This page contains the podium, decisive moments, tactical analysis, team verdicts, and per-rider performance reports. Read no further if you intend to watch this race unspoiled.
Dylan Groenewegen (Unibet Rose Rockets) won the 24th Bredene Koksijde Classic in a bunch sprint, the Dutchman coming past a long lead-out to take a flat-day sprinters' classic on the Flemish coast. Pascal Ackermann (Team Jayco AlUla) was second and Pavel Bittner (Team Picnic PostNL) third, all in 4h 27m 58s after a six-rider breakaway was reeled in inside the final 1.6 km.
OPENINGThe 24th Bredene Koksijde Classic, a 1.Pro UCI ProSeries one-day race, ran 203.4 km from Ostend (Bredene) on the North Sea coast inland through West Flanders and back to a finishing circuit in Koksijde, where the bunch crossed the line three and a half times. On an almost entirely flat parcours built for the fast men, the race was always likely to come down to a sprint — the start list was stacked with pure finishers chasing an early-season classic on home roads, with defending champion Edward Theuns (Lidl-Trek) among them.
UNFOLDSThe day's move went clear with 66 km remaining: Belgians Gil Gelders (Soudal Quick-Step), Cedric Beullens (Lotto Intermarché), Jelle Vermoote (Tarteletto-Isorex) and Michiel Coppens (Beat CC p/b Saxo), Frenchman Rayan Boulahoite (TotalEnergies) and Dane Henrik Pedersen (Uno-X Mobility) forming a six-man breakaway. The peloton kept them on a measured leash across the open, wind-exposed coastal sections, the gap never large enough to threaten the sprinters' teams controlling behind.
DECIDEDVermoote was the first to crack, dropping back to the bunch with 15 km to go. The remaining five fugitives pressed on and fought the catch all the way to the line, but the surging peloton finally swallowed them inside the final 1.6 km, setting up the expected mass gallop on the Koksijde circuit.
FINALEEdward Theuns opened the sprint early but was swamped by the faster finishers behind him. Dylan Groenewegen surfed the chaos, came off the wheels and powered through to win in 4h 27m 58s at an average of 45.5 km/h. Pascal Ackermann took second and Pavel Bittner third, both given the same time, with Steffen De Schuyteneer and Max Kanter rounding out the top five on a day when the pure sprinters delivered exactly the finish the course promised.
The ProTeam's marquee sprinter justified his billing on the Flemish coast. Groenewegen kept position through a hectic, late catch of the breakaway, judged the run-in perfectly and powered past an early Theuns lead-out to win Bredene Koksijde Classic — a statement early-season classic result for a squad built around his fast finish.
Pascal Ackermann, a two-time former winner of this race, again proved his enduring class on the Belgian coast, fighting through to second in the bunch sprint. Quick enough to be in the mix but unable to come around Groenewegen, the German left Koksijde with the frustration of a near-miss on a course that has suited him before.
Young Czech sprinter Pavel Bittner continued his early-season progress with third place, holding his line in a frantic finale to round out the podium. A strong, repeatable result for Picnic PostNL's developing fast man against an experienced field of pure sprinters.
Defending champion Edward Theuns opened the sprint but went too soon, getting swamped by the faster finishers behind and missing the top ten on a course where he had triumphed a year earlier. His early effort lit up the gallop but ultimately handed the slipstream to Groenewegen and the other fast men who came over the top.
Lotto Intermarché animated the race from both ends — Cedric Beullens spent the day in the six-man breakaway that survived to inside the final 1.6 km, while Steffen De Schuyteneer salvaged a strong fourth in the bunch sprint. Aggressive racing rewarded with a top-five, if not the win.
Bredene Koksijde Classic again played out as the flat, wind-edged sprinters' race its parcours promises, the early break controlled and reeled in to set up the expected gallop. Groenewegen's win underlined his enduring speed and gave Unibet Rose Rockets a marquee early-season classic, while former winners Ackermann and defending champion Theuns were left to reflect on a finish that went to the day's fastest man.