Dorian Godon won a thrilling edition of the men's Brabantse Pijl on Wednesday, while Silvia Persico won the women's equivalent in circumstances that were just as exciting, in the interlude between the cobbled and Ardennes Classics.
The French AG2R Citroën rider sprinted to victory from a group of two, triumphing over Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) in the final 200m.
Healy stuck to Godon's wheel in the closing kilometres, refusing to put in a turn, but Godon proved the strongest anyway, with the most powerful sprint.
The pair were alone from around 16km to go after dropping their fellow leading companions, Rémi Cavagna (Soudal Quick-Step), Andrea Kron (Lotto-Dstny), Lucas Eriksson (Tudor Pro Cycling), and Tord Gudmestad (Uno-X).
Cavagna had forged off the front with 58km to go, picking off the remains of the day's break, and was later joined by his other protagonists with 54km to the finish in Overijse.
Healy repeatedly animated the race, looking strong on the climbs throughout. Godon and Healy were left alone on the Hertstraat, with Cavagna dropping back. The Frenchman was left in the gap between the peloton and the leading pair to the finish, eventually beaten by his compatriot Benoît Cosnefroy (AG2R Citroën) in the final 100m.
Axel Zingle (Cofidis) finished fifth in front of a rampaging peloton. It marked the first time since 2020 that the race had not been won by Ineos Grenadiers. It was also the third time in four editions that Cosnefroy finished on the podium.
"It was nice, I could feel my legs are good," Healy said. "I gave it a good go, but there was a guy just as strong to me today. In the gallop to the line, I think I always knew how it would go... I laid it all out there. I know I don't have the best sprint in the world, so I knew I had to just sit on, but when he opened up I just had nothing to give."
Persico outsprints Demi Vollering to victory
Italian rider Persico of UAE Team ADQ emerged triumphant from a six-woman sprint at the top of the S-Bend climb in Overijse earlier in the day, comfortably beating defending champion Demi Vollering (SD Worx) in the rain.
The latter opened up the sprint, after he teammate Marlen Reusser had led the elite group into the final 500m, but could not continue her effort to the line. Persico woman-handled her bike to the front and won by a couple of bike lengths in the end. Lianne Lippert (Movistar) came close to pipping Vollering in the end, but could not finish the job before the line.
The front group had split off the front on the Hagaard and Moskestraat climbs on the final lap of the Overijse circuit, with Elise Chabbey (Canyon-SRAM) taking fourth and Shirin van Anrooij (Trek-Segafredo) fifth, ahead of Reusser. Behind, Margot Vanpachtenbeke (Parkhotel-Valkenburg) came in seventh after losing momentum on the final climb.
The remains of the peloton rolled in 25 seconds behind Persico. It was the Italian's first victory of the season, and her first win for UAE Team ADQ, the squad she joined this year.
"From the start, in my head, I wanted to win today," Persico said. "I was fourth at the Tour of Flanders and was not happy, and I wanted to take this victory as soon as possible, so I'm really happy.
"I choose to stay in Vollering's wheel. I knew in this sprint you can win in the last 20 or 30 metres so I exited in the last 30 metres and I'm really happy for this victory."
No break managed to make it up the road, with the winning move coming on the last of three laps of the 22km Overijse finishing circuit. Reusser launched on the Hagaard, taking Persico, Van Anrooij, Chabbey, and Vanpachtenbeke with her, before Vollering and Lippert headed up the road on the Moskestraat.
In the end, despite Reusser and Vollering's best efforts, it was just a second defeat in a cobbled race this season for SD Worx, after disappointment at Paris-Roubaix too.
