Chloé Dygert Returns to Peloton While SD Worx-Protime Is Absent at Brugge-de Panne Classic
Under cloudy skies and uncharacteristically dry roads, Lidl-Trek’s Elisa Balsamo took the victory at Brugge-De Panne this Thursday in an exciting sprint finish. The Italian came around DSM-Firmenich’s leadout for their sprinter, Charlotte Kool. But it was Balsamo who crossed the line first, with a bike’s length between her and Kool. She was followed by Daria Pikulik of Human Powered Health, who beat Chiara Consonni (UAE Team ADQ) for third place.
But if this year’s edition of Classic Brugge-De Panne had a theme, it was “familiar faces.” One of those faces, we saw again for the first time in a while. Others were conspicuously missing from the peloton.
First, the latter.
American Chloé Dygert returned to the peloton for the first time this season. Dygert, who is the reigning U.S. road race champion and reigning World and American champion in the time trial, was originally slated to join her Canyon//SRAM team in Australia earlier this year for the Tour Down Under and the Cadel Evans Road Race. However, due to the effects of a lingering injury, she was scratched from the lineup.
The 27-year-old Dygert said in a press release that her recovery suffered a setback late last year, which delayed her season start until today’s cobbled Classic. “I had a minor setback in December that delayed my start to racing in 2024. In the end, it was a hidden blessing. It's given me a better lead into my major goals for the season,” Dygert said in a Canyon//SRAM press release.
“So I’m happy with the progress I’ve made to this point,” her statement continued. “I’m excited to pin a number on my back again. It’s always hard to determine your fitness level until you are actually competing. Right now, I’m grateful that I’m healthy and have the ability to race."
Dygert spent most of the day in the thick of the peloton, doing her best to hide from the brutal winds of the North Sea and the Flandrian fields. After a much-anticipated bunch sprint that launched just a few hundred meters from the finish, Dygert crossed the line sixth.
And of those missing faces?
Well, that was the entire SD Worx-Protime squad, arguably the superteam of the women’s WorldTour.
After Loerna Wiebes and Chantal van den Broek-Blaak were involved in a crash at NokereKoerse, SD Worx was unable to field enough riders for Brugge-De Panne due to existing injuries and several riders currently at a team camp.
After winning in 2020 and finishing on the podium in two of the three years since Wiebes was heading into today’s race as one of the big favorites.
“Normally, she would have been our spearhead in the Classic De Panne-Brugge,” SD Worx’s sports manager Danny Stam said.
“It is a big shame that we have to skip this classic,” added Stam. “We hope to be able to start at full strength again Sunday in Gent-Wevelgem and compete for the win there again.”
Top 10 Results of 2024 Women’s Brugge-de Panne
BALSAMO Elisa (Lidl-Trek) 3:49:56
KOOL CharlotteTeam (dsm-firmenich PostNL) "
PIKULIK Daria (Human Powered Health) "
CONSONNI Chiara (UAE Team ADQ) "
BAKER Georgia (Liv AlUla Jayco) "
DYGERT Chloe (Canyon//SRAM Racing) "
NORSGAARD Emma (Movistar Team) "
AHTOSALO Anniina (Uno-X Mobility) "
(LE COURT) PIENAAR Kimberley (AG Insurance-Soudal Team) "
GUAZZINI Vittoria (FDJ-SUEZ) "
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