Driedaagse Brugge - De Panne

German rouleur from Movistar Team in the lead for 170km at main escape of new WorldTour event in Belgium; crash affects José Joaquín Rojas -no injuries-, avoids Barbero, Roelandts contesting bunch sprint.

Dylan Groenewegen (TLJ) took a convincing sprint victory at the end of the second edition -as one-day race- of the men’s Driedaagse Brugge – De Panne, over 200km of an eminently flat course in West Vlaanderen, featuring cobbled climbs such as the famous Kemmelberg.

?? #3daagse: Importante caída en el pelotón a 10 km de la llegada en De Panne. @jjrojillas, afectado directamente en el golpe, no tiene lesiones de importancia pese al gran susto y ha podido reincorporarse a la prueba. pic.twitter.com/YGoTiQB74W

— Movistar Team (@Movistar_Team) March 27, 2019

The Dutchman bested Fernando Gaviria (UAD, 2nd) and Elia Viviani (DQT, 3rd) into a group of 30 riders, split by a pile-up with 10km remaining, inside the final circuit. The incident, a touch of wheels between José Joaquín Rojas (Movistar Team) and a rider from Wanty, did not cause any major injuries to the Spaniard, yet did take him out of contention despite his great position in the bunch all day, just like team-mates Carlos Barbero and Jürgen Roelandts.

On the other hand, the Chente García Acosta-led outfit enjoyed a considerable amount of time at the lead of the race with a 170km early breakaway from Jasha Sütterlin along with five other riders -caught with just 8km to go-. The whole Blue lineup will be back racing in Flanders Friday, at a more demanding, prestigious E3 BinckBank Classic in Harelbeke.