Ronde Van Brugge Men LIVE: A break has yet to form at windy Belgian classic

There are about 50 riders in the front group, with other groups trying to chase back on.

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The crach actually happened in the front group. Abram Stockman looked the worse off, but looks like he’ll continue.

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And now there’s a crash in one of the trailing groups, with three riders down.

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Echelons! The peloton has split once more.

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The pace is really up now, and the peloton looks at breaking point.

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Matthias Schwarzbacher crashed a little earlier, and has abandoned the race.

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Fabio Jakobsen is one of a few riders who have been dropped as a result of this pace. The Dutch rider has continued to struggle for form this year.

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Ineos are at the front of the peloton, and stretching it out.

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The peloton finish the cobbles with no attack having gone clear.

He’s been brought back by the peloton.

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Simon Dehairs of Jasper Philipsen’s Alpecin team has attacked on the cobbles, and got a small gap.

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They’re back on the Brieversweg cobbles for the second time.

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The race is continually fluctuating as the road constantly changes direction, with the riders aware of how wind could again disrupt the race around the corner.

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Lidl-Trek are the team most prominent at the front of the peloton, despite the absence of their main men Jonathan Milan and Mads Pedersen.

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The pace remains relatively slow and bunched up together.

We’re into the second half of the race!

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This race is a rare thing in Belgium – one that hasn’t been won by Tom Boonen, even back when it was the Three Days of De Panne. The legendary Belgian will be back in action at the E3 classic on Friday, where he will be operating in the Soudal-QuickStep team car.

As we approach the halfway point of the race, there are no more splits, and no breakaway clear ahead of the peloton.

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And the view from the back of the peloton while it was being split.

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This was a sample of some of the echelon action a little earlier when UAE pressed on and managed to split the peloton temporarily.

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Thing have settled down a little, as the riders cross over the finish line in Bruges for the first time today, but there’s still no sign of a break being formed.

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Last year’s winner Juan Sebastian Molano at the start. His triumph here last year proved he can navigate the various difficulties this race throws at you, and is therefore one of the top contenders again this time even if his form has tailed off a little since a stage win at February’s Tour of Oman opening stage.

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They’ve been racing for over 70km now, and yet still things haven’t calmed down.

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Again echelons form, but again the peloton comes back together after splitting briefly.

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The riders rushing over the Brieversweg cobbles.

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Despite the splits and threatening to break into pieces, the race remains all together for now.

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The wind is blowing, and it’s all kicking off, with some splits briefly opened up in the peloton.

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Our run-down of the favourites for the win today, plus tomorrow’s women’s race.

Serrano and Van Tricht lead, but only just. They’re 15 seconds up on the peloton, where things have yet to settle down.

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Two riders have a gap of about ten seconds – Gonzalo Serrano of Movistar and Floris Van Tricht of NSN.

A fifth of the way into the race, and the break is yet to form.

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This is the day the cobbled classic seasons really intensifies, with the races coming thick and fast before the climactic week of the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. We had a think about what storylines will be the most intriguing to follow this spring.

We’re over 30km into the stage now and, despite multiple attempts, still nobody has managed to form a successful breakaway.

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A glimpse of Jasper Philipsen at the start, the biggest name sprinter in the race and favourite for the victory.

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Stage three of the Volta a Catalunya is also taking place today, and we have live coverage of that race too, that you can follow along with here.

Still no breakaway has formed.

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Van Gestel back up and running after his fall.

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The crash the Soudal riders were involved in.

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It’s windy out there, but the riders have for now been spared the rain.

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Alex Kirsch of Cofidis has also had a fall.

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That has also already been a crash, with the Soudal-QuickStep riders Dries Van Gestel and Fabio Van den Bossche both involved.

Still no sign of a breakaway forming, over 10km into the race. Julius Johansen of UAE Team Emirates-XRG managed to get a small gap, but was brought back.

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Road furniture is another complicating factor of Brugge De Panne, with lots of small roundabouts like this one for the riders to contend with. Technique and bike handling skills are just as important here as speed and resilience.

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The start was absent of one contender who was supposed to take part today – Milan Fretin, who pulled out due to illness.

And they’re off!

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Excitingly for us spectators, albeit stressfully for the participants, it’s looking like wind could be a factor today. It’s blowing at about 15mph, which, given the twisty nature of the route and exposed roads, will likely see echelons form.

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The calm before the storm – the riders moving through the neutralised section, before the flag drops and the battle to get into the breakaway commences.

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Though it might be billed as a sprinters’ race, this being Belgium, things are never that straightforward. There are still cobbled sectors to contend with, exposed roads, and the weather – which today is forecasted to be cold and wet.

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The riders at the start in Bruges.

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The action will kick off in about ten minutes. Right now the rivers are making their way through the neutralised zone towards the official start.

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Despite the changes, the race retains its identity as a sprinters’ classics and its pan flat parcours. Jasper Philipsen, Tim Merlier and Sam Bennett are among the past winners, and we can expect those of similar ilk to be in contention today.

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Rider safety has been cited as one of the reasons for the change of finale. Last year’s finish in De Panne was a chaotic affair, with many of the top favourites going down in multiple late crashes that occurred on the technical roads – the organisers wanted to avoid a repeat of that this year.