The cobbled Classics are finally over for 2023, with the weather getting too nice for any serious racing to continue in northern Europe. Brabantse Pijl on Wednesday brought the curtain down on what has been a thrilling series of races in Belgium and northern France, all threaded together by their use of off-tarmac roads at times.
Before we go charging into the Ardennes Classics and then the Grand Tours too fast, though, there is time to look back and try and draw some conclusions from the eight races which make up this block, which started with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad all the way back in February.
