lonneke Uneken (Ned) SD Worx
5
Maria Martins (Por) Le Col Wahoo
6
Emma Norsgaard Bjerg (Den) Movistar Team Women
7
Chiara Consonni (Ita) Valcar-Travel & Service
8
Alice Barnes (GBr) Canyon-Sram Racing
9
Lotte Kopecky (Bel) SD Worx
0:00:03
10
Clara Copponi (Fra) FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope
Classic Brugge-De Panne Women 2022 - News and features
Brugge-De Panne begins at the Markt in Bruges and travells westward along the North Sea toward De Panne.
The route passes through Zedelgem, Aartrijke, Eernegem, Koekelare, Moere, Zevekote-Gistel, St-Pieters-Kapelle, Mannenekensvere, Ramskapelle, Veurne, Oostduinkerke, and Koksijde before reaching the De Panne circuits. The first 100km of the race will be completely exposed to crosswinds and potential rain, that threaten echelons and splits in the peloton along the coast of the North Sea.
The peloton will tackle two 45.1km circuits in De Panne that offers few flashpoints for attackers but the perfect backdrop for a bunch sprint.
Teams
FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope
Team SD Worx
Trek - Segafredo
Canyon-SRAM Racing
Human Powered Health
Liv Racing Xstra
Movistar Team
Roland Cogeas Edelweiss Squad
Team BikeExchange - Jayco
Team DSM
UAE Team ADQ
Uno-X Pro Cycling Team
Ceratizit-WNT Pro Cycling
Parkhotel Valkenburg
Valcar - Travel & Service
Bingoal Casino - Chevalmeire - Van Eyck Sport
IBCT
Le Col - Wahoo
Lotto Soudal Ladies
Multum Accountants Ladies Cycling Team
AG Insurance - NXTG Team
Plantur-Pura
Team Coop - Hitec Products
What happened in 2021?
Grace Brown won Classic Brugge De Panne in 2021 (Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
In the 2021 edition of the Classic Brugge-De Panne Grace Brown defied the sprinters, and perhaps even surprised herself a little by winning from a late attack to take her first Women's WorldTour victory.
The Australian rider held off the closing bunch, with Emma Norsgaard (Movistar) sprinting to second place seven seconds back and Jolien D'Hoore (SD Worx) rounding out the podium.
