Anders Foldager (Jayco-AlUla) bided his time, making the most of the uphill finish on the S-Bocht Overijse, and took a reduced sprint victory at De Brabantse Pijl-La Flèche Brabançonne.
The Danish rider was part of a small field that reached the base of the climb; the group caught late-race attacker Mathieu Burgaudeau (TotalEnergies) just before the final dash to the line.
Eduard Prades (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) was the first to surge, but as he faded, Foldager came off his wheel and stole the victory ahead of Quinten Hermans (Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling) in second, Benoît Cosnefroy (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) in third, and Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ United) in fourth place.
Prades held on for fifth place on the day.
Asked if he surprised himself with the victory today, Foldager said, "Yes and no. I knew this was the perfect race for me. It is by far the biggest win, so yeah, I surprised myself. It is a punchy, hard [race], not too long and then an uphill finish was quite good."
Of the final sprint, he added, "I was a little too far back at the bottom of the climb. Mauro Schmid did the perfect run-in closing the breakaway. I had to go long because they opened it up from the bottom of the climb. As soon as I hit the front there was nothing to do but put my head down and sprint.
"It means a lot. It's by far my biggest victory and proves to the team and myself that I have the level to be at the top of these races, like I hoped I could."
How it unfolded
The elite men began what is known as the warm-up to the Ardennes Classics at De Brabantse Pijl, a 162.6km race between Beersel and Overijse.
The route was a true test of what is to come with relentless climbing over into the later stages of the race that included multiple finishing circuits with trips over the S-Bocht, Hertstraat, Moskesstraat and Holstheide before the finish on the S-Bocht Overijse.
An early breakaway emerged with Vojtěch Kmínek (Burgos Burpellet BH), Cedrik Bakke Christophersen (Unibet Rose Rockets), Fabrice Lefevre and Jonah Killy (both Tarteletto-Isorex), and Michiel Coppens and Bram Dissel (both BEAT CC p/b Saxo).
The six riders stretched their lead out to more than three minutes in the first 35km of the race. However, as they approached the mid-way point, the gap was slashed in half to 1:48.
Louis Vervaeke (Soudal-QuickStep) and Stefano Oldani (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) took advantage of the smaller gap and tried to bridge across to the breakaway as the race hit the first series of climbs over the Holstheide and S-Bocht Overijse.
The breakaway split apart over the Holstheide with 50km remaining, but all six riders were caught by the peloton as the race stretched out toward the second trip up the S-Bocht Overijse.
Fran Miholjević (Bahrain-Victorious) and Sam Maisonobe (Cofidis) were the next to clear the field, but their efforts were short-lived, and the peloton was intact with 40km (two laps) to go.
A crash with 31km to go through a right-hand corner saw several riders go down, while up ahead Grégoire surged into the base of the Moskesstraat.
Ramses Debruyne (Alpecin-Premier Tech) and Cosnefroy joined Grégoire, and the trio opened a 20-second margin over the Holstheide.
Three chasers, Tibor Del Grosso (Alpecin-Premier Tech), Anthon Charmig (Uno-X Mobility) and Milan Lanhove (Team Flanders-Baloise) later bridged across, and the six raced into the S-Bocht Overijse for the last lap of racing.
Jelle Johannink (Unibet Rose Rockets) surged on the climb to join the breakaway, but the seven riders only had 10 seconds on the reduced peloton.
Johannink was the first rider distanced from the breakaway over the Moskesstraat and caught by the field. The six continued with 22 seconds in hand at the base of the Holstheide. However, that gap was slashed to just seven seconds until they were caught at the base of the final climb, S-Bocht Overijse.
Alpecin-Premier Tech led the peloton into the final kilometre. Mathieu Burgaudeau (TotalEnergies) surged with 800 metres to go, but was caught by the field, led by Uno-X Mobility, inside 300 metres from the line.
Prades took advantage of the catch and launched his sprint first, but faded in the closing metres and was overtaken at the line.
Results
Pos |
Rider |
Time |
|---|---|---|
1 |
Anders Foldager (Den) Jayco-AlUla |
3:36:30 |
2 |
Quinten Hermans (Bel) Pinarello-Q36.5 |
0:0:00 |
3 |
Benoit Cosnefroy (Fra) UAE Team Emirates-XRG |
0:0:00 |
4 |
Romain Gregoire (Fra) Groupama-FDJ United |
0:0:00 |
5 |
Eduard Prades Reverter (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA |
0:0:00 |
6 |
Fredrik Dversnes (Nor) Uno-X Mobility |
0:0:00 |
7 |
Luca van Boven (Bel) Lotto-Intermarché |
0:0:00 |
8 |
Fernando Barcelo Aragon (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA |
0:0:00 |
9 |
Brady Gilmore (Aus) NSN Cycling Team |
0:0:00 |
10 |
Alex Molenaar (Ned) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA |
0:0:00 |
11 |
Edoardo Zambanini (Ita) Bahrain Victorious |
0:0:00 |
12 |
Stefano Oldani (Ita) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA |
0:0:00 |
13 |
Maximilian Schachmann (Ger) Soudal-QuickStep |
0:0:00 |
14 |
Senna Remijn (Ned) Alpecin-Premier Tech |
0:0:00 |
15 |
Lennert Teugels (Bel) Tarteletto - Isorex |
0:0:00 |
16 |
Lukas Nerurkar (GBr) EF Education-EasyPost |
0:0:00 |
17 |
Andrea Raccagni Noviero (Ita) Soudal-QuickStep |
0:0:00 |
18 |
Lander Loockx (Bel) Unibet Rose Rockets |
0:0:00 |
19 |
Tibor Del Grosso (Ned) Alpecin-Premier Tech |
0:0:00 |
20 |
Clement Venturini (Fra) Unibet Rose Rockets |
0:0:00 |
21 |
Jelle Vermoote (Bel) Tarteletto - Isorex |
0:0:00 |
22 |
Michiel Lambrecht (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise |
0:0:00 |
23 |
Jenno Berckmoes (Bel) Lotto-Intermarché |
0:0:00 |
24 |
Kévin Geniets (Lux) Groupama-FDJ United |
0:0:00 |
25 |
Milan Lanhove (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise |
0:0:00 |
26 |
Florian Vermeersch (Bel) UAE Team Emirates-XRG |
0:0:00 |
27 |
Hugo Houle (Can) Alpecin-Premier Tech |
0:0:00 |
28 |
Valentin Madouas (Fra) Groupama-FDJ United |
0:0:00 |
29 |
Pascal Eenkhoorn (Ned) Soudal-QuickStep |
0:0:00 |
30 |
Anthon Charmig (Den) Uno-X Mobility |
0:0:00 |
31 |
Joris Delbove (Fra) Totalenergies |
0:0:00 |
32 |
Rudy Molard (Fra) Groupama-FDJ United |
0:0:00 |
33 |
Senne Thonnon (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise |
0:0:00 |
34 |
Valentin Ferron (Fra) Cofidis |
0:0:00 |
35 |
Andreas Leknessund (Nor) Uno-X Mobility |
0:0:00 |
36 |
Lorenzo Germani (Ita) Groupama-FDJ United |
0:0:08 |
37 |
Cesar Macias Estrada (Mex) Burgos Burpellet BH |
0:0:09 |
38 |
Attila Valter (Hun) Bahrain Victorious |
0:0:09 |
39 |
Mathieu Burgaudeau (Fra) Totalenergies |
0:0:15 |
40 |
Thomas Bonnet (Fra) Totalenergies |
0:0:15 |
41 |
Sandy Dujardin (Fra) Totalenergies |
0:0:17 |
42 |
Xandro Meurisse (Bel) Pinarello-Q36.5 |
0:0:20 |
43 |
Sam Maisonobe (Fra) Cofidis |
0:0:24 |
44 |
Marcel Camprubi Pijuan (Spa) Pinarello-Q36.5 |
0:0:24 |
45 |
Anders Skaarseth (Nor) Uno-X Mobility |
0:0:43 |
46 |
Krists Neilands (Lat) NSN Cycling Team |
0:0:46 |
47 |
Ramses Debruyne (Bel) Alpecin-Premier Tech |
0:0:53 |
48 |
Elias Maris (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise |
0:0:56 |
49 |
Mauro Schmid (Swi) Jayco-AlUla |
0:1:05 |
50 |
Samuele Battistella (Ita) EF Education-EasyPost |
0:1:13 |
51 |
Adam Ťoupalík (Cze) Unibet Rose Rockets |
0:1:48 |
52 |
Jelle Johannink (Ned) Unibet Rose Rockets |
0:1:56 |
53 |
Floris van Tricht (Bel) NSN Cycling Team |
0:2:02 |
54 |
Alex Baudin (Fra) EF Education-EasyPost |
0:2:20 |
55 |
Toon Aerts (Bel) Lotto-Intermarché |
0:2:48 |
56 |
Joan Bou Company (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA |
0:3:39 |
57 |
Michiel Coppens (Bel) Beat Cc P/B Saxo |
0:3:39 |
58 |
Adrian Fajardo Toledo (Spa) Burgos Burpellet BH |
0:3:39 |
59 |
Stijn Appel (Ned) Beat Cc P/B Saxo |
0:3:39 |
60 |
Martin Bugge (Nor) Uno-X Mobility |
0:3:39 |
61 |
Jardi Christiaan van der Lee (Ned) EF Education-EasyPost |
0:3:39 |
62 |
Davide de Pretto (Ita) Jayco-AlUla |
0:3:44 |
63 |
Ewen Costiou (Fra) Groupama-FDJ United |
0:3:44 |
64 |
Dylan Teuns (Bel) Cofidis |
0:4:12 |
65 |
Siebe Deweirdt (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise |
0:4:12 |
66 |
Jochem Kerckhaert (Ned) Beat Cc P/B Saxo |
0:4:21 |
67 |
Gavin Hlady (USA) Ef Education - Aevolo |
0:6:08 |
68 |
Gil Gelders (Bel) Soudal-QuickStep |
0:6:08 |
69 |
Alessandro Covi (Ita) Jayco-AlUla |
0:6:08 |
70 |
Vojtěch Kmínek (Cze) Burgos Burpellet BH |
0:6:08 |
71 |
Tim Wellens (Bel) UAE Team Emirates-XRG |
0:6:08 |
72 |
Bram Dissel (Ned) Beat Cc P/B Saxo |
0:6:08 |
73 |
Mikkel Honoré (Den) EF Education-EasyPost |
0:6:08 |
74 |
Cedrik Bakke Christophersen (Nor) Unibet Rose Rockets |
0:6:08 |
75 |
Vito Braet (Bel) Lotto-Intermarché |
0:6:08 |
76 |
Lennert Belmans (Bel) Alpecin-Premier Tech |
0:6:08 |
77 |
Fabrice Lefevre (Bel) Tarteletto - Isorex |
0:6:11 |
78 |
Jens Verbrugghe (Bel) Nsn Development Team |
0:6:11 |
79 |
Marco Frigo (Ita) NSN Cycling Team |
0:6:11 |
80 |
Moritz Kretschy (Ger) Nsn Development Team |
0:6:19 |
81 |
Quentin Pacher (Fra) Groupama-FDJ United |
0:6:19 |
82 |
Pau Marti Soriano (Spa) NSN Cycling Team |
0:6:23 |
83 |
Jonah Killy (USA) Tarteletto - Isorex |
0:6:23 |
84 |
Ferre Geeraerts (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise |
0:6:23 |
85 |
Pepijn Reinderink (Ned) Soudal-QuickStep |
0:6:51 |
86 |
Huub Artz (Ned) Lotto-Intermarché |
0:6:55 |
DNF |
Alan Jousseaume (Fra) Totalenergies |
|
DNF |
Alexandre Mayer (Mri) Burgos Burpellet BH |
|
DNF |
Fernando Gaviria Rendon (Col) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA |
|
DNF |
Joseba Lopez Cuesta (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA |
|
DNF |
Bryan Coquard (Fra) Cofidis |
|
DNF |
Camille Charret (Fra) Cofidis |
|
DNF |
Clement Izquierdo (Fra) Cofidis |
|
DNF |
Sam Bennett (Irl) Pinarello-Q36.5 |
|
DNF |
Xabier Mikel Azparren Irurzun (Spa) Pinarello-Q36.5 |
|
DNF |
Max Kroonen (Ned) Beat Cc P/B Saxo |
|
DNF |
Nicolo' Parisini (Ita) Pinarello-Q36.5 |
|
DNF |
Valentin Retailleau (Fra) Totalenergies |
|
DNF |
Fabien Grellier (Fra) Totalenergies |
|
DNF |
Abram Stockman (Bel) Unibet Rose Rockets |
|
DNF |
Joren Bloem (Ned) Unibet Rose Rockets |
|
DNF |
Zeno Moonen (Bel) Tarteletto - Isorex |
|
DNF |
Joppe Sterck (Bel) Tarteletto - Isorex |
|
DNF |
Axandre van Petegem (Bel) Tarteletto - Isorex |
|
DNF |
David Dekker (Ned) Beat Cc P/B Saxo |
|
DNF |
Tomoya Koyama (Jpn) Burgos Burpellet BH |
|
DNF |
Bálint Feldhoffer (Hun) Bahrain Victorious Development Team |
|
DNF |
Mattia Agostinacchio (Ita) EF Education-EasyPost |
|
DNF |
Martin Svrček (Svk) Soudal-QuickStep |
|
DNF |
Louis Vervaeke (Bel) Soudal-QuickStep |
|
DNF |
Aaron Dockx (Bel) Alpecin-Premier Tech |
|
DNF |
Oscar Riesebeek (Ned) Alpecin-Premier Tech |
|
DNF |
Halvor Dolven (Nor) Lotto - Groupe Wanty |
|
DNF |
Milan Menten (Bel) Lotto-Intermarché |
|
DNF |
Pau Miquel Delgado (Spa) Bahrain Victorious |
|
DNF |
Fran Miholjević (Cro) Bahrain Victorious |
|
DNF |
Filippo Conca (Ita) Jayco-AlUla |
|
DNF |
Marijn Maas (Ned) Beat Cc P/B Saxo |
|
DNF |
Georgios Bouglas (Gre) Burgos Burpellet BH |
|
DNF |
Dries de Pooter (Bel) Jayco-AlUla |
|
DNF |
Asbjørn Hellemose (Den) Jayco-AlUla |
|
DNF |
Filippo Baroncini (Ita) UAE Team Emirates-XRG |
|
DNF |
Mikkel Norsgaard Bjerg (Den) UAE Team Emirates-XRG |
|
DNF |
Luca Giaimi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates-XRG |
|
DNF |
Matteo Vanden Wijngaert (Bel) Uae Team Emirates Gen-Z |
|
DNF |
Simon Dalby (Den) Uno-X Mobility |
|
DNF |
Vincent van Hemelen (Bel) Team Flanders - Baloise |
|
DNF |
Kasper Borremans (Fin) Bahrain Victorious Development Team |
