Dozens fall as Molano wins chaotic Brugge-De Panne

Team UAE's Colombian sprinter Sebastian Molano avoided a series of falls that took out dozens of his rivals to win the one-day Brugge-De Panne classic on Wednesday ahead of form fast man Jonathan Milan.

Molano launched a long-range sprint from 500m to edge home ahead of Milan and the Estonian Madis Mihkels.

The final 5km were a reminder of how dangerous road cycling can be with a number of riders hitting the tarmac in the frantic run up on narrow streets with tram tracks and road furniture adding to the hazards.

"That was without doubt one of the most dangerous races I've ever been involved in. The main challenge was staying on the bike," said Molano.

Top Belgian sprinters Jasper Philipsen and Tim Merlier both crashed as did another Belgian Arnaud De Lie.

"Given the chaos, I decided to go from far out and when I saw nobody was following, I put my head down," said Molano.