Surprise win Brabantse Pijl: Foldager wins after Del grosso breakaway group caught

The Brabantse Pijl was won on Friday by Anders Foldager. An attack from Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ United) with roughly 30 kilometres to go created a six-rider lead group featuring Tibor del Grosso (Alpecin-Premier Tech), which looked set to stay clear. Instead, the peloton came back together and the Dane from Jayco-AlUla produced the surprise of the day.

Plenty of big names skipped the race. No Remco Evenepoel and no Wout van Aert, who put on such a fine battle here in 2025. No Tom Pidcock either, whose availability for the Ardennes remains unclear after his crash in a Catalan ravine. Riders with ambitions for Sunday's Amstel Gold Race were largely absent from the start list.

So who was there? Del Grosso headed to the start in Beersel. With team leader Mathieu van der Poel absent, the young Dutchman from Alpecin-Premier Tech got his chance once again. He seized a similar opportunity recently by winning the NXT Classic. Tim Wellens made his comeback on Friday for UAE Team Emirates-XRG. Mauro Schmid (Jayco-AlUla) was also on the start line.

From the start, the fight for the early break was settled quickly. Vojtěch Kmínek (Burgos Burpellet), Cedric Bakke Christophersen (Unibet Rose Rockets), Fabrice Lefèvre, Jonah Killy (both Tarteletto-Isorex), Michiel Coppens and Bram Dissel (both BEAT) made up the six-rider move. They were given a maximum advantage of around two minutes.

The peloton held that gap for a long time before the race ignited on the first passage of the local circuit. With 67 kilometres remaining, Louis Vervaeke accelerated on behalf of Soudal Quick-Step on the Holstheide. The Belgian took Stefano Oldani (Caja Rural) with him as the pair tried to bridge across. That attempt failed when Wellens put in a strong turn on the Hertstraat for UAE. Vervaeke and Oldani were brought back and the peloton rapidly closed in on the leaders.

On the Moskesstraat, Florian Vermeersch (UAE) attacked, with Jenno Berckmoes (Lotto-Intermarché) on his wheel. That move, with 44 kilometres still to race, sealed the fate of the original breakaway. Further accelerations came and went without sticking.

It was only on the next passage of the Moskesstraat, 30 kilometres from the finish, that the real finale began. In the approach to the cobbled climb, a crash held up part of the peloton. On the Moskesstraat itself, Groupama-FDJ United lit the fuse for Grégoire, who then attacked. Only Ramses Debruyne (Alpecin-Premier Tech) could hold his wheel, giving us two leaders. Behind, control in the peloton was lost and Benoît Cosnefroy (UAE) bridged across alone. The gap between the three leaders and the thinning peloton hovered just above 20 seconds.

That gap shrank quickly, prompting Del Grosso to make the jump along with Anthon Charmig (Uno-X) and Milan Lanhove (Flanders-Baloise). After Jelle Johannink (Unibet Rose Rockets) joined just as the final lap began, seven riders led the race. The peloton sat around 15 seconds behind.

On the final passage of the Moskesstraat, it was surprisingly Lanhove who set the pace at the front — too fast for Johannink, who dropped away. At the top, the peloton was still 14 seconds back, leaving six riders out front. The bunch looked close on screen, but the gap stubbornly held at 15 to 20 seconds.

With three kilometres to go, the leaders' advantage suddenly dropped to just 12 seconds. The poker game had started too early. At the foot of the rising final kilometre, the peloton swept up the breakaway. Mathieu Burgaudeau (TotalEnergies) immediately attacked, surging past the fading leaders and opening a gap.

He could not hold it. It came down to a sprint — a slightly chaotic one. Foldager produced a sharp turn of speed to take the surprise win. Quinten Hermans (Pinarello-Q36.5) took second, ahead of Cosnefroy in third. Grégoire finished fourth.