DISCUSSION | De Brabantse Pijl 2026 - Top marks to Jayco and Baloise teams. Have the favourites slipped up? Another young talent on the rise?

Anders Foldager delivered the performance of his career on Friday by taking a sensational victory at the Brabantse Pijl after one of the most chaotic and entertaining finishes of the spring season.

The young Danish rider from Team Jayco AlUla emerged victorious in Overijse after a frantic final kilometre, where attacks came from every direction and the race seemed to change hands several times before the line.

In the end, Foldager produced a perfectly judged long sprint to beat Quinten Hermans and secure the biggest win of his professional career.

This year’s edition of the race had been labelled one of the most open in recent memory. With headline names such as Remco Evenepoel, Wout van Aert and Tom Pidcock not on the start list, there was no overwhelming favourite.

Instead, attention before the race focused on a broad group of contenders including Tibor Del Grosso, Mauro Schmid and Romain Grégoire, but the unpredictable nature of Brabantse Pijl meant many others believed they had a genuine chance.

The opening phase of the race was animated by a six-man breakaway, with Dutch continental squad BEAT Cycling Club particularly visible thanks to two riders in the move. The escape group built a lead of several minutes and forced the peloton to remain alert throughout the day. They held firm for much longer than many expected, keeping the pressure on the bigger teams behind.

The race truly came alive with around 70 kilometres remaining when Louis Vervaeke launched an attack from the peloton. He was soon joined by Stefano Oldani, and together they tried to bridge across to the leaders.

Behind them, UAE Team Emirates XRG began to take control of proceedings. Tim Wellens accelerated on the climbs before Florian Vermeersch continued the pressure on the steep roads of the local circuit. Their aggressive riding did not immediately produce a decisive split, but it shattered the rhythm of the race and gradually reeled in the attackers.

Once the early break was finally neutralised, a brief moment of calm followed before another major acceleration reshaped the contest. With 30 kilometres to go, Grégoire launched a fierce attack and quickly opened a gap, later gaining company at the front.

The chasing group behind had to react fast, and several strong riders bridged across, creating a dangerous selection that included Benoît Cosnefroy, Del Grosso and Foldager.

That select group entered the final local lap with only a narrow advantage over a determined peloton. Every climb increased the tension, and the gap continued to shrink as the finish approached. Inside the final kilometres, the attackers were still fighting for victory, but the bunch was rapidly closing.

Everything came together in the final kilometre, setting up a spectacular showdown. Fresh moves were launched by Mathieu Burgaudeau, Clément Venturini and others, while riders hesitated and counterattacked almost simultaneously.

Foldager, however, remained calm amid the confusion. Choosing the perfect moment, he opened a long sprint and powered clear with impressive strength.

Hermans tried to respond but could not come around the Dane, who held his speed all the way to the line. Foldager crossed first to claim a stunning and unexpected triumph, confirming himself as one of the emerging names of the classics scene.

In a race defined by constant attacks and tactical uncertainty, he was the rider who kept the clearest head when it mattered most.

It turned out to be a far more entertaining race than I had expected. Up until the entrance to the finishing circuit, the pace was fairly controlled, with the traditional breakaway providing some early animation but always kept on a tight leash by the peloton.

Then everything changed on the penultimate ascent of the Moskesstraat, when the first serious move from a pre-race favourite came through Romain Grégoire. From that point on, the race exploded.

We saw countless attacks from the peloton and, before long, a select group had formed at the head of the race, with several genuine contenders for victory.

Uno-X Mobility were visibly frustrated on several occasions with the television motorbikes, which appeared to be riding too close to the bunch while they had Anthon Charmig represented in the move.

Tibor del Grosso and Benoît Cosnefroy were also strong candidates for the win, but the rider who impressed me most was Milan Lanhove of Team Flanders - Baloise. The 22-year-old delivered a tremendous performance.

On the final lap, every time the road kicked up, he was the one moving to the front and setting the pace. Several riders were clearly on the limit. If the peloton only brought the break back in the closing kilometres, they could partly thank the work of this young rider, who never hid and spent long stretches exposed in the wind. Chapeau.

Then came a chaotic finale. Caja Rura - Seguros RGA made the most of their wildcard invitation and once again made themselves noticed, launching three riders into the sprint, something I had seen them do recently.

TotalEnergies opened the final sprint with a long-range attack from Mathieu Burgaudeau, only for him to be caught with 300 metres to go. From there it became a matter of strength and timing, and nobody executed it better than Anders Foldager. The young Team Jayco AlUla rider took a commanding victory.

The NSN Cyling Team, just like EF Education - EasyPost, were among the most active teams in the chase, but neither had anything to show for it at the finish.

One final word on the excellent safety signage along the route. Hazardous spots were very well signposted, with audible warnings (whistles) and flags to alert cyclists to obstacles and dangerous sections… every metre. Top marks. Many top-tier running organisations could come here and learn how it’s done.

Now comes the Ardennes Classics triple-header, with the Amstel Gold Race opening hostilities this Sunday, followed by La Flèche Wallonne on Wednesday, before the ever-anticipated Liège-Bastogne-Liège brings the curtain down next Sunday.Bring them on.

It was an interesting race, tactical as ever and with an unexpected outcome. I feel like the main favourites didn't end up spending their energy in the right moment.

Romain Grégoire attacked all out the Moskesstraat in the penultimate lap and whilst the move did on paper have good chances, the peloton was simply very big and at no point did the gap grow much.

With Benoît Cosnefroy and Tibor del Grosso also spending bullets there, and with Mauro Schmid not being part of the attacks and then sacrificing himself, it gave way to surprises. Schmid's work on the approach to the final climb was tremendous and Jayco's win was well earned.

But it's a constant combined effort from behind which led to a sprint finish. Anders Foldager is a quality rider and perfect fit for this race, but it still would've taken me many guesses to reach his name even with this race scenario succeeding.

The 2026 De Brabantse Pijl once again proved why it is one of the most unpredictable classics on the calendar: an open finish, constant attacks and an explosive conclusion that saw Anders Foldager crowned the winner in Overijse.

The race followed that all-too-familiar script… until it didn’t. The early breakaway played its part, but as soon as the peloton entered the hilly section, everything went haywire.

Teams like Bahrain Victorious upped the pace, and from then on it was non-stop: attacks, counter-attacks and brutal attrition that whittled down the group without a clear hierarchy. That’s where Romain Grégoire came to the fore, arguably the most active rider of the day.

His attack, with over 30 km to go, was the first truly serious move capable of decisively breaking up the race. He managed to form a dangerous breakaway at the front, but he fell short on the hardest part: finishing it off.

Because behind him, far from giving up, the peloton - already much reduced - never completely lost control. The gap remained in that uncomfortable territory, small enough to believe in a chase… and large enough to keep the uncertainty alive until the end.

And that’s when Foldager appeared. The Dane from Jayco-AlUla played his cards intelligently: without wearing himself out too much in the earlier moves and saving his strength for the key moment. When the race regrouped in the final kilometres, everything was decided on that characteristic final climb… and there he was simply the strongest.