2021 De Brabantse Pijl (1.Pro), Belgium
La Flèche Brabançonne
61st edition: Wednesday, April 14, 2021
De Brabantse Pijl podium history | 2020 edition | 2022 edition | Map | Start list
Leuven-Overijse, 201.7 km
Thomas Pidcock gets his first professional win.
Weather at the finish city of Overijse at 1:40 PM, local time: 8C (46F), mostly cloudy, with the wind from the north at 6 km/hr (4 mph). There is a 3% chance of rain growing to 12% by 4:00.
The race: Here's the organizer's race summary:
After a fast and hard race, Van Aert, Trentin and Pidcock sprinted for victory in Overijse. The British rider had the most power in his legs. He beat Van Aert and Trentin.
There were nine of them, the men of the classic early breakaway after the start in Leuven. First, Coquard (B&B Hotels P/B KTM), Leknessund (Team DSM), Meeus (Bora-hansgrohe), Mertens (Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise), Robeet (Bingoal Pauwels Sauces WB), Skaarseth (Uno-X Pro Cycling Team) and Van Moer (Lotto Soudal) got away from the peloton. A little later, Morin (Cofidis) and Van Melsen (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matérieaux) were also able to join. Their maximum lead was about 6'18".
At a bit more than 60 km from the finish Skujins (Trek-Segafredo), Cavagna (Deceuninck - Quick-Step), Bystrom (UAE Team Emirates) and Stannard (Team BikeExchange) set up a counterattack. In the back, Teuns (Bahrain Victorious), Cosnefroy (AG2R Citroën Team) and Riesebeek (Alpecin-Fenix) also attacked.
In the meantime the gap with the leaders was shrinking. First Van Melsen had to drop out of the lead and at the second climb of the Moskesstraat it also went too fast for Coquard. At about 45 km from the line the two chasing groups merged while the leading group was on its way to the second climb of the S-curve. There the leading group broke up, with 5 riders remaining at the front.
At the third climb of Rue Ducale, Pidcock (INEOS Grenadiers) thought his moment had come. He got Trentin (UAE Team Emirates) and Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) with him. On the way to the third time Moskesstraat, the group Teuns-Cosnefroy joined at the front and shortly afterwards the trio Pidcock-Trentin-Van Aert could also join them. At the top of Moskesstraat the gap was about one minute.
At approximately 30 km from the finish line, the front started crimping. Cosnefroy accelerated on the Holstheide. Trentin and Van Aert quickly followed, while Pidcock had more difficulty. Not much later it was Trentin who attacked again in the descent to the S-curve. The Italian had an 18-second lead on the chasers when the final lap began. One rider was able to join the Van Aert group from the back: Ide Schelling (Bora-hansgrohe).
With 15km to go, Pidcock accelerated again on Hertstraat. Van Aert went in search of the lone leader Trentin together with the Brit. On the fourth and final Moskesstraat, nothing happened at the front, but in the background it was Teuns and Cosnefroy who tried to close the gap.
On the Holstheide, the story of the chasers was over. Cosnefroy made an ultimate attempt on the final climb but fell just short. Van Aert attacked, but Pidcock passed him. The Brit of INEOS Grenadiers pocketed his first spring classic. Trentin finished in third place.
Complete results:
158 starters, 112 classified finishers, 45 abandons, 1 disqualification.
201.7 kilometers raced at an average speed of 43.776 km/hr
| 1 | PIDCOCK Thomas | INEOS Grenadiers | 4hr 36min 27sec |
| 2 | VAN AERT Wout | Jumbo-Visma | s.t. |
| 3 | TRENTIN Matteo | UAE-Team Emirates | @ 2sec |
| 4 | SCHELLING Ide | Bora-hansgrohe | 0:07 |
| 5 | SKUJINS Toms | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 6 | STANNARD Robert | Team BikeExchange | s.t. |
| 7 | TEUNS Dylan | Bahrain-Victorious | s.t. |
| 8 | COSNEFROY Benoit | Ag2r-Citroën | s.t. |
| 9 | RIESEBEEK Oscar | Alpecin-Fenix | s.t. |
| 10 | LEKNESSUND Andreas | Team DSM | 0:12 |
| 11 | CAVAGNA Remi | Deceuninck-Quick Step | 0:25 |
| 12 | VAN AVERMAET Greg | Ag2r-Citroën | 0:48 |
| 13 | DE BONDT Dries | Alpecin-Fenix | s.t. |
| 14 | MADOUAS Valentin | Groupama-FDJ | s.t. |
| 15 | MENTEN Milan | Bingoal-WB | s.t. |
| 16 | MONIQUET Sylvain | Lotto Soudal | s.t. |
| 17 | CAMPENAERTS Victor | Qhubeka-Assos | 0:51 |
| 18 | LAPORTE Christophe | Cofidis | 0:53 |
| 19 | BURGHARDT Marcus | Bora-hansgrohe | s.t. |
| 20 | MOLARD Rudy | Groupama-FDJ | s.t. |
| 21 | PARET-PEINTRE Aurelien | Ag2r-Citroën | s.t. |
| 22 | VAN DER SANDE Tosh | Lotto Soudal | s.t. |
| 23 | SERRY Pieter | Deceuninck-Quick Step | s.t. |
| 24 | SBARAGLI Kristian | Alpecin-Fenix | s.t. |
| 25 | OLDANI Stefano | Lotto Soudal | s.t. |
| 26 | CARR Simon | EF Education-Nippo | s.t. |
| 27 | ARMEE Sander | Qhubeka-Assos | s.t. |
| 28 | HOELGAARD Markus | Uno-X | s.t. |
| 29 | LAMMERTINK Maurits | Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert | s.t. |
| 30 | ROTA Lorenzo | Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert | s.t. |
| 31 | CARAPAZ Richard | INEOS Grenadiers | s.t. |
| 32 | VAN GESTEL Dries | Total Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 33 | MEZGEC Luka | Team BikeExchange | s.t. |
| 34 | WIRTGEN Luc | Bingoal-WB | s.t. |
| 35 | POWER Robert | Qhubeka-Assos | s.t. |
| 36 | DE TIER Floris | Alpecin-Fenix | s.t. |
| 37 | MOHORIC Matej | Bahrain-Victorious | s.t. |
| 38 | STUYVEN Jasper | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 39 | HOFSTETTER Hugo | Israel Start-Up Nation | s.t. |
| 40 | LAMPAERT Yves | Deceuninck-Quick Step | s.t. |
| 41 | LEMOINE Cyril | B&B Hotels | 1:10 |
| 42 | THEUNS Edward | Trek-Segafredo | 1:17 |
| 43 | BAKELANTS Jan | Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert | 1:20 |
| 44 | WANDAHL Frederik | Bora-hansgrohe | 1:22 |
| 45 | STOKBRO Andreas | Qhubeka-Assos | s.t. |
| 46 | FERRON Valentin | Total Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 47 | WALLAYS Jelle | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 48 | VERMAERKE Kevin | Team DSM | s.t. |
| 49 | VANDENABEELE Henri | Team DSM | s.t. |
| 50 | RIABUSHENKO Alexandr | UAE-Team Emirates | s.t. |
| 51 | BIERMANS Jenthe | Israel Start-Up Nation | s.t. |
| 52 | GIBBONS Ryan | UAE-Team Emirates | s.t. |
| 53 | MEURISSE Xandro | Alpecin-Fenix | s.t. |
| 54 | BROWN Connor | Qhubeka-Assos | s.t. |
| 55 | GODON Dorian | Ag2r-Citroën | s.t. |
| 56 | HVIDEBERG Jonas | Uno-X | s.t. |
| 57 | SPRENGERS Thomas | Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | s.t. |
| 58 | MARTENS Paul | Jumbo-Visma | 1:25 |
| 59 | JUNGELS Bob | Ag2r-Citroën | s.t. |
| 60 | GOOSSENS Kobe | Lotto Soudal | s.t. |
| 61 | TULETT Ben | Alpecin-Fenix | s.t. |
| 62 | DE GENDT Aime | Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert | 1:28 |
| 63 | LIVYNS Arjen | Bingoal-WB | 1:31 |
| 64 | COLBRELLI Sonny | Bahrain-Victorious | s.t. |
| 65 | WILLIAMS Stephen | Bahrain-Victorious | 1:43 |
| 66 | BARTHE Cyril | B&B Hotels | 2:04 |
| 67 | HOWES Alex | EF Education-Nippo | 2:18 |
| 68 | MARCATO Marco | UAE-Team Emirates | 2:19 |
| 69 | BYSTRØM Sven Erik | UAE-Team Emirates | s.t. |
| 70 | SKAARSETH Anders | Uno-X | s.t. |
| 71 | ABRAHAMSEN Jonas | Uno-X | 2:27 |
| 72 | WÆRSTED Syver | Uno-X | s.t. |
| 73 | THOMAS Benjamin | Groupama-FDJ | 3:11 |
| 74 | BOIVIN Guillaume | Israel Start-Up Nation | 6:34 |
| 75 | VAN HOOYDONCK Nathan | Jumbo-Visma | s.t. |
| 76 | EENKHOORN Pascal | Jumbo-Visma | s.t. |
| 77 | ROWE Luke | INEOS Grenadiers | s.t. |
| 78 | RENARD Alexis | Israel Start-Up Nation | s.t. |
| 79 | VLIEGEN Loic | Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert | s.t. |
| 80 | VERWILST Aaron | Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | s.t. |
| 81 | VAN DEN BERG Marijn | Groupama-FDJ | s.t. |
| 82 | DUNBAR Eddie | INEOS Grenadiers | s.t. |
| 83 | LIENHARD Fabian | Groupama-FDJ | s.t. |
| 84 | GRIGNARD Sebastien | Lotto Soudal | s.t. |
| 85 | FINE Eddy | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 86 | LAENGEN Vegard | UAE-Team Emirates | s.t. |
| 87 | CRADDOCK Lawson | EF Education-Nippo | s.t. |
| 88 | ROBEET Ludovic | Bingoal-WB | 6:38 |
| 89 | MEEUS Jordi | Bora-hansgrohe | 6:42 |
| 90 | VAN MOER Brent | Lotto Soudal | s.t. |
| 91 | HERREGODTS Rune | Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | 7:00 |
| 92 | GAMPER Patrick | Bora-hansgrohe | s.t. |
| 93 | KONYCHEV Alexander | Team BikeExchange | s.t. |
| 94 | MOLLY Kenny | Bingoal-WB | s.t. |
| 95 | ROOSEN Timo | Jumbo-Visma | s.t. |
| 96 | VAN ROOY Kenneth | Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | s.t. |
| 97 | TIBERI Antonio | Trek-Segafredo | 7:13 |
| 98 | BASSO Leonardo | INEOS Grenadiers | 8:53 |
| 99 | GOLAS Michal | INEOS Grenadiers | s.t. |
| 100 | GOLDSTEIN Edo | Israel Start-Up Nation | s.t. |
| 101 | PEAK Barnabas | Team BikeExchange | s.t. |
| 102 | WIRTGEN Tom | Bingoal-WB | s.t. |
| 103 | GARRISON Ian | Deceuninck-Quick Step | s.t. |
| 104 | MORIN Emmanuel | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 105 | URIANSTAD Martin | Uno-X | s.t. |
| 106 | KULSET Kristian | Uno-X | s.t. |
| 107 | GAILLARD Marlon | Total Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 108 | CORT Magnus | EF Education-Nippo | s.t. |
| 109 | MERTENS Julian | Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise | s.t. |
| 110 | BAUER Jack | Team BikeExchange | 9:12 |
| 111 | EDMONDSON Alex | Team BikeExchange | 9:16 |
| 112 | GALL Felix | Team DSM | s.t. |
Start list with back numbers, April 13, 2021:
| DECEUNINCK-QUICK STEP | |
| 1 | CATTANEO Mattia |
| 2 | CAVAGNA Rémi |
| 3 | LAMPAERT Yves |
| 4 | GARRISON Ian |
| 5 | HONORÉ Mikkel |
| 6 | SERRY Pieter |
| 7 | SENECHAL Florian |
| INTERMARCHÉ-WANTY-GOBERT | |
| 11 | BAKELANTS Jan |
| 12 | DE GENDT Aimé |
| 13 | VAN MELSEN Kevin |
| 14 | LAMMERTINK Maurits |
| 15 | ROTA Lorenzo |
| 16 | EIKING Odd Christian |
| 17 | VLIEGEN Loïc |
| LOTTO SOUDAL | |
| 21 | VAN DER SANDE Tosh |
| 22 | GRIGNARD Sébastien |
| 23 | GOOSSENS Kobe |
| 24 | MARCZYNSKI Tomasz |
| 25 | MONIQUET Sylvain |
| 26 | OLDANI Stefano |
| 27 | VAN MOER Brent |
| AG2R-CITROEN | |
| 31 | VAN AVERMAET Greg |
| 32 | JUNGELS Bob |
| 33 | COSNEFROY Benoit |
| 34 | GODON Dorian |
| 35 | PARET-PEINTRE Aurélien |
| 36 | TOUZÉ Damien |
| 37 | DEWULF Stan |
| BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS | |
| 41 | COLBRELLI Sonny |
| 42 | CAPECCHI Eros |
| 43 | HAUSSLER Heinrich |
| 45 | MOHORIC Matej |
| 46 | TEUNS Dylan |
| 47 | WILLIAMS Stephen |
| BORA-HANSGROHE | |
| 51 | POLITT Nils |
| 52 | BURGHARDT Marcus |
| 53 | GAMPER Patrick |
| 54 | LAAS Martin |
| 55 | MEEUS Jordi |
| 56 | SCHELLING Ide |
| 57 | WANDAHL Frederik |
| COFIDIS | |
| 61 | LAPORTE Christophe |
| 62 | CHAMPION Thomas |
| 63 | FINÉ Eddy |
| 64 | HAAS Nathan |
| 65 | MORIN Emmanuel |
| 66 | VANBILSEN Kenneth |
| 67 | WALLAYS Jelle |
| EF EDUCATION-NIPPO | |
| 71 | CORT NIELSEN Magnus |
| 72 | CARR Simon |
| 73 | CRADDOCK Lawson |
| 74 | HOWES Alex |
| 75 | NAKANE Hideto |
| 76 | OWEN Logan |
| 77 | VAN DEN BERG Julius |
| GROUPAMA-FDJ | |
| 81 | GENIETS Kevin |
| 82 | BONNET William |
| 83 | LIENHARD Fabian |
| 84 | MADOUAS Valentin |
| 85 | MOLARD Rudy |
| 86 | THOMAS Benjamin |
| 87 | VAN DEN BERG Marijn |
| INEOS GRENADIERS | |
| 91 | PIDCOCK Thomas |
| 92 | CARAPAZ Richard |
| 93 | DUNBAR Eddie |
| 94 | GOLAS Michal |
| 95 | BASSO Leonardo |
| 96 | ROWE Luke |
| 97 | WURF Cameron |
| ISRAEL START-UP NATION | |
| 101 | VANMARCKE Sep |
| 102 | BIERMANS Jenthe |
| 103 | HOFSTETTER Hugo |
| 104 | BOIVIN Guillaume |
| 105 | RENARD Alexis |
| 106 | VAHTRA Norman |
| 107 | GOLDSTEIN Edo |
| JUMBO-VISMA | |
| 111 | VAN AERT Wout |
| 112 | EENKHOORN Pascal |
| 113 | FISHER-BLACK Finn |
| 114 | LEEMREIZE Gijs |
| 115 | MARTENS Paul |
| 116 | ROOSEN Timo |
| 117 | VAN HOOYDONCK Nathan |
| TEAM BIKEEXCHANGE | |
| 121 | MATTHEWS Michael |
| 122 | BAUER Jack |
| 123 | EDMONDSON Alexander |
| 124 | KONYCHEV Alexander |
| 125 | MEZGEC Luka |
| 126 | PEÁK Barnabas |
| 127 | STANNARD Robert |
| TEAM DSM | |
| 131 | BRENNER Marco |
| 132 | SALMON Martin |
| 133 | GALL Felix |
| 134 | HEINSCHKE Leon |
| 135 | LEKNESSUND Andreas |
| 136 | VANDENABEELE Henri |
| 137 | VERMAERKE Kevin |
| QHUBEKA-ASSOS | |
| 141 | CAMPENAERTS Victor |
| 142 | ARMEE Sander |
| 143 | BROWN Connor |
| 144 | VAN RENSBURG Reinardt |
| 145 | NIELSEN Andreas |
| 146 | LINDEMAN Bertjan |
| 147 | POWER Robert |
| TREK-SEGAFREDO | |
| 151 | STUYVEN Jasper |
| 152 | DE KORT Koen |
| 154 | RIES Michel |
| 155 | SKUJINS Toms |
| 156 | THEUNS Edward |
| 157 | TIBERI Antonio |
| UAE TEAM EMIRATES | |
| 161 | TRENTIN Matteo |
| 162 | BYSTROM Sven |
| 163 | GIBBONS Ryan |
| 164 | LAENGEN Vegard |
| 165 | MARCATO Marco |
| 166 | TROIA Oliviero |
| 167 | RIABUSHENKO Aliaksandr |
| ALPECIN-FENIX | |
| 171 | VAKOC Petr |
| 172 | DE TIER Floris |
| 173 | MEURISSE Xandro |
| 174 | RIESEBEEK Oscar |
| 175 | SBARAGLI Kristian |
| 176 | TULETT Ben |
| 177 | DE BONDT Dries |
| BINGOAL-WB | |
| 181 | LIVYNS Arjen |
| 182 | MENTEN Milan |
| 183 | MOLLY Kenny |
| 184 | ROBEET Ludovic |
| 185 | VALLEE Boris |
| 186 | WIRTGEN Luc |
| 187 | WIRTGEN Tom |
| SPORT VLAANDEREN-BALOISE | |
| 191 | HERREGODTS Rune |
| 192 | MERTENS Julian |
| 193 | SPRENGERS Thomas |
| 194 | VAN POUCKE Aaron |
| 195 | VAN ROOY Kenneth |
| 196 | VERWILST Aaron |
| 197 | VANHOOF Ward |
| B&B HOTELS | |
| 201 | COQUARD Bryan |
| 202 | BACKAERT Frederik |
| 203 | BARTHE Cyril |
| 205 | DE BACKER Bert |
| 206 | LEMOINE Cyril |
| 207 | MORICE Julien |
| TOTAL DIRECT ENERGIE | |
| 211 | FERRON Valentin |
| 212 | GAILLARD Marlon |
| 213 | GENIEZ Alexandre |
| 214 | MAITRE Florian |
| 215 | MANZIN Lorrenzo |
| 216 | TURGIS Anthony |
| 217 | VAN GESTEL Dries |
| UNO-X | |
| 221 | ABRAHAMSEN Jonas |
| 222 | KULSET Kristian |
| 223 | HOELGAARD Markus |
| 224 | HVIDEBERG Jonas |
| 225 | SKAARSETH Anders |
| 226 | URIANSTAD Martin |
| 227 | WÆRSTED Syver |