Phil Bauhaus claimed a strong fourth-place finish in a reduced sprint at the Classic Brugge-De Panne. The final few kilometers were marked by several crashes, including a major one in the final 2km that heavily disrupted the sprint trains and reshaped the outcome of the race.

Bauhaus managed to avoid the final crash, staying upright and in contention for the sprint. However, his key lead-out man Nikias Arndt was caught in the incident and unable to finish the race, forcing Bauhaus to adapt in the closing moments.

With a significantly reduced bunch, Juan Sebastián Molano (UAE Team Emirates) launched his sprint from 400 meters out. Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) closed in fast but just missed out in a photo finish, while Madis Mihkels (EF Education-EasyPost) rounded out the podium just ahead of Bauhaus.

Reflecting on the race, Bauhaus said:

“At the end, the outcome for us, I think, is pretty good. The priority is to be that everybody is healthy and I didn’t crash. I hope Nikias is also okay. The last crash, I was also super close to go down — they almost crashed into me on the left side, and I was actually thinking I would also go down, but I don’t know, I could brake and go to the right and avoid it. And then I was a bit dropped from the first group, and I knew no one is coming from behind because of the crash. And then I lost a bit of energy to close it, and actually I was behind Molano, who started early, and I was really thinking to go with him. But because I lost energy, I was more trying to make sure I could get a top 5 result for the team. But yes, afterwards, maybe I should have a bit more confidence and follow him,  and maybe I could have sprinted for the top places. But after my harder time being sick and missing Tirreno, I think it’s a good start for me to be 4th here.”

Shortly after the conclusion of Classic Brugge-De Panne, Bahrain Victorious saw its Volta a Catalunya team’s leader, Lenny Martinez, stay with the race favourites on the final climb to La Molina, the first summit finish of this edition. The French climber delivered a strong performance, securing 4th place in the stage.

The challenging course caused significant selection in the peloton, and Martinez’s effort saw him move up to 6th overall, now 17 seconds behind new GC leader and stage winner Juan Ayuso.

“I’m happy with this result after such a long and demanding stage. You never know how the body will react after six hours of racing, but in the final, I was feeling pretty good,” said Martinez.

Unfortunately, Bahrain Victorious will continue Stage 4 without Rainer Kepplinger, who was forced to abandon after being involved in a crash. Despite attempting to continue, he ultimately had to withdraw due to an elbow injury. Finlay Pickering also crashed later in the stage but managed to cross the finish line.

Bahrain Victorious will now focus on supporting Martinez in the remaining stages, as he continues his fight for a strong GC result.