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2024 De Brabantse Pijl (1.Pro), Belgium
La Flèche Brabançonne

64th edition: Wednesday, April 10, 2024

De Brabantse Pijl podium history | 2023 edition | Map & profile | Start list

Leuven - Overijse, 195.2 km

Benoît Cosnefroy is first across the line. Getty Photo

Bill and Carol McGann's book The Story of the Tour de France, Vol 2: 1976 - 2018 is available in print, Kindle eBook & Audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Weather at the finish city of Overijse at 1:50 PM, local time: 14C (57F), partly cloudy, with the wind from the west at 13 km/hr )8 mph). No rain is forecast.

The course: As usual, the Men's Elite will start in Leuven. Before the finale erupts on the local lap in and around Overijse, the peloton heads towards Beersel in the first part of the race. In this run-up, the first climbs await, including the Bruineput. The riders then set off towards Overijse, where the vicious climbs that characterise De Brabantse Pijl are to be found. After a first run through Hertstraat, Moskesstraat, Holstheide and S-bocht, three more local laps follow, containing the aforementioned climbs. After 195 km and 21 climbs, we will know the successor to Dorian Godon.

The race: Here's the race organizer's summary.

Benoit Cosnefroy has won De Brabantse Pijl. After three podium finishes in the past, the Frenchman was finally able to triumph. He made it ahead of Teuns and Wellens.

At 12:35 p.m., the riders set off from Ladeuzeplein in Leuven for the final Flemish classic of the spring. After numerous attack attempts early in the race, the breakaway finally formed just after the first hour of racing. Six riders broke away from the peloton: Riou (Arkea B&B – Hotels), Debeaumarche (Cofidis), Reynders (Bingoal WB), Whelan (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team), Manzin (TotalEnergies), and Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility). Eventually, two more riders would bridge across: Warlop (Soudal Quick-Step) and Kopecký (TDT-Unibet).

They built up a maximum lead of about 2 minutes, so getting away for good was not in the cards. Their story was over already in the first local lap. On the Holstheide, with 63 km to go, the peloton caught up again. Barely 5 km later, it happened again. Huby (Soudal Quick-Step), Leknessund (Uno-X Mobility) and Segaert (Lotto Dstny) took their chances.

At the second passage on the Moskesstraat, Morgado (UAE Team Emirates) made a move, with his teammate Wellens on his wheel. Wellens surged once they reached the top. The fireworks on the Moskesstraat prompted more riders to bridge up. With 40 km to go, the leaders were: Huby - Leknessund – Segaert – Laurance & Kragh Andersen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) – Cosnefroy (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team) – De Pooter (Intermarché-Wanty) – Morgado – Van den Broek (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) – Craddock (Team Jayco AlUla) – Williams (Israel Premier Tech).

However, the peloton deemed a group of 11 too large. EF Education – Easypost closed the gap, resetting the situation. With 30 km to go, at the third climb of the Moskesstraat, Teuns (Israel Premier Tech) accelerated. Wellens and Van den Berg (EF Education-Easypost) managed to join.

Entering the final lap, the trio at the front held a lead of about 20 seconds. At 11 km to go, at the foot of the Moskesstraat, the lead was halved. Van den Berg set the pace, but Wellens and Teuns made it over the Moskesstraat. Quinten Hermans was the only one from the peloton to bridge across.

On the Holstheide, Cosnefroy also attacked from the peloton to join the front group. The pace slowed in the group of 5, but Teuns tried to keep the tempo up. Numbers 6 and 7 to join were Cepeda (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) and Blackmore (Israel – Premier Tech). The latter immediately took the lead to prevent anyone else from the chasing group from bridging.

At 2.5 km to go, Van den Berg sneaked away. Ultimately, Blackmore brought the chasers back onto Van den Berg's wheel. In the sprint, it was Cosnefroy who took the win. Teuns finished second, Wellens third. Cosnefroy could finally celebrate after three podium finishes in recent years.

Complete results:

149 starters, 89 classified finishers, 60 abandons

195.2 kilometers raced at an average speed of 45.556 km/hr

Course map & profile:

Course map

Course profile

Start list with back numbers, Tuesday, April 9, 2024: