Brussels Cycling Classic podium history | 2015 edition | 2017 edition

Brussels - Brussels, 199.3 km

Tom Boonen (on left, with head down) wins the 2016 Brussels Cycling Classic

The Race: Here's the report from race winner Tom Boonen's Etixx-Quick Step team.

A masterful sprint propelled the 35-year-old Tom Boonen to his second career victory in the Belgian one-day race.

Since extending his contract with Etixx – Quick-Step in July and announcing that he'll put an end to his career after next year's Paris-Roubaix – a race with which he identifies since turning pro – Tom Boonen is enjoying a true Indian summer, which saw him claim three important wins so far: RideLondon Classic, stage 1 of the Tour de Wallonie (which got him two days in the yellow jersey) and Brussels Cycling Classic, one of the oldest races in the calendar, where he already triumphed, back in 2012.

Having 13 hills jammed in the 200-km long course between Jubelpark and Heysel, the former Paris-Brussels race got off to a furious start, with things settling down only once eight riders got away from the bunch. The race was marked as being one for the sprinters, but this didn't discourage the attackers, who came into the spotlight several times during the day, making things difficult for the teams who wanted a bunch gallop. Etixx – Quick-Step was one of these squads and as consequence controlled the escapees and the late attackers with firm hand.

In the second half of the race, our team was at the pointy end of the peloton, trimming the leadof the riders up the road, before eventually making the catch in the final hour. Alexis Gougeard (AG2R) and Filippo Pozzato (Willier-Southeast), played all their cards with a late move, but a well-oiled Etixx – Quick-Step team made sure of not giving any of them too much space, so the race came back together in the closing kilometer.

Well-guided by his teammates and ideally placed in the final 400 meters, Tom Boonen launched his sprint early, after a strong lead-out of Nikolas Maes, and despite having Arnaud Demare (FDJ) and Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis) on his wheel, he kept both French riders at bay and crossed the line victorious, after a demonstration of wit and raw power.

"I am very happy for getting this win, the team did a perfect job throughout the day and provided an excellent lead-out in the final kilometer. The race was a fast and frantic one, with many attacks and narrow roads, but I am really satisfied of how things went", said Tom Boonen after bagging Etixx – Quick-Step's 46th victory of the year.

"Yesterday, I talked with Marcel and asked him if he's ok with me going for the sprint and he agreed. On top of that, he also helped me today, so chapeau to him! When Nikolas started his lead-out, FDJ came to the front on the right side of the road, so I decided to go. It was a little bit too early, but I kept something for the last 150 meters, when I pushed 100%. It wasn't easy, but it's really great to win again here. This victory bodes well for the next races of the season and for the World Championships in Qatar", a beaming Tom concluded.

Complete Results:

199.3 kilometers raced at an average speed of 43.457 km/hr

1	Boonen, Tom	Etixx-Quick Step	4hr 35min 10sec
2	Démare, Arnaud	FDJ	s.t.
3	Bouhanni, Nacer	Cofidis	s.t.
4	Modolo, Sacha	Lampre-Merida	s.t.
5	Dupont, Timothy	Verandas Willems	s.t.
6	Vanspeybrouck, Pieter	Topsport Vlaanderen	s.t.
7	Benoot, Tiesj	Lotto-Soudal	s.t.
8	Dehaes, Kenny	Wanty-Groupe Gobert	s.t.
9	Jans, Roy	Wanty-Groupe Gobert	s.t.
10	Ista, Kevyn	Wallonie Bruxelles	s.t.
11	Dumoulin, Samuel	Ag2r La Mondiale	s.t.
12	Stallaert, Joeri	Cibel-Cebon	s.t.
13	Guardini, Andrea	Astana	s.t.
14	Paterski, Maciej	CCC Sprandi Polkowice	s.t.
15	Belletti, Manuel	Wilier Triestina-Southeast	s.t.
16	Maikin, Roman	Gazprom-RusVelo	s.t.
17	Tronet, Steven	Fortuneo-Vital Concept	s.t.
18	Šiškevičius, Evaldas	Delko Marseille Provence	s.t.
19	Bennett, Sam	Bora-Argon 18	s.t.
20	Wegmann, Fabian	Stölting Service Group	s.t.
21	Capiot, Amaury	Topsport Vlaanderen	s.t.
22	De Bondt, Dries	Verandas Willems	s.t.
23	Boeckmans, Kris	Lotto-Soudal	s.t.
24	Mohoric, Matej	Lampre-Merida	s.t.
25	Naesen, Lawrence	Cibel-Cebon	s.t.
26	Bole, Grega	Nippo-Vini Fantini	s.t.
27	Ligthart, Pim	Lotto-Soudal	s.t.
28	Filosi, Iuri	Nippo-Vini Fantini	s.t.
29	Kämna, Lennard	Stölting Service Group	s.t.
30	Maes, Nikolas	Etixx-Quick Step	s.t.
31	Pichot, Alexandre	Direct Energie	s.t.
32	Boev, Igor	Gazprom-RusVelo	s.t.
33	Fedi, Andrea	Wilier Triestina-Southeast	s.t.
34	El Fares, Julien	Delko Marseille Provence	s.t.
35	Bertazzo, Liam	Wilier Triestina-Southeast	s.t.
36	Gastauer, Ben	Ag2r La Mondiale	s.t.
37	Boudat, Thomas	Direct Energie	s.t.
38	Simon, Julien	Cofidis	s.t.
39	De Winter, Ludwig	Wallonie Bruxelles	s.t.
40	Sarreau, Marc	FDJ	s.t.
41	Kreder, Michel	Roompot Oranje Peloton	s.t.
42	Laporte, Christophe	Cofidis	s.t.
43	Offredo, Yoann	FDJ	s.t.
44	Matysiak, Bartłomiej	CCC Sprandi Polkowice	s.t.
45	Voss, Paul	Bora-Argon 18	s.t.
46	Goethem, Brian van	Roompot Oranje Peloton	s.t.
47	Kiendyś, Tomasz	CCC Sprandi Polkowice	s.t.
48	Van Keirsbulck, Guillaume	Etixx-Quick Step	s.t.
49	García, Iván	Etixx-Quick Step	s.t.
50	Pozzato, Filippo	Wilier Triestina-Southeast	s.t.
51	Kaczmarek, Jakub	CCC Sprandi Polkowice	s.t.
52	Vanendert, Jelle	Lotto-Soudal	s.t.
53	Warnier, Antoine	Wallonie Bruxelles	s.t.
54	Dieleman, Michiel	Cibel-Cebon	s.t.
55	Pineau, Cédric	FDJ	s.t.
56	Bideau, Jean-Marc	Fortuneo-Vital Concept	s.t.
57	Marycz, Jaroslaw	CCC Sprandi Polkowice	s.t.
58	Sprengers, Thomas	Topsport Vlaanderen	s.t.
59	Declercq, Tim	Topsport Vlaanderen	s.t.
60	Backaert, Frederik	Wanty-Groupe Gobert	s.t.
61	Bárta, Jan	Bora-Argon 18	s.t.
62	Vandenbergh, Stijn	Etixx-Quick Step	s.t.
63	Solomennikov, Andrei	Gazprom-RusVelo	s.t.
64	Steels, Stijn	Topsport Vlaanderen	s.t.
65	Dernies, Tom	Wallonie Bruxelles	s.t.
66	Kreder, Raymond	Roompot Oranje Peloton	s.t.
67	Mourey, Francis	Fortuneo-Vital Concept	s.t.
68	Costa, Rui	Lampre-Merida	s.t.
69	Pardini, Olivier	Wallonie Bruxelles	s.t.
70	Baugnies, Jérôme	Wanty-Groupe Gobert	@ 18sec
71	Napolitano, Danilo	Wanty-Groupe Gobert	s.t.
72	Trentin, Matteo	Etixx-Quick Step	s.t.
73	Duquennoy, Jimmy	Wallonie Bruxelles	s.t.
74	Van Hecke, Preben	Topsport Vlaanderen	s.t.
75	Soupe, Geoffrey	Cofidis	s.t.
76	Konovalovas, Ignatas	FDJ	s.t.
77	Kittel, Marcel	Etixx-Quick Step	s.t.
78	Schillinger, Andreas	Bora-Argon 18	+ 00' 42''
79	Martinelli, Davide	Etixx-Quick Step	s.t.
80	Andriato, Rafael	Wilier Triestina-Southeast	s.t.
81	Grivko, Andrei	Astana	s.t.
82	Turgis, Anthony	Cofidis	+ 01' 05''
83	Lemoine, Cyril	Cofidis	s.t.
84	Stüssi, Colin	Team Roth	s.t.
85	Sellier, Simon	Direct Energie	s.t.
86	De Vreese, Laurens	Astana	s.t.
87	Kamyshev, Arman	Astana	+ 01' 42''
88	Duque, Leonardo	Delko Marseille Provence	+ 01' 59''
89	Kolobnev, Alexandr	Gazprom-RusVelo	+ 02' 34''
90	Kreder, Wesley	Roompot Oranje Peloton	s.t.
91	Veuchelen, Frederik	Wanty-Groupe Gobert	s.t.
92	Buchmann, Emanuel	Bora-Argon 18	s.t.
93	Paluta, Michał	CCC Sprandi Polkowice	s.t.
94	Gougeard, Alexis	Ag2r La Mondiale	+ 03' 05''
95	De Jonghe, Kevin	Cibel-Cebon	+ 03' 25''
96	Bonnamour, Franck	Fortuneo-Vital Concept	s.t.
97	Guillemois, Romain	Direct Energie	s.t.
98	Tenbrock, Jonas	Stölting Service Group	s.t.
99	Van Hoecke, Gijs	Topsport Vlaanderen	s.t.
100	Bouhanni, Rayane	Cofidis	s.t.
101	Vaubourzeix, Thomas	Delko Marseille Provence	+ 04' 12''
102	Delfosse, Florent	Wallonie Bruxelles	+ 04' 46''
103	Chevalier, Olivier	Wallonie Bruxelles	s.t.
104	Van Melsen, Kevin	Wanty-Groupe Gobert	s.t.
105	Antonini, Simone	Wanty-Groupe Gobert	s.t.
106	Marchand, Gianni	Cibel-Cebon	s.t.
107	Reutter, Sven	Stölting Service Group	s.t.
108	Denz, Nico	Ag2r La Mondiale	s.t.
109	Koep, Thomas	Stölting Service Group	s.t.
110	Ershov, Artur	Gazprom-RusVelo	s.t.
111	Nikolaev, Sergey	Gazprom-RusVelo	s.t.
112	De Bie, Sean	Lotto-Soudal	s.t.
113	Goolaerts, Michael	Lotto-Soudal	s.t.
114	Hupond, Thierry	Delko Marseille Provence	s.t.
115	Hoelgaard, Daniel	FDJ	s.t.
116	Shalunov, Evgeny	Gazprom-RusVelo	s.t.
117	Lutsenko, Alexey	Astana	s.t.
118	Deltombe, Kevin	Lotto-Soudal	s.t.
119	Zilioli, Gianfranco	Nippo-Vini Fantini	s.t.
120	Marini, Nicolas	Nippo-Vini Fantini	s.t.
121	Taciak, Mateusz	CCC Sprandi Polkowice	s.t.
122	Godoy, Yonder	Wilier Triestina-Southeast	s.t.
123	Nerz, Dominik	Bora-Argon 18	s.t.
124	Pöstlberger, Lukas	Bora-Argon 18	s.t.
125	Baldo, Nicolas	Team Roth	s.t.
126	Dhaene, Brecht	Verandas Willems	s.t.
127	Boom, Lars	Astana	s.t.
128	Vries, Berden de	Roompot Oranje Peloton	s.t.
129	Gesbert, Elie	Fortuneo-Vital Concept	s.t.
130	Grellier, Fabien	Direct Energie	s.t.
131	Bonnet, William	FDJ	s.t.
132	Busato, Matteo	Wilier Triestina-Southeast	s.t.
133	Vaccher, Andrea	Team Roth	s.t.
134	Cordeel, Sander	Verandas Willems	s.t.
135	Gaillard, Marlon	Direct Energie	+ 06' 36''