This page contains the podium, decisive moments, tactical analysis, team verdicts, and per-rider performance reports. Read no further if you intend to watch this race unspoiled.
Anders Foldager took the biggest win of his career, the Dane timing a perfect reduced-group sprint on the false-flat drag to the line in Overijse to win the 66th Brabantse Pijl for Jayco AlUla. A late lead group containing Romain Grégoire, Benoît Cosnefroy and others was reeled in on the final ascent of the S-bend with the flamme rouge approaching; Foldager then beat Quinten Hermans and Cosnefroy in the uphill kick. The race opened Ardennes week with neither Pidcock nor Christen on the start line.
OPENING162.6 km from Beersel to Overijse, the traditional Brabantse Pijl set-piece that opens Ardennes week — 21 short, punchy climbs over a rolling parcours south of Brussels, finishing with laps of the local circuit around Overijse and its S-bend (Schavei) climbs. With the Flanders cobbled block over and the bigger Ardennes names (Pogačar, Evenepoel) saving themselves for Flèche and Liège, the start sheet was deep in puncheurs and Pro-Conti opportunists rather than headline favourites. Pre-race picks Thomas Pidcock (Pinarello Q36.5) and Jan Christen (UAE) did not take the start.
UNFOLDSThe race followed the familiar pattern — short climbs whittling the bunch lap after lap on the Overijse circuit, with no early breakaway surviving to the finale. The decisive selection came on the final circuit: a lead group containing Romain Grégoire, Tibor Del Grosso, Benoît Cosnefroy, Ramses De Bruyne, Milan Lanhove and Anthon Charmig got clear and looked poised to fight out the win.
DECIDEDThat late move was caught on the final ascent of the S-bend climb with the flamme rouge in sight, resetting the race to a reduced front group inside the last kilometre. The win would not come from a lone attacker but from whoever timed the uphill drag to the line best.
FINALEOn the false-flat drag into Overijse, Anders Foldager came off wheels and produced a perfectly judged sprint, jumping late and holding off Quinten Hermans and Benoît Cosnefroy for the biggest victory of his career. Grégoire, who had animated the late break, took fourth at the same time; the whole front group of roughly ten riders was credited with the same time as the winner.
Brabantse Pijl delivered Jayco AlUla a marquee one-day Classics win through 24-year-old Dane Anders Foldager, who read the uphill drag finish perfectly to take the biggest victory of his career. A pure puncheur's win on a course that has crowned Alaphilippe, Van Aert and Evenepoel — exactly the kind of breakthrough result the team has been chasing in the Ardennes-opener slot.
With designated leader Tom Pidcock absent from the start line, Quinten Hermans carried the team's card and delivered a strong runner-up in the reduced-group sprint, only beaten by Foldager's late jump on the drag to the line. A clean podium that keeps Pinarello-Q36.5 visible at the front of the Ardennes-opener.
Without Jan Christen on the start sheet, Benoît Cosnefroy carried UAE's puncheur card and was active in the decisive late move before taking third in the sprint. Another front-of-race ride from Cosnefroy across the spring Classics, even if the win again slipped away in the final metres.
Romain Grégoire rode aggressively into the finale, joining the late lead group that briefly looked like it would settle the race before being caught on the S-bend. When it reset to a sprint he took fourth at the same time as the winner — an attacking ride that confirmed his form heading into the Ardennes proper.
The Spanish ProTeam was the day's collective overperformer, placing three riders inside the top ten — Eduard Prades (5th), Fernando Barceló (8th) and Alex Molenaar (10th) all surviving the climbs and contesting the reduced-group finish. A standout team result against WorldTour opposition in a marquee Classic.
Grégoire was one of the most active riders in the finale, getting into the late lead group on the Overijse circuit alongside Cosnefroy, Del Grosso, De Bruyne, Lanhove and Charmig. The move was caught on the final S-bend climb with the flamme rouge approaching, forcing a reduced-group sprint that Grégoire couldn't quite win, taking fourth at the same time as Foldager. An attacking, front-of-race ride that signalled good form for Ardennes week.
Brabantse Pijl 2026 ran true to type: 21 short climbs and the Overijse S-bends grinding the race down to a small group, then a slightly uphill drag to the line that rewards the rider who reads it best. With the Ardennes superstars rested for Flèche and Liège, the door opened for Anders Foldager to land the biggest win of his career. The depth of the result — Pro-Conti riders from Caja Rural, Uno-X, Lotto Intermarché and NSN filling out the top ten — underlined the race's status as a proving ground rather than a closed WorldTour affair.