Like the men's race the day before, several crashes wreaked havoc at the Classic Bruges-Des Pannes, a one-day event on the Women's World Tour held Thursday in Belgium, where top riders reacted to the chaotic atmosphere. Unlike other events, the tram tracks on which the race ran for several kilometers to the finish in Des Pannees were not themselves the cause of the crashes. Instead, many crashes were the result of carelessness or simple bad luck in the 162.8 km long race.

Marta Bastianelli (UAE Team ADQ) sprinted to third place after her teammate Anna Trevisi suffered a crash on the left corner 2.4 km from the finish. I'm a little disappointed because my teammate crashed in the corner. I was a little bit sorry because my teammate crashed in the corner. In other circumstances I think I could have gone for the win," said the Italian veteran.

She described the race as difficult and "even dangerous," and Marianne Vos, whose Jumbo Visma team skipped the race for the second year in a row, echoed the sentiment. She said, "There are a lot of corners, roads big and small, even dangerous. It's almost impossible to get your teammates to lead you, but the team did a great job in the last five kilometers. Grace Brown, the 2021 winner, and her three FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope teammates were involved in a big crash with 16 kilometers to go and were eliminated from contention. I don't think it was the fault of the race organizers. I don't think it was the race organizers' fault, it just happens from time to time when wheels make contact or someone doesn't catch an elbow properly. The crash was not caused by an obstacle," Brown said. A traffic island with a hedge in the middle of the road made it difficult for riders who crashed or got caught behind the crash to sort themselves and their bikes out and get going again, effectively ending the race there for most of the peloton. Although she herself survived the crash, second-place finisher Lorena Wiebes (Team DSM) suffered mechanical problems and had to sprint out of the race with a broken spoke. Earlier in the race, Katia Ragusa (Rib Racing Exstra) lost control of her bike while trying to enter the peloton in a ditch with 62km to go, causing the Italian and three other riders to crash. Canyon Slam's Ella Harris abandoned the race due to the crash and was taken to the hospital. Nine other riders also abandoned the race.

Race winner Elisa Balsamo intended to sprint for Trek-Segafredo teammate Chloe Hosking, but changed her plans abruptly when the Australian was involved in a crash in the final 2km of the race.

"There were so many crashes in the last kilometer, it was crazy," Balsamo explained. 'So I couldn't ride with a lot of riders. There was a crash in the last kilometer and they told me to sprint. So I tried to find the best position and I had a good sprint."