The desire of the organizers of Dwars Door Vlaanderen to move their race to the Wednesday between Gent-Wevelgem and the Tour of Flanders necessarily pose problems for their colleagues at the Three Days of De Panne which has occupied that spot for many years. Contacted by Velopro.fr, Bruno Dequeecker, President of the organizing committee of the stage race, reveals that he is working to find a solution.

"This is not good news but at this stage it is still only a possibility,” he tells the French site. “The International Cycling Union has of course not made the 2018 calendar yet. However, there is 99% chance that Dwars door Vlaanderen will get our good place in the calendar as was announced. We are in discussion with the organizers of the Grand Prix E3 and also Flanders Classics to work together on a solution .There is no interest in an internal fight and offering two events in Flanders simultaneously. However, with Dwars door Vlaanderen becoming a WorldTour ride, it will have priority in the calendar.”

The idea of moving the Three Days of the Panne is now an option for Dequeecker who has already carefully considered the situation.

"There are several possibilities,” he says. “We can either move the race to the week of the Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen but I think it's a little early and we would compete with the Strade Bianche. The last solution is to move the race to September before the Tour de l’Eurometropole but it is not suitable. The most realistic would be that the Three Days of De Panne is held one week earlier and will start on Monday after Milan-San Remo.”

The Three Days of De Panne would then take place from Monday to Wednesday and the riders would have a rest day before the E3 on Friday. Dequeecker is also in discussion with several team representatives like, Patrick Lefevere, manager of training Quick Step who have guaranteed their presence.

Bruno Dequeecker ensures that there is no conflict with Flanders Classics. 

"I get along very well with Wout Vandenhaute. This desire to move Dwars door Vlaanderen did not start yesterday, but five or six years ago. He always wanted that and it is not a sudden decision he prepared behind our backs.”