"This is the biggest victory of my career" - Anders Foldager launched into stardom with Brabantse Pijl win

The 2026 Brabantse Pijl was decided in a peloton sprint, an unusual yet not unseen scenario for the Belgian classic. In a race where the strongest put their cards on the table, the race dynamics led to the fast finishers having the advantage, specially those who hid from the wind intelligently. Anders Foldager thrived in this role to take the biggest win of his career.

Jayco had several cards to play such as the Dane himself, Mauro Schmid or Davide de Pretto, all men with a strong sprint aside from their classics specialty. With the Australian team unable to place riders in the six-rider group that stood out in the front of the race, their best chance laid in a sprint.

Mauro Schmid sacrificed his own chances to help close the gap in the final kilometers, a decision that proved to be the correct one. Hardly do you ever see the pieces falling together so smoothly as this Friday afternoon in professional cycling, as then the isolated Foldager was able to justify Schmid's work.

“This race is very punchy, tough, and not too long. These kinds of sprints also suit me very well, although I actually had to come from too far back for the final climb. Once I had managed to get to the front, I couldn't do anything else but keep my head down and sprint full throttle.”

It was a strong triumph as well ahead of big names such as Quinten Hermans, Benoìt Cosnefroy and Romain Grégoire, adding further value to his success. “This means a lot to me. As I said, this is the biggest victory of my career. It shows me and the team that I have the level to compete in this type of race".

After winning a stage at the 2024 Tour of Slovakia, this was the second of his career, and without a doubt the best result he's achieved thus far. At Amstel Gold Race he will now be an outsider, although not the main card for the Australian team.

“I hope to be able to show it in the Amstel as well, but perhaps I will also switch roles with Mauro [Schmid] and work for him there. Of course, I have the dream of winning that race someday, but I think I still need to take a few steps to reach that level.”